Chapter 43
Ryan sat in the cozy Bradford family mansion, phone in hand, feeling a bit off. He thought Clara would be back. soon, but three days had passed without a word from her. Normally, she’d be back in a couple of days, armed with his favorite gifts to smooth things over.
Ryan didn’t have the highest opinion of Clara–she seemed to know little beyond chasing after men–but he couldn’t deny she was a fantastic cook who always catered to his whims. After all these years, he developed a slither of affection by now.
Just after logging out of his game, he caught wind that Quinn was live streaming. Intrigued, he tuned in and found her in a face–off with Clara.
With a sigh of relief, Ryan assumed Clara was still upset about Quinn swiping Simon, but that didn’t mean she should take it out on him. She still hadn’t shown up to cook for him.
In a fit of mischief, he sent ten virtual gifts to Quinn and stayed glued to her stream, deliberately ignoring Clara’s. He was certain Clara would recognize his gesture.
However, Clara maintained her composure, steadily answering questions from the viewers.
“I don’t know the person sending those gifts, and it’s got nothing to do with me. Let’s focus on my apples,” she calmly stated.
Ryan was fuming at her indifference. In a huff, he sent dozens more gifts, nearly burning through a million dollars.
His antics drew a crowd to Quinn’s stream. The platform highlighted big spenders like him, naturally drawing more eyes to Quinn’s channel.
[Quinn, don’t overdo it. Helping farmers is great, but we’re not exactly strapped for cash,] Ryan commented.
Quinn’s eyes sparkled with gratitude. “Thanks for looking out, Ryan. I’m not short on money, but helping others makes me happy.”
Viewers saw their interaction and realized Quinn wasn’t putting on a show; she was genuinely a wealthy
heiress.
But what was going on between her and that other streamer?
As Quinn and Ryan played up their sibling bond, Clara kept pushing her apple sales. Her cool demeanor irked Ryan. He wanted to check out Clara’s stream but felt it would look like admitting defeat.
Instead, he stayed on Quinn’s stream, constantly expressing his concern for her.
Meanwhile, Clara watched her order numbers climb, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Finally sold ten thousand orders. That’s a hundred thousand pounds of apples. Thanks for the support. But I injured my knee last night and need to take care of it. Plus, I need to arrange for the farmers to pack and ship your orders. See you this afternoon.”
Everyone thought she’d ride the wave of traffic, but she signed off so abruptly that those expecting drama felt like they’d hit a wall, and left unsatisfied.
Quinn noticed Clara end her stream, feigned concern and addressed through the camera, “You should check out Clara’s stream. She must be upset. Don’t do this next time. When she streams again, send her some gifts too.”
That made Ryan feel a bit smug, and he left a comment.
[I’m not going to. Who knows why she suddenly went to South Ashford? Maybe to get someone’s attention or to mess with you, Quinn.]
“Don’t talk like that about Clara,” Quinn chided. “Anyway, go have some fun. I’ll keep selling these apples. I should wrap up the support task in a few days.”
23:15
Chapter 43
After leaving the stream, Ryan couldn’t help but glance at his phone, waiting for a message from Clara. But ten minutes ticked by, and his phone stayed silent, fueling his irritation.
Meanwhile, Clara met with the liaison from the support project, who looked uneasy. “Miss Clara, I’ve got some bad news. The farmers signed a deal with another team last night. They don’t plan to work with you anymore, so those orders you sold probably won’t be shipped. They’ve put their trust in Miss Quinn’s team.”
Clara’s face remained unreadable as she stared down the contact.
The liaison fidgeted, “Even though Miss Quinn’s selling at a lower price, she’s willing to put up a million dollars to help the farmers. After crunching the numbers, they realized they’d earn more than they ever did in past years, so they decided against partnering with you. I wanted to tell you last night, but Miss Quinn said to have you sell apples first.”
Addison was furious. “What’s the deal? We had an agreement for this support project! Clara was out in the rain last night streaming, worried about the farmers losing money, and offering higher prices than before. While she’s got your backs, you team up with Quinn to pull a fast one? Now all the orders are sold, and you’re not shipping them, but leaving her to take the heat. You could’ve told us last night or this morning, but you waited until noon, and made her sell thousands more orders!”
This was clearly a setup. Clara worked hard to promote the apples, yet there would be no products to ship, leaving her to take the blame.
Addison was nearly in tears, feeling the injustice on Clara’s behalf.
Ch
