Hearing such irresponsible words, Nancy Lockwood immediately flew into a rage. "Claire Sinclair, why are you always like this? Don’t you know how hurtful it is to keep talking about divorce?"

Claire Sinclair bristled at that and retorted, "Nancy, be reasonable, will you? I was forced to marry him. I never once said I wanted to spend my life with him, so how am I the one in the wrong now?"

"Fine, so Young Master Quincy was in the wrong. But he’s genuinely in love with you! Do you have any idea how much he’s done for you—"

"That’s enough," Claire Sinclair cut her off coldly. "We’re not a good match, and my mind is made up. Just think of me as a worthless piece of trash who isn’t good enough for him."

After saying her piece, Claire Sinclair firmly hung up the phone.

Nancy Lockwood gripped her phone in frustration and cursed through gritted teeth, "What the hell is her problem? She really thinks she’s all that. Young Master Quincy is so good to her, and yet she just tramples all over his feelings. Damn it! She’s making me furious!"

Aiden Howkins warned her, "Don’t curse so loudly. If Young Master Quincy hears you, you’ll be in for it."

Nancy Lockwood was still fuming. "So what if I get punished? It hurts to see Young Master Quincy like this, too."

Aiden Howkins sighed helplessly. "We’re just outsiders; we can’t interfere in their relationship. We should focus on figuring out how to persuade Young Master Quincy to come back."

Nancy Lockwood retorted sullenly, "He’s not going back. Claire Sinclair told Young Master Quincy that she’ll divorce him the moment he returns."

Aiden Howkins: "..."

’No wonder Young Master Quincy is stubbornly refusing to leave. So that’s the reason.’

’But even so, Young Master Quincy can’t possibly stay in this backwater place for the rest of his life, can he?’

Just as the two were frowning with worry, a low voice suddenly called out from behind them, "Aiden Howkins."

Aiden Howkins was so startled he broke out in goosebumps. He whipped around and mechanically snapped to attention. "Sir!"

Nancy Lockwood also turned around, standing rigidly at attention.

Adrian Quincy had just returned from a run. He was covered in sweat and still a little out of breath. "You head back first. Go to Metropolis General Hospital and look up Claire’s admission records. Report back to me as soon as you find them."

"Yes, sir!" Aiden Howkins responded.

Adrian Quincy turned and left without another word.

Once he was a good distance away, Aiden Howkins and Nancy Lockwood looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

Young Master Quincy had just mentioned a key phrase—"Claire’s admission records."

’Could Claire Sinclair have been injured recently?’

...

In order to get everyone back sooner, Aiden Howkins paid out of his own pocket to book the earliest flight, rushing back to Aethelgard.

He didn’t even go home after landing, heading straight for Metropolis General Hospital.

Old Master Quincy was a patient at this hospital, so Aiden Howkins had visited many times. He was on friendly terms with the nurses, which made it easy to find Claire Sinclair’s admission records.

He had thought he could easily complete his mission once he got the records, but when he saw their contents, Aiden Howkins’s face went pale with fright.

’So they had misunderstood the Young Madam...’

’If Young Master Quincy sees this report, he’ll kill someone, won’t he?’

’He would, right?’

’He might even massacre the entire city.’

’In any case, the consequences would be severe.’

Aiden Howkins hesitated for a long time. He couldn’t bring himself to call Adrian Quincy back, not even daring to imagine reporting this in person to his master.

After wandering around aimlessly for hours, the sky began to darken. Without realizing it, Aiden Howkins found himself in front of The Caspian International Grand Hotel.

He looked up at the towering hotel, his heart a jumble of complicated emotions.

Just as he was trying to think of an excuse to look for Claire Sinclair, a familiar voice called out from behind him, "Aiden Howkins?"

Aiden Howkins whipped around and saw the very person he was looking for. But his gaze was immediately captured by her pretty face, which was noticeably thinner. His chest tightened, and he felt a sharp pain as if he’d been stabbed viciously in the heart.

’How did she get so thin?’