Worship The Ground You Walk On novel Chapter 54

His words were simple, but Claudia was shocked.

Her shock was transient. She didn't care where he got the information. All she had in mind now was the old house of her family. That was where his grandparents once lived. It was his childhood memory. She couldn't afford to lose that.

Claudia nodded. Ben had never seen her look so anxious.

Seeing her panicking, Ben had a disdainful smile. His words blew over her ear like the cold wind in deep winter, making her backbone feel chilly.

“It was being auctioned, and you want to redeem it, right?”

Claudia paused for a second and nodded her head.

She really needed that money, but she hadn't found the right opportunity to tell Ben about that.

The next moment, her taper chin was pinched by the man. He forced her to look into his eyes. Seeing her charming and gentle eye expression, his eyes remained as cold as ever. “You can ask me for money whenever you need it. You've known the auction of your old house for quite a while, haven't you?”

She could tell the hysteric in his tone, which made her furrow her brows.

Ben looked at her face. Claudia could see the reflection of herself in his red eyes. She seldom saw him be so hysterical. He was always wearing a poker face, and seldom would he show any emotions like today.

But today, Claudia didn't know what had happened.

He suddenly laughed when he saw the astonishment in her eyes. The wrinkles between his brows turned deeper. He said, “You can tell me if you want either money or the old house. Why do you have to give Hanna such a hard time?”

His words seemed to be indicating something Claudia didn't know.

She was surprised and confused, wondering what “hard time” meant. She needed to know what was going on.

Claudia tried to struggle a bit. She raised her hand and signed, “What do you mean by ‘hard time’? What happened?”

“What has happened? You tell me!” He growled with a lower and colder voice, squeezing her chin more violently. She felt as if her jaw was breaking.

Ben's crystal eyes radiated horrifying light. He said, “Claudia, you've got plenty of ways to get your old house back, but you've chosen the wrong one. Do you know that she bought the old house for you at the cost of her company?”

They were so close to each other that she could feel every streak of breath going out with the words. She could feel the breath blowing softly over her nose. It was chilly.

Claudia felt as if her blood were frozen in her veins. She had no choice but to stare at him dumbly.

Hanna saved the old house for her at the cost of her company?

She couldn't believe it.

The man was soon annoyed by her innocent face. He hated her seemingly pure and clear eyes. So he ditched her hand off violently.

Claudia almost fell to the ground. When she supported herself on the wall, she heard the man's cold voice:

“She paid one billion for that damn house, and that was more than how much her company is worth! Do you even know that?”

His words pierced Claudia's heart like the spikes on a poison vine. She could feel as if it was dripping blood.

She looked at him, not knowing how to argue.

She didn't even know what happened. She had no idea of the old house being auctioned and Hanna saved the old house for her. She wondered what the connection between the two things was.

Ben turned over, and then he turned back when he recalled something. He looked at him with a grim face and said, “Why do you hate her? Using her kindness is too cheap, even for you! Claudia, is that your way to reward people's kindness? To plot against her? How do you sleep at night?”

“ ...”

She was speechless again.

Calculating?

She didn't even know what had happened. How could she plot against her?

The flame of fury was blazing in Ben's dark eyes. He might want to stab her to death if gaze could be used as a weapon.

“I feel sick just looking at you right now.”

Claudia paused for a second. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her face changed drastically.

His words echoed in her mind. She couldn't help thinking about it again and again. Then she looked up, only to see him turning away decisively and leaving her a view of his back.

Claudia staggered on her feet. Then she leaned on the wall and slowly slid down to the ground.

She had involuntarily become the kind of person she hated the most.

But she didn't want this. She didn't even know what had happened.

Outside, the housekeeper's voice came from outside of the room, asking, “Ma'am, are you in there? Mrs. Crawford is here. She needs you now!”

Claudia wondered what Winifred was here for.

She collected herself and got up as quickly as she could. Then she got dressed and fixed her make-up. At last, she came downstairs in a hurry.

As soon as she walked to the sofa and before she could greet Winifred, she was slapped hard in her face.

The clear sound echoed in the huge house. The nanny and the housekeeper were holding their breath.

Claudia's face was slapped aside. A red and clear mark emerged on her fair face.

“Do you know that Hanna's company was ruined because of you? You can always ask me or Ben for money. Our family can give you as much as you want! Why do you have to ruin Hanna's company? Why?”

Winifred's words were harsh, and her face looked stern. She would kill Claudia if she could. She gritted her teeth and said, “Hanna developed that company step by step, all on her own. She didn't have a privileged family background, so she had to earn everything on her own. She has been through a lot to become who she is today, and you just ruined everything for her!”

Claudia's head was buzzing because of the slap. She saw stars in her eyes and was dumbfounded.

She had no idea of what was going on.

But Winifred wouldn't believe that Claudia had nothing to do with this. She kept scolding her, “You can tell us if you need money, why did you have to give Hanna a hard time? You're taking advantage of her kindness, aren't you?”

“Claudia, I should’ve known you’re such a vicious woman! Forget about the testament! Our family deserved a much better person than you! We won't keep you here anymore. You should leave and get divorced.”

Claudia's heart trembled when she heard the word “divorce”. She looked at Winifred with her eyes filled with astonishment.

Winifred repeated, “I want you to leave Ben! Our family would never keep a vicious woman like you!”

She paused and added her innermost thoughts, “Hanna had sacrificed too much for you this time. Our family should make it up for her. You should leave Ben so that they could get together.”

“Anyway, if it weren't for Ben's grandma's testament, he would have never get married to you. Hanna has always been my ideal daughter-in-law. Claudia, please leave. The sooner, the better!”

That sounded like an ultimatum. Winifred gave Claudia the order like a queen who felt superior over anyone else. She made the final judgment and sentence the marriage to death.