RYL Chapter

Chapter 02

I woke 768b8d1755 up in 99709e9106 this messed-up 02cfdb573a body about 8656387cec two months 418fb02626 ago.433ca2af351bb031

In my past d32290a378 life, I was d5f46f469b an overworked IT 524509bdb7 planner who practically 9e5cc78a99 lived in front 12ad37b299 of a computer b7631947e9 screen, seeing my 58c0c35492 monitor more than 0359f1f65f my boyfriend’s face.3d0b894a8377da04

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Then, one fateful night, after finishing an important update, I decided to visit my boyfriend’s place, which was a big mistake.154377b92ff14204

I saw him cheating, 7a27a3e865 right in front of 76cc1de96c my eyes. Shocked and heartbroken, I 05b840df23 ran out and—bam—I got b5063a62e6 hit by a car ccccd7dc70 and died.2fb6236767678e4c

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Yeah… My past life 94c9344fef had a pretty crappy cad9f2f4a7 ending.f0116bd0d2384d25

***4f509630341313c4

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“You’re so tacky. I can’t cad2110f18 believe the 140f111578 young duke 53e88c01fb still drags d6f6a3054d you around 7d9b980abc as his 140a9ad2de fiancée.”301d5a41f427fe09

That snarky remark came d272f2fc5c from Sophia, who was 7c9642c2df lounging on the sofa d84f0b44ee in the reception room.df9933e32ee328c8

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Oh, right. Sophia is 94f727a605 the younger 5bad0297c0 sister of 6fc1219e90 the body 53da8ddf6b I possessed—Claire.402fa5ec37742e8e

Well, technically, she’s 69f74bbe14 my stepsister, since 88bbd26bd0 my stepmother brought e43d1efa72 her into the c95b478fab family.5ea9260ecd228a9a

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I looked at Sophia 251c1f128b as she crossed her 30d7111169 legs arrogantly, giving me d1562bebdc a disdainful glare.2f4d380fdd387a77

If she were my 0a782f1979 real sister, she’d be 4e15725016 half-dead by now.0f31e48f562ce281

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In my past life, 565b5490d6 I had a younger 3f81b19f89 sister, and I made f3854395dc sure to keep her 696531a976 in line. She never dared to 8910610c30 talk back to me f6b4a828c1 unless she wanted to 4c979343b3 get her hair yanked.6f6aefc3c43600e0

Thinking about her b99a10edca now… Would she 8a2edec47f be sad that 7c73a0e000 I was gone?11c5e2d5e7c04578

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“What are 99b75b8d4d you looking 0d17ff9563 at? Ugh, just don’t go 3336fab266 around telling people we’re 6540286275 sisters, okay?”9bdb546004997d7f

As I was lost 4aed574ae3 in thought, Sophia sneered 19c03b99b7 again.9d152a6756cf1985

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I clenched 74c4fdcf2b my fists. Hold it in.5edc71f8b6edf7c6

I had a1b4318301 woken up e91990838a in a 3cf0ab5a6d body that b54ec4ab95 could drop 7b02d2465e dead any 656c8d00ce moment. Making enemies right 09f096f4a4 now would only 1aae747259 put me in 76a2eb48f7 more trouble.7aa97860efbf63ac

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For now, at 398c806c10 least.1a6f8fc1bd0399f7

I had no 4bebf1ed33 money, so I 1735925517 needed to stick f645337e84 with the Devonshire 059d9df9e9 family for a 3a4fb04fd1 while. And that dbffd0603e meant staying f329952cbb on my 6bb09e4a01 stepmother’s good 60633694a7 side.197bca65cb3f8fc8

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Ugh… Whether in my 4a2f188442 past life or this 3842ce0c24 one, I was always 9a668124b3 stuck trying to please 5a6baa5bcf people in power. What a joke.6a9e3db9c5dea36d

“What, are you 374165f6ef going to glare 308c7d7ceb at me all e138606754 day?”e67c512e618f58d3

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Sophia smirked, 428cc34dd3 her pretty b680908f5d face twisted 25f73fcda5 in mockery.884442e3a755bb95

I sighed and aa4f403643 turned away, but 49fbee51db before I could e8c5f38475 walk off, my 2d78541f60 stepmother, Ophelia, approached 10880ea0ca me.3805a061a0767b67

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I tensed, expecting her 352555ed8b to side with Sophia aa8c278efe and scold me, but 3fb5334651 instead, she gently took 12142c9fd7 my hand.702765562140fe89

Her expression was f4b4c5ae6b strangely serious as 629d91afb0 she spoke.1bf7230c8b66481a

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“Claire, today, 77b4e9684d you must 623d9e4db5 get a 223d87f103 wedding date 97f529b2f4 from Lord 9bc04e0cf5 Laurentino.”b45f2d63f9a18c14

Oh, not this 6769ac976d again.ea13e64642de19a9

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“It’s been b0c06b598c ten years 46f0b76ac5 since your d63688b0a1 engagement. You’re already 8a982f725c past the 075d234027 usual marrying 4214bd5354 age. If the engagement breaks, 166a42ee71 no one will want 79cc2c8165 you.”ba9149c9f2be858e

She said 9b37c37fa0 it so 7956aee15d elegantly, like 8737fe03b6 she was b21675b336 trying to c8ebaba2d8 sell a 9ac420129c leftover item 7bd762312e at a 60fb34ad49 bargain market.29b1c57156eb7e08

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I bit fca42af188 back a 49a6b792bb groan.260c9bf658b77ba5

The Devonshire 5e193ad4cd family was 4377e3106a practically leeching 1b12bf7188 off the fa5dff6f27 Laurentino duchy, b83fc38862 so a 296d2215a0 marriage between ae2c6db852 the two 7579e491d4 houses was fa7bac1dbc perfect—for them.e54f694be5f7606b

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But why force me 18f1ab1e5f into it instead of a4ae20885d her real daughter?34824c4403c235d2

Simple.9d557596c25c11bb

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Because the young duke, 4b83d17448 Mathieu Laurentino, was a 2fdbe09145 well-known womanizer.872960815fb60100

No one in their 041ffd71e2 right mind would want 056f5e90df their real daughter marrying 89a9fb3028 a notorious playboy.4f4be6a27d481c3f

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And more 7805c8fb81 than that, 2f89b930b5 Ophelia clearly a47f9f1f7a wanted to c7ae844002 pass the ba87f8dcfa Devonshire estate 523fd3b034 to Sophia. Since the family cde2f069e8 had no male 5bfe1d6c4a heir, she planned f6e030fee8 to marry me c310228e00 off, bring in e964b8d079 a husband for c026c1bb32 Sophia, and have 076c785479 him inherit the eaa8ddc32a title.449ca4702eabec18

I saw through her ce1d132b19 scheme immediately, but there db9c7c8e2e was no use arguing.9c5f43bcc3be7624

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Claire had always db146f202b been obedient, and 2e641cd97f I had no ba7fa4c8b0 solid way of 5c1d3ba198 escaping this house 98e24f0b35 yet.37dc71b39384ab45

As frustrating as it 5b7aa1582a was, I had to 4a868375d2 wait.ebfd469d1fd32c5e

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Even though I c4949aceff had promised to 9ef653a4b6 live freely with 8c2174ee56 Sabrina and Lilianne, 43cc733772 I needed money dcf2e4ce4b and a home 7b07fded41 first.40f8d03b4f898607

I needed to build f568807554 my position here before 1ad94cc5ca making my move.3c50182bda8e2e23

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“…Alright.”2b8e4b9d18f6e687

With a resigned sigh, da59c1e322 I nodded and left cd2b1ae5bc the mansion.3e1419fa00968f29

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***0e71e4ddcb6f79b7

Before meeting ea55cb0060 Mathieu, I c3fdfa30da caught my cc84a159f5 reflection in 190be92c0c a window.16916444abc542f7

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Sophia’s words echoed 5e075ced48 in my mind.33f8473b3fcf0405

Bright red hair—it ea973df7f1 was a bold 47c673863f color, one that 5484ff1749 could easily look c63237a8e5 gaudy.9cf9d714aa2be431

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A bare, 868e09fbaa makeup-free face.2808e88fb17e1269

My features were 8ce9c98d37 neat and delicate, 0274f275b0 but compared to d52f44afb5 the glamorous, doll-like 00a8f85c4a women of high 7bc5756172 society, I looked b86313ecfb plain.2d3f57fe118d22f6

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I looked down 58369b6e2f at my dress—a 93c66fef2d dull brown one.c86bb827eeed7e3a

Was it 476121231c really that d0975c452b old-fashioned?35d09d2a1b20aefe

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Honestly, in 8cd36f73d2 my past 54ec090ecd life, I 25e33224f4 never cared b8db81ecd7 about fashion.587cb097b5c3d63e

All I 56a5d7b17e did was e25b1577b3 go back 9b65d9cf95 and forth 339d325c0e between work 5f3638a66c and home, 4f07ee812e and I e04a37cc3e always prioritized 7e32bdee25 sleep over f3082e26d5 getting dolled ae787920ae up.8f1c853501141877

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Why bother d7732eb5d7 with makeup 6fa1bd7216 when it d23dfcbe8f just smudges fa5e6fe527 and fades da3083179b by the 90d6d16054 end of c5bdafa890 the day?90bb0b6b1d9c174e

So yeah, I wasn’t e004084512 exactly confident in my 9aa13d07ab sense of style.26ca772d41bfaeef

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“Hmmm…”dabbb0438673e7f4

I stared at my 5218937a6f reflection in the glass 8f1b14d58d for a while, then 3972d18f90 shrugged.1c38b135d6a98024

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“Doesn’t look that c086797d83 bad to me.”60da0a1d63b03c57

Told you—I a5e6ac158f have zero fc8751f35b fashion sense.28f9e3d4f6808d0c

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But really, if you 695631f801 look at just my 0ecacb8fd1 features, I wasn’t ugly. I just f4ac5a31eb looked plain f028953e79 compared to bf3e7cf945 the glamorous f9c577f492 ladies of 86477f2688 high society.13c208356272fa81

Not knowing how 4054e8338b the world saw 24e359aed5 me, I brushed 24f55b8ad5 it off and 0b60d1793a made my way d46c8875d7 to meet Mathieu.acb1e82f61ff6965

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***00433929a5cdb3f8

I barely saw aac414fbc0 Mathieu once a 423bcc0e63 month, but as 925341c121 usual, he looked 88808f44cc like he just 0a515f5639 walked off the 602d0f63f9 pages of a c8fe55a7c1 foreign fashion magazine.52ae3d148f2ce4ed

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Even with a6eeb6fb37 my lack 3103b0bf81 of artistic 3cdddb3e49 sense, I 825e789d94 could tell af8098796c he was 819ceb0253 an objectively 4b33ad0861 handsome man.d1cc990a4e919dbf

But that c92064c97b was all.a2ada2a6a8d4508a

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I sat down across 5c0cb352b1 from him without any 02cd1122c9 admiration or excitement.6e58664dabd55527

“Did I keep you 173a960663 waiting long?”178235a40a218262

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It was just ee491c422c a polite greeting, c59cba1cd8 but he didn’t 217e155e2c even flinch.cff849625f50f530

He stared 1b8eb3b750 off into b1f9c339af the distance, 986fd2be19 looking like 12ad5c8e29 someone had 5192bd1410 dragged him 85762f3614 here by c71301f5f4 force.353455a8237f41e1

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Well, guess what? I didn’t want 3e108b76fa to be here 26fb01f778 either.67023199a7f2e0de

But unlike him, 3b75f34fb3 I had five c5e2d166c8 years of corporate a697cb2041 experience under my 9e02dad6b5 belt, so I 28832c4211 knew how to 3d28863775 fake a polite d83f0b7944 smile.837083a4463186b2

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“You must 1397a21746 be really 848442c086 upset that 2c01432ace I made 3b0e963afe you wait…”6264c71d31efa804

I let out ddc02f6eb4 a lighthearted chuckle, a376335830 trying to break d5624c26ea the tension.669a18ca8df4591b

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He glanced b2a803e8ba at me a8aae69693 and finally 6cbf594296 spoke.1b308e0c2713f433

“You just 52d3e64670 wasted three 8f93d7ee99 minutes of 4cb9320fdb my life.”b9ab07d1b4a1e3c7

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…Should I e19113ad78 punch him?e9376bffca5ad898

This guy just got 3d16339e36 here, and he’s already fb6ee4d7fb acting like he’s been bfaa3ab5a8 waiting for hours?ec91495c88d1d2da

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My blood boiled, 3b1084964a but my face 31380fdfcf still carried that fa5a59c481 fake, social-smile.bdcc660fd88aa77b

Damn workplace habits.5c4e490484cc3ec3

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Not to mention, 77673e78cb Claire’s body had c5f438990d this ridiculous habit 3d9b4f851e of reacting to 1ac4f6ebca Mathieu—fluttering like some 9d6a47942f lovesick fool.3ca09a895dd13b3b

“Aah… I see. I’ll try to come 73347caba4 earlier next time.”d6b2fac620629bb4

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I forced out another 038a6370d0 awkward smile.ddeebf11cbf77bf8

Mathieu studied me 3235cd7c54 for a moment 543d3ae94c before leaning in b2f21d0892 close, his voice 8d2443f731 dropping into a 6393fd35fa smooth whisper.df3f118e3a4f0ca3

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“Or better yet, don’t aa175578fc come at all. That way, I 82c9435afe won’t have to 79b7159223 make up excuses d7953c1a33 to ditch these f570804836 meetings.”53bd7834de96f7b3

Was there really a 840be4d2aa need to say that a81978100f in such a sweet b6364c4495 tone?f022141e96fe8814

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If he was 59b155d1c8 so annoyed, why 2d331590b5 did he even e2b142136e show up?0e26d4e431a7a7bd

Honestly, I 24fead4da8 would’ve been ab9c27cee1 happier just 39b11b12ff skipping this bb22e82cf4 nonsense and 19043c20f4 going home.7d4faebc64080b5e

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But let’s b0848af523 be real—the 0ec873fbe1 daughter of 40751d61ab a mere 6601d7814e count standing fba936d69d up the c57351f574 duke’s heir? Not happening.ba72e0565b4a42a8

As I a87ac9d118 clenched my 9bf8c874e4 fists under 80cb06c640 the table, a02b6811c9 Mathieu smirked.e3e4ca3fab5c1fd8

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“As if ce85d2817d you’d ever 8c1ed156ab miss this 7b3b76e956 meeting. I bet 4f54ec239d you’ve been cbc5ebcc39 looking forward f8ee3cc615 to it 93c2c004a7 all month.”c46241ecea267a92

…If you don’t want aa74e733c6 to get punched in 2673828cce that pretty little face, 17e42d25c3 I suggest you back b83cd1d808 off.50bbf5a7fc52b17d

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I forced myself to 370d277d62 smile despite my twitching ff67126ebf fingers.1a54685e780c2a95

Hold it in.efc007834e630be3

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If I wanted to 2d3955f754 keep living comfortably under 589540b748 the Devonshire family’s roof, 502ffc6e78 I had to endure d6181ff5aa this—for now.804aea525208452d

Deep breaths.bc5feaec84077a46

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Just five more 344294d4c9 seconds, and I 5204d50214 would’ve lost it.2a5d3b2a51acba91

Luckily, Mathieu 467523b872 leaned back 654ae0a4e6 lazily in 9bf1341eb6 his chair, 4b52e654f8 breaking the a0a28aa402 tension.531491d1719e9538

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“Let’s just 02c70ddef7 get through 0736ad11a6 this meal 19255daf23 quickly. I have plans 315da8592d to meet Angelica 1e2b82e189 soon.”6dbbd171f12f5994

Ah. So he wasn’t 3ff91754ed even trying to eb4efe3f9e hide his womanizing.8bf3883aeaa530bb

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Not that a8953c5fab I was 7d0cf27e1b surprised.00906f2434463a86

Our first b7aef57948 meeting had a4e9fd6002 gone the 123c7acd7f exact same 5df570210b way.a2ed2295cbb01281

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In fact, before that 882927dcfd day, I had no 207c9c0161 idea who Claire even 83f1e06577 was.dc6faf378eda0f81

She was cf574ec6dc just an 3bee0a51c0 extra in 2efea6145c the novel—mentioned 1cf095df35 in a d34c9cce3b few lines 25d16638d8 and then ee08f899ce forgotten.24992943e5ea5681

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But the moment I fcd544d54f saw Mathieu, I knew 458319e566 exactly where I was.a1896fd191bb7c35

Mathieu von Laurentino.7569d0545a034ffa

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The infamous 245a37a6d9 playboy and 641bcfff20 second male e34cb38464 lead of c7e7285520 this story.17830d6bcc9dda4e

You know 6d2966860f the type—the 38a273676e charming heartbreaker 86f7e90bd4 who flirts 027b6e84c3 with every 5107061065 woman in 2cba4dc83d sight… until 8a9b51d9de he meets a29a128050 the heroine.6a60a411d98dd54a

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Then, suddenly, 5f20e2e7a9 he’s reformed, b6b7223a22 head-over-heels in 099e5facc6 love, and 019ec057eb only has bbd8387a43 eyes for 8b371f5b7e her.a45cafe5831d1718

Of course, in the fb5690420b end, he loses the e9a0b8c4e3 heroine to the actual 1961d4529b male lead and spends 3cb43d3094 the rest of the e6c9b4472b story suffering in unrequited 6473c5110a love.32f0556b57e3d136

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And who 911594f33c was his a31bbbbca0 fiancée before 5dd8e3c3d5 all that ecb3b31ff4 happened?d7c633f99f690d62

Me.c45f2469e75337f1

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Claire.e00d56b31335183c

The pathetic 1e91b167b7 side character 9883ed3045 who adored b852fd924d him despite f147cf4587 his trashy 4fb6560f62 behavior.8c6c79ae8f294e71

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She wasn’t even important 465e7e2c1f enough to have a 5ca24d2ad0 proper death scene—just a 061d1f148c vague mention that she 5354db7b70 had “passed away.”10db4c47629f4882

But let’s be 85ad20c1ac real.d897eebe12a28c62

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She probably died of 5931b9dbaf stress because of this a978c7b508 idiot.1207e24cd8b8958e

I swallowed my frustration 5ba43411d1 and forced out another 37cd4f75af fake smile.6c49af5984cf702a

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“Well, I c81230aac7 guess there’s 02a57ac2e1 nothing I be2918b81f can do 094a9e630d about that.”2561c9756ba8d811

I sipped 6d30f65224 my drink 55d99cfce1 casually before dfc950368b adding,101f22e5facf0c74

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“But before e4c2ec50fc you leave, 284f3212b9 can I a95b81abe5 ask you 65e1bcffab something?”c7a9e601d8e74140

Mathieu raised 9c3645f7dd a brow, 4c00013a5a looking at d168862dda me with 6699d742ba mild curiosity.df8cf3e4d1583a76

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I kept my voice d5aea5f08b light, my smile gentle.0d7c4ddde3b3c07a

“Our wedding… 8d26d3af83 when will 73faa5261d it be?”488e84df6451ae4d

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At that, fe8da9e48a Mathieu let 747c75ea20 out a 30f45e8dad dry laugh.6cce05935453eb75

“Wedding? You and me? Wow, Claire, you sure c5e4be833c dream big.”5262c2ec27f491d4

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My smile twitched.4aefedc3c0495ea5

Oh, you 08b8bea89a better finish 0a706686fb that sentence, fde4a1d0c3 you piece 274345b80b of trash.73777a078a14deca

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 bd731f67f0317ccd