Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 987

Wilbur picked the restaurant. It was just a short, five-minute walk from the hotel.

When Claire arrived, Wilbur was already seated at the table waiting for her.

The sight made her pause, a strange sense of surrealness washing over her.

She suddenly thought of all the years she had spent waiting for Felix.

Even though they rarely ate out together, every single time they did, she was always the one arriving early. She was always the one waiting.

Eight times out of ten, he would end up standing her up entirely.

It happened so constantly she had fully convinced herself that being a CEO meant you were just impossibly busy twenty-four hours a day.

She thought being late to dinner was just a totally normal part of his life.

But that logic completely fell apart when she looked at Wilbur.

If they were comparing workloads, Wilbur should have been infinitely busier than Felix.

Felix was an heir; when the Quigley Group was handed to him, it was already an empire.

Wilbur, on the other hand, was entirely self-made. Every single thing he owned today, he had built from the ground up with his own bare hands.

Yet somehow, Wilbur was always the one waiting for her.

As she sat down, Claire offered an apologetic smile. "Did I keep you waiting?"

"Not at all. I just got here early." Wilbur handed her the menu and immediately began recommending the chef's specials.

He even made a point to remind the waiter that any dish containing peanuts needed to be substituted with safe ingredients.

Because Claire was heavily allergic to peanuts.

Claire stared at him in shock. "How did you know I'm allergic?"

Wilbur lowered his eyes and took a slow sip of his tea, masking whatever emotion lingered in his gaze. "I heard you mention it to the chef when we were on the island."

"From a private collector." Wilbur made it sound as though acquiring it had been the easiest thing in the world.

"My mother wore this necklace on her wedding day. My dad told me about it once. He wasn't rich back then, he couldn't afford designer jewelry. So he saved up every penny he had for six solid months. While he was overseas on a study exchange, he went to a local gemstone market, blew his entire nest egg on these jewels, and gave them to my mom. She designed the necklace herself. It was her very first piece. I honestly thought I'd never see it again."

Whenever she spoke about her parents' love story, her throat would tighten, and her eyes would invariably fill with tears.

And every time it happened, Wilbur would sit in quiet companionship, listening to her memories.

He would wait patiently, silently offering her a napkin when the tears finally fell.

Once her emotions had leveled out a bit, he spoke up, his voice tinged with genuine regret. "What happened at the auction was my oversight. I never should have let The Aquaria Tiara hit the public bidding block. If I hadn't, no one could have snatched it away from you."

"How could I ever blame you for that?" Claire quickly protested.

But Wilbur continued softly, "I've already spoken with the major auction houses. From now on, if any of your mother's pieces surface, they will bypass the auction block entirely. You'll never have to watch someone take them away from you again."

He had originally wanted Claire to bid on it herself so she wouldn't feel like she was accumulating a massive debt to him, sparing her the psychological weight of owing him a favor.