Chapter 159: The Taste of a Secret Crush

After an exhausting hour, filled with multiple rounds of trial and error, Blaine Jackson finally resolved what felt like the monumental task of simply going to the bathroom. 

"Blaine, I made this soup using some prepared ingredients from when I went back to your house earlier. It's only been simmering for about thirty minutes, but since the ingredients were precooked, the flavor is already well-developed. I also called Lauren Wells, and she told me that using these specific ingredients in the soup can help promote wound healing," Claire Grace explained as she carefully placed a steaming bowl of soup on the bedside table.

"Soup?" Blaine nearly leapt out of bed at the word. He had sworn earlier to avoid drinking too much water or eating anything hydrating, given his current predicament. And now, soup?

"Blaine, do you think my soup tastes bad?" Claire asked, noticing his uneasy expression.

"No, no, it's not that," Blaine stammered, struggling for a reasonable excuse. Admitting that he wanted to avoid the bathroom again would only insult her kind gesture. "Just pour me a bowl. I'll have some." Worst-case scenario, he'd just run to the bathroom as soon as the urge hit. 

Claire smiled and ladled a bowl of soup for him, but Blaine's focus shifted to her weary eyes. "Claire, you don't need to stay here tonight," he mumbled while sipping the soup. 

"Why not?" Claire paused in the middle of slicing an apple into bite-sized pieces. "Did you hire a private nurse for tonight?"

"No, I just don't want you to exhaust yourself by sleeping hunched over a table like you did last night. You'll wear yourself out," Blaine replied softly, masking the vulnerability in his voice. He couldn't bear the thought of her suffering, even if it was just a crick in her neck from poor sleep. "If you go home, you can rest properly in your own bed."

"Don't worry about that," Claire said cheerfully. "I brought a lightweight folding bed from your house earlier. Someone's bringing it over in a bit." She gave him a reassuring smile as she turned back to slicing the apple.

Blaine was speechless. He silently drank the soup until the bowl was empty, not even realizing he had been mindlessly miming the action of drinking long after. 

Why didn't she understand? He was worried about them being alone together. 

"Blaine, um, your soup bowl is empty," Claire gently reminded him.

Snapping out of his daze, Blaine coughed awkwardly and explained, "I—I just didn't want to waste a single drop since it was made with so much care." He sighed internally. This was why he feared being alone with her—he kept zoning out. How could emotions be so powerful that they could override his logical thinking? No wonder Blaire Zeller had done something as drastic as attempting suicide.

Desperate to change the subject and distract himself, Blaine asked, "Has Lucas called you?"

Claire shook her head, her expression tinged with disappointment. "Not even a text message," she said softly. It was clear from her tone that she doubted Lucas Zeller had even thought about her. 

"You're just letting him get away with it? You should confront him," Blaine urged. "You're spoiling him like this."

"I'm not spoiling him," Claire protested.

"You let him walk all over you, Claire. Whatever he asks, you comply. You're practically bending over backward for him, and you still say you're not spoiling him?" Blaine's voice was firm but not unkind. "Can't you stand up for yourself for once? Men are wired that way—if you're too good to them, they'll take you for granted. It's only when they're about to lose you that they realize your value."

Claire blinked, caught off guard by his bluntness. "Wait... Blaine, aren't you a man too?" 

"What do you mean 'aren't I?' Of course, I'm a man!" Blaine retorted, puffing his chest slightly. "A real man!" Of course, real men could also faint at the sight of needles, but that was beside the point.

Claire chuckled at his indignation. "It's just, what you said earlier..."

"That doesn't apply to me," Blaine interrupted quickly. "I'm the exception. I'm... the ideal man. And I'm immune to the chaos of romance. Things like your complicated situation wouldn't happen to me. And even if they did, I'd hide it so well that no one would ever notice."

Claire hesitated before opening up further. "I wasn't always like this, you know? I used to have a temper—a big one. But ever since I came to work at the Zeller family's company and met Lucas, I changed. I guess I was afraid of being looked down on for coming from a small town. I didn't know anything about makeup or high fashion, so I felt insecure. Lucas would call me names—things like idiot, slowpoke, or clueless—but I knew he didn't mean them maliciously. Even so, I started to hold back my feelings and adapt to him. It just became a habit, and now I'm... like this."

"And what exactly is 'this?'" Blaine asked, genuinely curious as he leaned forward.

"Lucas once compared me to a snail," Claire admitted, her voice growing quieter as she continued. "Slow, clumsy, always lost in my own world... no progress, no change, no backbone, no self-worth..." Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her head as if she wanted to disappear.

"So, basically, you're insecure," Blaine concluded, nodding in understanding.

"Insecure?" Claire's voice was barely above a whisper. Was that what this was? Compared to Lucas—so accomplished, so confident—how could she be anything else?

"You told me before that you wanted to change," Blaine said gently. "But I've noticed that you keep running in circles. That tells me one thing."

"What's that?" Claire asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"As long as you're in his orbit, you'll never truly change," Blaine said matter-of-factly. "Or at least, it'll be incredibly hard."

"So... you're saying that if I want to change, I need to leave him?" Claire asked hesitantly.

"I'm just pointing out the root of the problem," Blaine replied. "Whether or not you want to change is up to you. If you're happy with how things are, there's nothing wrong with that either. What matters is your happiness." 

Even though Blaine had strong feelings for her, he would never stoop so low as to try and sabotage her relationship with Lucas. No, he valued her too much to ever do something so selfish.