Chapter 228

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*- Claire*

This is the 228th chapter of *unORDINARY*.

## Summary

Many days after his encounter with Adrion, John is jogging in a park. He cannot fathom how Adrion’s words could be true, that Claire cared about him in spite of what she had said to Zirian. John recalls Keon’s constant repetition of his memory in which Adrion told him that Claire was using him and surmises that what Adrion told him recently couldn’t be true. He pauses, and wipes his sweat away with his shirt. He bitterly decides that Claire was always a liar and backstabber.

John returns to his father’s home, and to his surprise, sees William punching a new punching bag. He sees his son and brightens up, telling him that the new bag had a nice feel to it, and suggested that John try it out. John reckons that he shouldn’t be punching or kicking anything now, lest his brutality should get the better of him once again. He declines. William looks concernedly at John, and asks him why he’s had a stern face all week. He tells his son to open up and tell him his problems.

John sighs and tells William that he met Adrion in U-mart, and that he said that Claire actually cared about him. William says that this is obvious, and asks his son if he is missing some important information, as John and Claire were very close, but after his re-education, he never spoke about her. John says that Claire used him, all she saw in John was an opportunity to climb the social ladder, and their friendship was a lie. William doubts this, and he says that Claire isn’t the type to do such a devious deed. John cuts in, and exclaims that he is sure, since he has “seen it a thousand times.” William silently wonders how and why John has seen it “a thousand times.”

William then informs John that a few years ago, Claire had come to him in tears when John had gone out training. William recalls that Claire was desperate: she didn’t know who else to go to. John kept hurting people, and all his power had gone to his head. He had become an unstoppable monster. Shocked, John loudly questions why William never told him about this. William tartly remarks that while he did, John, as usual, refused to listen. He recalls talking about this incident while the two were having dinner. John had waved away Claire’s complaints as snitching, and when William told him to take his friends and power more seriously or face consequences, he refused to heed his words and threatened him, rudely asking what a cripple like William could possibly do about it.

John, disappointed with himself, apologizes to his father, and calls himself an idiot. William sternly remarks that John has become overly self-deprecating, and this quality will become a setback to him. He also says that he doesn’t need an apology from John, he just needs to know what John learnt from his encounter. William sighs and tells him that he should go and meet Claire to patch things up if he feels like doing so. John recalls bitter memories of Claire using him, and concludes that there is no need to talk to her. He tells his father that he will think about it, and leaves for his room. A very worried William now wonders what in the world the shady re-education classes did to him.

That night, in his room, John ponders on his future meeting with Claire. Both Adrion and William told him that Claire cared about him, but he had experienced her betrayal first hand. He reckons that their friendship must have been fake, when a memory of Seraphina telling him to stop running from his problems strikes his mind. He gets up, agitated. The next day, determined to uncover the truth, John visits Claire. Claire runs to the door and looks through the peephole, and is stunned when she sees her old friend. She collapses in front of the door in fear, unwilling to talk to John.