She thought that if a man saw a woman wearing Lipstick, he would immediately assume she had full-face makeup on.

Claudia cleared her throat before replying, “I don't want to put on full-face makeup.”

Bennett knew the actual reason why she was only wearing Lipstick, but he did not call her out on her lie.

“Where are you going to meet Miss Haywood? Let me drive you there."

Claudia felt a brief flutter in her chest. She gave him a nervous glance and almost stuttered when she said, “No, thanks. I can drive there myself. Our destination is a rather unique place."

\lright. Be careful."

“Thanks.”

Claudia let out a quiet sigh, relieved. If he had asked any more questions, she would not have been able to keep the secret from him.

It was true that Claudia would meet up with Aurora because Aurora wanted to go motorboating as well. She said that it had been a while since she had ridden one and thought it would be fun to join Claudia at her practice.

Claudia parked the car and then texted Aurora.

She was not planning to go inside Aurora's apartment, as they might end up hanging out there for another hour. There was just a week left before the competition, and she was trying to minimize wasteful activities so that she could devote more time to training herself.

Aurora hurriedly exited the apartment building, opened the door to the passenger seat, and stepped into the vehicle. She turned to Claudia and remarked, "I still don't understand why you're hiding this from Mr. Dreskin. It's not Like you're doing something bad."

Claudia, feeling embarrassed, admitted, “Actually, I didn't mean to hide it from him. I just don't know how to tell him about it."

Bennett just gave CC a motorboat a few days ago. If she suddenly told him that she was that CC woman, Claudia could not fathom the awkwardness that would ensue between them.

Aurora nodded in understanding. "Well, it is kind of a hard subject to bring up in a conversation. Then again, it doesn't really matter whether or not you tell him about it now. Once the competition is over, everyone will know who you are. Bennett will find out, too, because he'll be there to watch the competition."

Claudia remained silent, but her grip on the steering wheel tightened. Truthfully, she was having serious doubts about revealing her identity on the 17th.

What if Bennett got mad?

If he did, she would have to coax him into forgiving her.

Claudia shook her head to collect her thoughts and returned her attention to the road.

It took more than an hour to drive to the training area because of how far away it was. It was already well after nine o'clock when the two of them arrived.

The day's weather was perfect. Claudia did some stretching and checked the temperature of the water before putting a life vest on. She then hopped on the motorboat and did a few slow Laps to get back into the swing of things before working on her maneuvers.

Aurora had gone there quite a few times with Claudia, so she was already familiar with the staff. That was why Claudia knew she could take care of herself.

At noon, Claudia changed into a sun shirt. She Looked around, squinting in the glaring sunlight, and said, "It's so hot. Do you want to go inside first?"

Aurora shook her head. Then, she caught sight of Claudia's lips. "What happened to your Lips? Why do they look purple?”