No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)

Chapter 79

Clara tossed the words over her shoulder and stormed off. Ian watched her retreating figure. His fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Just then, Heidi emerged from inside. When she noticed lan's dark, thunderous expression, her tears immediately started streaming down her face. "Ian, I didn't mean to set Ms. Clara up, I swear. When I found out about you two being together, I just lost it, and that's why I wanted to douse her in coffee."

"You know how I get when my condition flares up. My brain just checks out. After it all went down, I was terrified you'd find out the truth and push me away, so I begged your mother to help me erase the footage.

"lan, please don't be mad at me, okay? I did it all because I'm crazy about you. Seeing you with someone else just triggers me."

She sobbed pitifully. Her tears were flowing like a summer storm.

Kayla rushed over to console her, "Heidi, stop crying, honey. If you keep this up, you're gonna make yourself sick again. Ian, you and Heidi go way back. You even had a childhood promise to marry each other. She always thought you were hers, so seeing you with Ms. Clara, she just snapped. Don't hold it against her."

lan fished a cigarette out from his pack and lit it up, taking a few deep drags with eyes narrowed. His voice remained ice-cold. "That day at the Hicks family gathering, what did you say to Clara?" Heidi shivered under the weight of his piercing gaze, stuttering, "I-I didn't say much. Just that Ms. Clara loves kids so much, and why would she want to get rid of the baby she had with you?" "And then?"

"Then she said that a child should only come from love, that having one with someone she doesn't adore would be a curse, so that's why she chose not to keep it."

lan suddenly leaned in. His stare was as cold as the deep ocean. "I'll give you one more chance, and if I find out you're lying, don't expect me to be considerate of family ties!" After saying that, he got into his car without a backward glance.

Heidi stamped her foot in frustration, staring at his resolute departure. "Clara, there's no way I'll let lan fall for you!"/

Dawson, catching the gloomy look on lan's face, stole a glance in the rearview mirror and spoke up. "Mr. Hayes, you nearly got bitten by a stray dog while looking for Kaleb, and you went without sleep for 24 hours. Why don't you tell Ms. Clara all that?"

lan, with his head resting against the seatback and his eyes half-closed, replied, "You think

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she'd listen?"

"You gotta tell her anyway. Think about it, Mr. Hayes. Ms. Clara's a lady, and after that recording played in front of all those people, then she got grilled by the other lawyer about your relationship, you can't blame her for getting upset with you.

"If it were my girl, she'd have skinned me alive."

"If you want to make things right with Ms. Clara, you need to let her know how much you care about her and that all those harsh words before were just a bad joke.

"Otherwise, she'll never forgive you.""

lan's dark eyes flickered with a somber light. "Why should I grovel to her? Wasn't she just the same with me? And I actually believed she loved me. Turns out, it was all a sham."

Dawson, with his forehead beading with sweat, insisted, "Mr. Hayes, you can't just dismiss all the good Ms. Clara has done for you because of a drunken slip. Isn't that a bit unfair? You had me check on every man around her, but not a single one had 'Nine' in his name. Maybe she was just spouting off in anger to get a rise out of you. How can you take it at face value?"

"A man's got to sweet-talk his lady sure, money matters, but so do words. You need to open up and clear the air. Otherwise, this misunderstanding's only gonna get worse. And if Ms. Clara really does walk away, you'll be the one with regrets."

So preoccupied with giving relationship advice, Dawson forgot to check the traffic lights. He ran right through a red, narrowly missed colliding with an electric bicycle.