No Strings Attached

Chapter 42

Jan’s gaze was as icy as a winter storm when he turned to Clara. “There will be no debate. here. Apologize to her,” he commanded with an air of finality. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Clara met his frosty stare with an equal chill in her eyes. lan, without so much as a question, was demanding an apology from her. How blindly he trusted Heldi’s words.

Clara had felt the sting of lan’s partiality before. Once, his bias would have wounded her deeply. Now, all she felt was a numbing cold in her heart.

“You want me to apologize for something I didn’t do? Are you trying to bully a confession out of me, Mr. Hayes?” Clara retorted, her voice steady and unflinching.

“Clara, one minute. Apologize or you’ll regret it,” he warned.

A scoff escaped her lips. Clara sneered, “Mr. Hayes, haven’t I done enough of that at my own peril?”

He dragged her to donate blood to Heidi, causing her to nearly pass out in the hospital.

He had falsely accused her father, forcing her into this unsavory liaison with him.

If it weren’t for his constant favoritism towards Heidi in her presence, Heidi wouldn’t have the audacity to torment her like this.

Clara glared at lan defiantly, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Yes, she had hit Heidi, but she would never admit it. Heidi could taste the bitterness of being accused without evidence herself.

Their standoff was interrupted as the office door swung open. Rose sauntered in with a beaming smile. “Ms. Clara, you said you’d make me a coffee. What took you so long?”

Rose walked over to Clara, took her hand, and began to lead her away.

Leonora was taken aback at Rose’s affection towards Clara. “Mom, how do you know

her?”

Rose looked surprised at the question. “And why can’t I know her?”

She glanced around at the tense faces and asked, puzzled, “What’s all this ruckus about? You all look like you’re in a witch hunt.”

“Mom, Clara just hit Heidi. We’re making her apologize. Please don’t interfere,” Leonora said.

Rose examined Heidi’s swollen face and feigned concern, “Oh dear, that must hurt a lot. When did Clara hit you?”

Tears brimming in her eyes, Heidi replied, “About half an hour ago, in the restroom.

11:13

Rose let out a cold chuckle. “Oh, Heidi, you should pick your moments better to accuse someone. Half an hour ago, Ms. Clara was with me in the rec room watching a movie. How could she have hit you?”

Heidi was stunned, her voice tinged with hurt as she said, “Grandma Rose, do you think I’m lying with my face all swollen like this?”

Rose smiled knowingly. “What if, out of jealousy seeing lan and Clara together, you concocted this story and hurt yourself?”

“If I did it to myself, why would I be so harsh?” Heidi protested.

“Goodness! The last time you hurt your arm, wasn’t it worse than this? If not for Ms. Clara’s blood donation, you would have been a goner.”

Heidi tried to explain through her sobs, but Rose cut her off with a scoff. “I may be old, but I’m not blind. Some people, though, seem to have trouble seeing clearly at a young age. If I’d known it would come to this, I would have thought twice about curing his blindness back in the day.” With that, Rose took Clara by the hand and left the office.

Heidi, unaccustomed to such treatment, burst into tears and collapsed into Leonora’s arms. “You must stand up for me. I can’t go on if this isn’t cleared up.”

Leonora comforted her. “Don’t worry, dear. I’ll have the security footage reviewed right away. Let’s see what Clara has to say then.”