No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian) novel Chapter 113

Chapter 113 

His searing gaze was fixed on Clara with an intensity that felt like he could see right through her. 

Clara felt as if someone had thrust a knife into her chest. She lifted her eyes to meet lan’s. “What if I said yes, Mr. Hayes? What do you plan to do about it? Can you offer me the love I desire or the marriage I seek?” lan was left speechless. His sensuous lips parted, but no words came out. 

Seeing him flustered, Clara let out a scornful laugh. “Perhaps you can’t offer either, can you? So why dredge up the past? For amusement, perhaps?” 

“Clara!” lan’s hands gripped her shoulders, his eyes burning into hers. “At the anniversary celebration, I gave you a chance. All you had to do was dance the first dance with me, and I would have acknowledged you as my girlfriend in front of everyone. It was you who overstepped, getting tangled up with Anders at a crucial moment. It’s not that I didn’t offer; it’s that you didn’t want it.” 

Clara smiled bitterly. “Should I be thanking you for your generosity?” 

“Clara, I can let bygones be bygones. Let’s start over.” 

“Sorry, but there are things I can’t just forgive and forget!” With that, she left lan standing there and walked away alone. 

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 

She couldn’t accept her three years of dedication being reduced to the status of a mere trophy. 

She couldn’t accept that he had ignored her when she hemorrhaged and lost their child. 

Nor could she accept that he had coldly abandoned her while she was in agony. 

She couldn’t simply not pursue the past when each memory stabbed her heart, causing an indescribable pain. How could he expect her to ‘start over‘ with just a ‘let bygones be bygones?‘ 

Clara didn’t turn back, no matter how much lan called after her. She just got in her car and drove away. 

Heidi, seeing Clara’s distressed expression, knew the two had clashed again. She hurried over to lan, handing him a towel with feigned concern. “Ian, you’re not blaming Attorney Clara for what happened that night, are you? In such situations, nobody has the luxury of choice. It’s life that matters, not virtue.” Her words were dripping with reason, but her heart reveled in the misfortune. She kept reminding lan of Clara’s tainted past. Ian wouldn’t even keep clothes someone else had touched, let alone‘ a woman. 

Even if he knew Clara had been drugged, what of it? He still wouldn’t want her! 

Edwin, seeing Clara’s pale face, felt an inexplicable anger. He gave lan a cold look. “She hasn’t done anything excessive to you at all, but you chose to abandon her at the brink of death.” ” 

At these words, lan’s brow furrowed instantly. “What do you mean by that?” 

Edwin let out a sardonic chuckle. “Take it at face value. If you’d been attentive enough, Clara wouldn’t feel this way towards you.”