Three years of loving him, three days to erase myself from his world novel Chapter 198

But looking at this...

The man inhaled sharply, a puzzled look crossing his face. "Julian, did Clara... get a new boyfriend?"

Julian shot him an icy glare. "What boyfriend? He's just a business partner."

A business partner.

The man nodded in understanding, but it still didn't make any sense. "Then why are you staring at them like that? You even ditched your meetings. Don't tell me you're... jealous of Clara talking to another guy?"

Julian's eyes grew heavy, locked onto the distant pair. After a long, tense silence, he sneered coldly, "What do you think?"

With that, he walked away, pulling his phone from his pocket to fire off a text.

The man chewed on the response, eventually deciding he was just overthinking it. There was absolutely no way Julian Lowell could ever fall for Clara Vance.

He hurried after him. "Alright, alright, I know you don't even like Clara. Let's drop it and talk business..."

Julian typed furiously with one hand, his voice dismissive. "I have matters to attend to. We'll talk another time."

"..."

...

Meanwhile.

Inside the lounge area.

Clara was deeply engaged in conversation with Dominic. "Mr. Jarrett, did you want to talk about the project yesterday?"

Dominic kept his gaze locked on her, carefully tracing the delicate, soft lines of her face.

This wasn't the first time they had sat this close, but tonight, the connection felt profound, entirely consuming.

Perhaps his heart had simply settled on the truth—she was Sarah West.

The problem was that he didn't have enough concrete evidence to rip her away from Julian just yet, nor did he have a way to force her memories to return.

"Mr. Jarrett?" Flustered by his intense scrutiny, the tips of Clara's ears flushed a pretty shade of pink. It was a habit she had whenever she was shy.

Noticing the blush, Dominic's Adam's apple bobbed before he finally spoke. "Clara, I do have a few questions for you. What I'm about to ask might seem incredibly intrusive, but please don't feel pressured. Just tell me the truth."

Hearing the gravity in his voice, Clara immediately sobered up.

She sat up straight and nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Dominic's expression grew heavy. "Three years ago..."

Just as he spoke, a phone vibrated sharply against the table.

Clara's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively grabbed her clutch, shooting Dominic an apologetic look.

Dominic pressed his lips together, his tone instantly softening. "It's fine. Check your phone. There's no rush."

He picked up his teacup and took a slow sip, giving her the privacy she needed. The perfect gentleman.

A warm sense of gratitude rushed over Clara. She softly thanked him before hastily pulling out her phone, terrified it was Mrs. Lawson needing something urgent.

To her absolute shock, the message was from Julian:

[Come outside. I'm taking you home.]

Clara furrowed her brow and quickly typed back: [There's no need. I can take a cab back later.]

Julian went silent for a moment before firing back:

[Do you want me to come inside and drag you out?]

Dominic knew exactly what she was thinking.

He pulled a single white bloom from the arrangement and offered it to her. "It's just one flower, right? Take it."

Put like that, Clara couldn't exactly refuse without being rude. She reached out with a grateful smile. "Thank you..."

But her fingers grasped empty air.

Without warning, the man raised his hand and gently tucked the white magnolia behind her ear, directly into her hair.

The sudden, breathtaking intimacy of the gesture made Clara's breath hitch in her throat.

His voice was a low, seductive murmur. "You shouldn't hold it. This magnolia perfectly matches your hair tonight."

Elegant and radiant.

Clara bit her lip, her face flushing a deep, furious red. No man had ever placed a flower in her hair before, not even Julian.

Once it was secured, Clara nervously took two steps back, entirely unable to meet his intense gaze. She murmured a hasty, "Thank you, Mr. Jarrett. The flower is beautiful..." and practically bolted.

Behind her, Dominic's gaze was dark and possessive. He watched her lift her gown as she descended the stairs, one hand reaching up to gently touch the flower resting in her hair... Every single movement radiated the bashful, intoxicating charm of a woman deeply moved.

She was gorgeous.

The flower was beautiful, but she was entirely radiant, far more breathtaking than the bloom itself.

A genuine smile broke across Dominic's face.

Intuition was a terrifyingly accurate thing. At that exact moment, he was absolutely certain that Clara was Sarah West.

He would make her remember him. And he would tear the truth of the past wide open.