Three years of loving him, three days to erase myself from his world novel Chapter 9

Clara heard his footsteps coming after her, but after a few seconds, the footsteps stopped. She knew. He thought it was unnecessary. He thought she would still be like before, where he just had to wave his hand, soften his tone, and coax her a little, and she would come back. He thought that, compared to her, Sera was more important. What a pity. This time, she would absolutely never look back! Clara swallowed hard and strode away toward the elevators. Unexpectedly, she ran into Arthur Higgins. She instinctively took a step back and greeted him without much emotion. "Hello, Arthur." Holding some files, Arthur's gaze landed on her pale face and her slightly red and swollen eyes, and he paused. "Why were you crying? Did you have a fight with Mr. Lowell?" Arthur was one of the few people who knew about her relationship with Julian. Clara froze, unconsciously reaching up to touch her eyes, her heart growing even more bitter. She cried last night, and when she woke up in the morning, her eyes were a bit swollen, so she applied makeup to cover it up. She didn't expect Arthur to actually notice it. Yet, Julian hadn't noticed a thing. Clara curled her fingertips tightly and shook her head bitterly, her voice a bit hoarse. "I didn't cry. I just didn't sleep well last night." Arthur paused for a moment. "I see..." Clara smiled faintly and walked into the elevator. Seeing this, Arthur couldn't press further. He left to deliver the files to Julian. He pushed open the door to the CEO's office. Julian stood tall by the French window, smoking. His suit jacket was draped over the back of a chair. He wore only a white shirt, the collar buttons slightly undone, giving him the vibe of a refined scoundrel. His deep voice spoke, "Leave the files on the desk for now. Go handle something for me." ... Downstairs, returning to the office. Clara's facade of strength completely vanished, leaving her entirely listless. She couldn't deny Julian's impact on her. But she also knew that all of this could be eased by time. Right now, she only hoped time would pass a little faster, making these three days less agonizing. Thinking this, Clara took out her phone and booked a flight to Somerset for three days later. After doing all this, her mood finally improved a little. Suddenly, there was a beep. A message from Dominic's assistant popped up on the screen: [Ms. Vance, sorry to keep you waiting. Our Mr. Jarrett is available from 1 PM to 2 PM today.] Clara: [Okay.] After replying, Clara texted her assistant to outline her itinerary, and took the opportunity to explain the situation regarding the Valentine's Day project. Then, she was about to revise the design drawing she had made last night. After finishing it last night, she sent it to Leo, who gave her a few suggestions for revision. There was a sudden knock on the office door. Arthur's voice drifted in slowly. "Ms. Vance, Mr. Lowell asked me to bring you something." Clara frowned and put down the tablet. "Come in." Arthur walked in carrying an exquisitely wrapped gift box, placed it on the desk, and smiled. "This is a gift from Mr. Lowell." Staring at the gift box, Clara suddenly felt like a woman being casually brushed off, which was incredibly humiliating. She thought, if it were Sera who had been wronged today, Julian definitely wouldn't have chosen to coax her by simply sending a gift without any real effort. He would definitely ask her out, take her out to play, or arrange a romantic fireworks display for her, and so on... Observing her expression, Arthur added, "Mr. Lowell bought this white South Sea pearl specially for you during his last business trip to Australia. Would you like to open it and take a look?" Clara glanced at Arthur, who was trying his best to smooth things over. Ultimately, she decided not to make things difficult for a subordinate and opened it to take a look. Inside a high-quality black velvet box, a translucent, snow-white South Sea pearl sparkled brilliantly under the light. It was very beautiful.