No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)

* Chapter 111

The sound startled Heidi, sending a tremor through her body. She whipped around to face lan. "lan, the night Attorney Clara ended up with Anders, someone had drugged her. It wasn't intentional, so please, don't hold it against her.

With the nonchalance of someone unaffected, Heidi reached for a towel, intending to mop lan's brow, but he pushed her away brusquely.

His icy gaze locked onto Clara. "Spit it out. What the hell happened that night?"

He yanked Clara off the chair and into his arms. Beads of sweat from his brow traced the line of his jaw, dripping onto Clara's face.

Clara met his stare, her expression unreadable. "You saw it all, you heard it all, didn't you?"

"You were drugged, and that's why you ended up with Anders, correct?"

"Does it make a difference? In your eyes, I'm tainted either way, aren't I?"

lan's forehead veins bulged, and his eyes, normally deep pools of hazel, were now tinged with a bloody hue. His hand, burning with fevered heat, clamped onto Clara's head, his voice a deep rumble laced with barely-contained emotion. "I'll find out who did this."

"No need. All I ask is that you stop going after Anders because of this. It's over between us. Even if the truth comes out, it won't change what's happened."

lan studied her with a profound intensity, his fingertips gently caressing Clara's smooth cheek. "So that's why you won't explain things to me? You're using this as a chance to cut ties with me?" Clara looked down, silent.

lan chuckled, a low sound tinged with irony. "Clara, you think you can play games with me? You reckon if you keep quiet, I won't find out?"

"lan, if you brought me here just to interrogate me, I've got nothing to say. Excuse me." She tried to wriggle free from lan's grasp, to turn and leave, but an iron grip encircled her waist, pulling her back. lan took off his cap and placed it on Clara's head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Business isn't over, Attorney Clara. You're leaving just like that? Are you not interested in securing the deal for your beloved Anders?"

With a golf club in one hand and an arm around Clara, he steered her towards the golf course.

Behind them, Heidi stamped her foot in frustration. Tears welled up as she turned to Edwin, pleading. "lan's being snatched away by Clara, and you won't lift a finger to help me?"

Edwin's gaze was riveted on Clara, a vision of his mother flashing in his mind...

He was four when his mother passed away, and his most vivid memory was of her pregnant with his sister. Each day after kindergarten, Edwin would lay on his mother's belly, 'talking' to his unborn sister, eagerly awaiting her arrival.

But fate struck a cruel blow. On the way to the hospital for delivery, his mother died in a car crash. That day, he gained a sister but lost his mother.

The pain clawed at Edwin's chest as he recalled those moments. For some reason, Clara always reminded him of his mother-perhaps a fleeting resemblance in their features.

Edwin wrapped his arms around Heidi, his hand tenderly stroking her hair. "Ian's heart was never with you. Listen to me, forget him. I'll find you a man a hundred times better."