Clara's POV"Well, good thing you were born with two arms and two legs." She replied with a smile. "Besides, you have a rich boyfriend now," she added.I looked at her in astonishment."Firstly, that's his money, not mine. Secondly, I haven't even been paid yet." I continued listing my reasons.She moved in to hand me the cup, but then she backed away. "I think I'll keep it," she said, pulling the cup to her lips."Fine," she sighed. "Your boyfriend is on TV. It's your decision whether to show up or not." She stood up from my bed.She turned to leave but then stopped in her tracks."One more thing, don't be surprised if I show up at your work pretending to be an orphan. I'm sure Derek would gladly help me out." She said, She brushed her hair off her shoulder before stepping out of my room.What a drama queen.Wait, did she say Derek was on TV?Without hesitation, I pushed out of my blankets and went downstairs.Walking down, I could already hear the TV in the living room.Katy threw h
Clara's POVNext, I helped set the tables, placing the tablecloths and every other decoration needed. Just lifting the vases alone that were placed on each table was bone-breaking work, never mind all the other work that needed to be done on each table. With the way I've been slacking lately, I figured it was time I pulled in some work.Rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand from exhaustion, I dragged my feet toward the bathroom. I needed a break.I opened the tap to rinse my face, hoping it would help me feel refreshed.I heard footsteps and giggles in the hallway. I looked up. Minutes later, Sandra, Maggie, and Erin walked into the bathroom. All three of them were housekeepers.Sandra leaned on the wall next to the roll of basins where I had just finished rinsing my face. She looked at me, a smile on her face with her arms folded. It was almost as if she was studying me.I smiled at her in return as I continued to rinse my face."So," Sandra began. She relaxed her arm. The smi
Clara's POVIt hurt me so much because deep down, I knew it was true. Not even Layla thought Derek and I would ever be together. That's the reason why she wanted to find him a wife. She was only using me to help Derek get away from Madison.I should have been honest with Derek when I got my test results. I wouldn't be in this situation right now. Now, things were spiralling out of control. It was time for me to accept that no matter what I did, Derek would always end up with someone like Madison.I needed a solution to get me out of this, even if I had to go against Layla. The only thing I had was this job, and I would lose it if things continued to spiral out of control. For now, until I could figure out what I needed to do, the plan was to avoid Tristan. It was no longer safe for me to be seen with him anywhere in public, not with these speculations circling. The last thing I needed was to confirm it.I returned to the venue to help out with any finishing touches.It was nearly my l
Clara's POVI locked myself inside a bathroom stool and began changing into the dress and the heelHaving finished, I walked out of the bathroom stool to the mirror to see my reflectionI decided to loosen my hair. Since I was already dolled up like this, I might as well go full outToday, I didn't need to remove myself from the staff. The dress I was wearing seemed to be camouflage enough. No one expected to see me in a dress like this oneThe car that the man had instructed me to use was right in front of the building. A man sprang out of the driver's seat when he saw me opening the doorI smiled at the driver as I stepped into the back seat. This was way more luxurious than I was used to in a dayThe drive to the restaurant wasn't that long, literally five minutes away. I could have walked there if I wanted toBefore I had the chance to open my door, I was once again beaten by the driver. He nodded and smiled, gesturing for me to move forwardI climbed out of the car hesitantly. Th
Clara's POV"Of course, I am the good-looking one in the family." He added."Is everyone in your family this arrogant?" I chuckled. I remembered Derek saying something similar."No, we just took our classes on self-esteem very seriously." He answered with a poker face. I couldn't tell whether he was joking or not.I chose to chuckle, returning my eyes to the menu. I still couldn't keep my legs from trembling.Staring at the menu, I pretended it was the most interesting thing I had ever seen. Nothing could cure the amount of awkwardness I felt in this situation."Why are you here?" I finally asked the most important question."You want to get rid of me already?" He asked. He must have been a skilled actor because he almost looked hurt."I'm just curious," I answered."I was..."He was interrupted when a waiter walked in to take both our orders.Despite staring at the menu for so long, I still had no idea what I wanted to eat.Vincent took the lead as he ordered some chicken wraps for u
Clara's POV"Imagine on your eighteenth birthday getting the news that you will have a little brother. Who even decided to have children at that age?" He asked.I shrugged."I can't be seen with him. Everyone pretty much assumes that I'm his father. I mean me, at this age." He continued.I laughed. I never had that problem with Katy. I was ten when she was born. I was just too excited to have someone to play with. If only I had foreseen the trouble. Snapping back to reality, I looked at my watch. My lunch break was nearly over, in less than ten minutes, to be exact. I needed to get back to work. With the rumours circulating, I felt like I was on a probationary period and couldn't afford to make a mistake."I have to leave. My lunch hour is almost over," I said, standing from my chair. He turned to look at his watch. "Are you sure?" He asked."Yes, I have to leave." I insisted again. I pushed my chair in."Okay, I can drop you off." He suggested."No, it's okay." I insisted again.The
Clara's POVI sighed, slipping my phone into my pocket.The elevator doors finally opened.From a distance, I saw Derek walking toward me. I froze.What was he even doing on this floor?I had to remember the plan I had decided on. I couldn't be seen with him. Right now, all I wanted was to be invisible.Realisation hit. Had he seen the articles, too? Could that be the reason he was here? If so, how mad was he going to be about this, if even mad at all?Before he could fully realise it was me, I slipped into the elevator. I turned my head away as the doors closed.I dodged another bullet.I hadn't even responded to Ivy's text. I'd have to do that later. Right now, my work is more important.I pressed the button to the next floor, continuing with my delivery.It took me just over half an hour to get all my deliveries done.I sighed after making my final delivery, and I was ready to finally do some office work that didn't involve so much walking. I felt a hand on my waist. Before I had
Clara's POVI pulled away as I breathed heavily.As we both tried to gather ourselves, he rested his head on my neck.I saw a shadow back away in a corner.I blinked, almost panicking, thinking it was one of the staff members.I blinked again, this time seeing Madison for just a split second before the shadow backed away into a corner.But no, maybe I was overthinking things. It couldn't be her. This wasn't even the floor on which her hotel room was situated.She had consumed so much of our thoughts that I now saw her everywhere, even in moments like this.Derek moved away from my neck, his hand moving to my channel, tilting my face to meet his eyes again.He looked at me, and I looked at him, and at that moment, I couldn't get myself to think about anything else. Before we knew it, we were kissing again.Right at that moment, I realised I had no plans of letting him go.I'm starting to like Derek in a way that makes my heart beat faster whenever I think about it. It almost makes me f