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
Clara's POV I should have known this moment would come. "Now," Marcus demanded as I remained frozen on the spot.I listened to his orders, making my way to Derek's penthouse.Luke opened the door. He pointed out that Derek was in his office. He looked at me pitifully as I continued walking.His door to his office had been left open. I observed him working behind his desk before deciding to walk in.His head shot up as he saw me walking in.He motioned for me to close the door, which I did.He left his seat, keeping his gaze on me the entire time."You wanted to see me," I said, breaking the silence.He hesitated and then placed in front of me.He finally stopped, pointing a finger. "I thought you must have been dead. That someone had run you over with a bus or that someone had shipped you off to Dubai. Why were you ignoring my messages?" Derek asked, crossing his arms.I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. "Don't say you were late for work because I know you clocked in befor
Clara's POVWhat were those two up to?The room fell silent, awkwardness growing in the room.I guess this was my cue to leave. They had something they didn't want me to hear.I said my goodbyes before returning to my post.Although Marcus hadn't asked, I made up a dump excuse of what Derek had asked me to do, just in case Marcus started to get suspicious.Today, there wasn't much work for me, at least nothing strenuous. I felt a bit bored.Hours passed, and my lunch break was fast approaching.My phone rang in my pocket. I wasn't about to make the mistake of ignoring it again.Layla's name appeared on my screen. I needed to change this because Derek may see it one day and ruin our plans.I hid in a corner to answer the call. At this stage, all our calls might as well be labelled classified."Hello," I whispered into the phone."Hi," she answered almost immediately. "I have a plan. If things turn out as planned, we can finally get Madison out of our lives," she announced.I would like
Clara's POV Exhausted, with my lunch break nearly over, I returned to the living room. I sat on the couch and peered around the room, trying to find hiding places.But something felt wrong, right beneath the couch cushions. It felt a bit uneven and slightly uncomfortable with a small bump.I'd know this because hotel guests have made the weirdest claims. We always had to double-check everything.Could she be hiding things here? No one expected it.I jumped off the couch to examine it.The seating cushions on the couch were loose, and sure enough, there was a phone under it, along with a folder. Who else would keep these items under here unless they had something to hide?I hurried to search through the folder's contents, but as luck would have it, the doorknob was turning. Someone had arrived.As much as I wanted to expose Madison, I needed to ensure I wouldn't be seen.I couldn't take anything because she'd know. With the recent security measures, they'd see my face clearly on the s
Clara's POV "Madison, you are not a child anymore. I think you can see where I'm getting to." Her mother answered.Madison didn't answer. She was just as confused as I was."Do you think I didn't have any competition along the way? Your father was one of the biggest oil giants at the time. Although he traded it in for a construction company, he still had a lot of influence. You didn't think it was easy to snag a man like him, did you?" She paused dramatically. "At the time, he had this little distraction whom he was constantly running after. He told me he was going to leave me. So, one night, I called him over for a truce. I told him he couldn't refuse. Let's say I drugged him and lied to him that I was pregnant a few weeks later." She continued. "No way, Mother," Madison laughed, a hint of admiration in her voice."It worked. I managed to trap him, and I gave him an ultimatum to forget all about that little hussy. I told him I'd kill myself and the baby if he refused. Being the kin