No Strings Attached

Chapter 257

Clara felt a surge of emotions she couldn't quite name. There was a tenderness for Ian, certainly, but even more so, she was moved by the lengths he had gone for her.

She mastered the storm brewing in her eyes and turned to Elle with a small curve of her lips. "Thanks for sharing all this with me. I hope you and Anders find your way back to each other soon."

Elle offered a faint smile. "Reconciliation sometimes takes more than just courage. It also requires someone's silent sacrifice. Haven't you ever found anything odd about that case about Ian, Ms. Clara?"

Clara's brow furrowed slightly at these words. "What do you mean?"

Elle continued, "I mean, Ian loves you so deeply. How could he ever give another woman a chance to get close? Do you really believe he was out of it that night after having too much to drink?"

After this, Elle gave Clara a light smile, "That case cost Hayes Corporation a fortune, nearly tarnished Ian's reputation, but it also made you an overnight sensation, catapulting you from rock bottom to the pinnacle. Haven't you ever wondered?"

Elle took another sip of her coffee, nodded at Clara, and left the café.

Clara remained, stunned, in her seat. She didn't know that the car Elle climbed into was occupied by an octogenarian.

Marian peered through the window at Clara sitting by the café window, and without realizing it, tears began to stream down her face.

Elle immediately went to comfort her. "Grandma Marian, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

Marian shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just that when I saw that girl pick the strawberries off her cake, she reminded me of your aunt. There's a resemblance."

Seeing Marian's eyes redden, Elle wrapped her arms around her in sympathy. "There, there, no more tears, okay? I’ll take you to visit Auntie when we have a chance. And don't we have to buy you a gorgeous outfit for Grandma Rose’s birthday bash?"

Marian suddenly asked, "Will that young lady be at the party?"

"She should be. I think she and Ian have made up by now."

"That's good, that's good," Marian repeated, almost to herself. She couldn't fathom why the mere sight of Clara through the glass had struck such a chord in her, why she felt such a pull towards her.

Meanwhile, Clara didn't head back to the hospital after leaving the café. Instead, she went straight to Ian's house. She entered his study and booted up his laptop.

The password was a combination of their birthdays, which she knew well, and she breezed through the login.

Her eyes quickly found a folder labeled with her name. Opening it, she was taken aback. Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.

Inside were photos of her during their separation – at court, dining with clients, or simply sitting alone, lost in thought. Each photo was tagged with a model of a cellphone – Ian's cellphone model. He had taken all these photos himself.

Throughout their time apart, she'd felt as if Ian had been by her side, a sensation she'd written off as her heart's unwillingness to let go, a mere figment of her imagination. But her instincts had been right. Ian had been there all along, quietly keeping tabs on her every move, documenting her significant moments.

Tears, unbidden, began to trickle down Clara's cheeks.

And then, in another folder, she found a video. As she clicked to play it, the content held her transfixed, frozen in her chair.