Then a familiar voice cut through the air：“Clara's over there!”
Leonora ran up and grabbed my hand.
“Clara, there's a storm coming. Let's go home, okay?”
I shook her off coldly：“That's not my home.”
Seth frowned：“Clara, can you stop making a scene?”
I didn't bother responding to either of them. I turned and kept walking.
The next second, I was hoisted off the ground.
My face drained of color. I beat my fists against his back, “Seth! What the hell are you doing? Put me down!”
Seth's jaw was set, his voice flat：“You keep this up and when the rain hits, Leonora's going to get sick because of you.”
My eyes burned red as I screamed and thrashed：“I never asked you to come find me! Put me down!”
Mid-struggle, my dangling foot connected hard with his kneecap.
Seth hissed through his teeth. “Are you done? If Leonora hadn't insisted on coming after you, you think I'd bother?”
A bitter laugh tore out of me：“Oh, so I should thank the woman who nearly got me killed. How generous.”
Seth's expression darkened：“Leonora already told you it wasn't her. Why do you have to be so unreasonable?”
All that humiliation. All that pain. In his eyes, I was just being unreasonable.
I let out a hollow laugh. “Sure. I'm the unreasonable one.”
I turned and strode toward the road without looking back, without noticing the car barreling toward me from behind.
“Clara! Watch out!”
“Clara! Watch out!”
Two frantic shouts rang out at the same time.
Leonora lunged forward, trying to pull me out of the way, but it was too late.
The impact hit like a wall. Both of us were thrown through the air and slammed onto the pavement.
“Leonora!”
I lay on the ground, consciousness slipping fast.
Through blurred vision, all I could see was Seth sprinting toward Leonora, panic written across his face.
Then everything went black.
It was four full days before I woke up.
“Clara, you're finally awake.”
Seth's eyes lit up.
The moment I saw him, the image flooded back. Him running to Leonora. Not me.
I pulled the corners of my lips into something that wasn't a smile and said nothing.
Seth sighed and reached over to ruffle my hair：“If I'd known it would end up like this, I would've just kept it from you.”
“But Clara, I didn't want to lie to you.”
His eyes were earnest, as if what he was about to say was the most reasonable thing in the world：“I respect that you can't be intimate because of what happened to you. So can't you respect that I have needs and find someone else to meet them?”
“I swear, you're the one I love. With Leonora, it's only physical.”
Disgust crawled up my throat：“You're revolting.”
Seth's face fell, but then something seemed to occur to him and he tried again：
“Okay, okay, don't be mad. This one's on me. I promise I won't upset you again.”
When I didn't respond, he leaned in closer.
“Baby, don't be mad at me. Forgive me, okay?”
I swallowed back the nausea and shoved him away. “Does it even matter whether I forgive you or not?”
Seth nodded：“It matters.”
My face was stone：“Fine. I forgive you. Now get out.”
Seth stood up and left.
I watched him walk away without a second's hesitation. I got out of bed, intending to leave too.
As I passed a hospital room, a familiar voice drifted through the door.
“Leonora, you said once Clara forgave me, you'd let me stay by the window. Come on.”
I froze where I stood.
The voice inside continued：“What about the wedding the day after tomorrow? Can you skip it?”
Seth's voice came through, breathless：“No. I promised I'd marry Clara. I can't go back on that. But I swear, even after we're married, you can still be by my side.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth and rushed into the bathroom, retching until the room spun and my knees buckled against the cold tile.
When I stumbled out, a wall of bodyguards stood in the corridor.
“Miss Henson, the Ashford family has moved the wedding up. Mrs. Ashford needs you in Harbor City immediately.”
