Chapter 9 Clara sidestepped with the agility of a cat, but even her quick reflexes couldnât save her from the splash of scalding coffee that hit her foot. She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
She was about to give Heidi a piece of her mind when she looked up just in time to see Heidiâs body hurtling. towards the glass display cabinet behind her.
Instinctively, Clara reached out to grab her, but Heidi shook her off violently.
Crash!
Heidiâs arm shattered the glass. Blood streamed down her arm to the floor.
At that moment, lanâs icy voice came from behind. âClara, what the hell are you doing?!â
lanâs tall, commanding figure strode over to Heidi, his eyes growing darker by the second. âAre you okay?â
Heidiâs pale face was streaked with tears, her lips quivering. âlan, itâs all my fault. I accidentally spilled coffee on Clara, and she thought I had done it on purpose, so she pushed me. Please donât be mad at her, okay?â
Claraâs eyes widened in disbelief. She couldnât believe Heidi would go to such lengths to frame her, resorting to selfâinflicted injury. She immediately retorted, âI didnât push her. She fell on her own.â
lanâs piercing gaze swept over Clara, lingered on the burn on her foot for a moment, then moved away.
âIâll be back to deal with you!â he said coldly. With that, he whisked Heidi away in a hurry.
Watching their retreating figures, Claraâs face was etched with indescribable hurt.
This was the man she had loved for seven years. Between her and Heidi, he never chose to believe her.
Clara quickly composed herself. She wouldnât let Heidiâs schemes succeed. She and lan had broken up, so she didnât care what he thought of her.
But she couldnât tolerate being framed. If it happened once, it could happen again.
She immediately sought out her colleague Nicole, asking her to get her techâsavvy boyfriend to copy the security footage of the incident. She needed to prove her innocence.
Once everything was handled, Clara pulled herself out of the mess and dove back into her hectic work.
lan and Dawson was away, but the senior staff were already waiting in the conference room, and Clara had to run the morning briefing. She efficiently took notes on each departmentâs updates and brought up some of the weekâs trickier projects for discussion.
Without lan, the atmosphere in the conference room was noticeably relaxed. Claraâs colleagues praised her competence and even teased her about her seamless work with lan, wondering if she might end up as their bossâ wife.
Clara responded to their compliments with a slight smile. âWeâre just colleagues, letâs not speculate. Besides, Iâm about to resign soon.â
Before she could finish her sentence, the conference room door flew open with a bang. lan stood in the doorway, dressed in a sharp black suit, exuding an aura of intimidating chill as if he had just emerged from the underworld. His dark eyes fixed on Clara with a frosty glare.
The once peaceful and relaxed atmosphere of the conference room suddenly became stifling and tense. Everyone rose to their feet, echoing a respectful âMr. Hayes.â
lan, without acknowledging them, strode towards Clara with his long legs. His cold hand clasped her wrist, his voice even more frighteningly cold. âCome with me!â
He dragged Clara out of the conference room.
Chapter 10