No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian) novel Chapter 256

Clara felt a searing heat on her back. Ian's hot and moist lips kissed her skin, each touch igniting a small flame. She closed her eyes in a bitter wistfulness, then pushed Ian away. "Ian, for heaven's sake, it's broad daylight. What's gotten into you?"

Ian looked at her with a pained expression. "You adore kids so much, and due to my carelessness, we lost ours. I just want to make up for that loss."

Clara felt a twinge in her throat and managed a strained smile. "Ian, what if I..." she began, but her words trailed off as her phone rang at the most inopportune moment.

Seeing it was Anders' number, she quickly answered. Orin's young voice came through. "Aunt Clara, I miss you so much."

Clara immediately put aside all her emotions and responded with a smile, "I miss you too, Orin. Who are you with?"

"With mom and dad. Dad's making us breakfast."

Hearing this, Clara's lips curved into a relieved smile. It seemed Anders had moved on, fully dedicating himself to his family. Just as she was about to speak again, a woman's voice came from the phone.

"Ms. Clara, this is Elle. We should meet."

“But then Ian came to me, saying he couldn't bear to see you hurt. He knew of your deep commitment and kindness in matters of the heart. If you and Anders continued, and you discovered Orin's existence, you'd leave without a second thought. He'd rather be hated by you than let you fall for Anders and then be crushed by the truth.

“I was initially against collaborating with him, but he flew to France to convince me and even waited outside my apartment all night to show his sincerity. That night, it snowed heavily. When I finally went out and saw him, he was frozen stiff.

“Rather than reconciling with Anders, I realized I wanted to give you and Ian a chance. I've never seen a man go to such lengths for a woman. The high and mighty scion of the Hayes family was standing in a snowstorm, waiting for my answer. Ms. Clara, he truly loves you. You should cherish that."

Clara's eyes were already brimming with tears. She had naively thought Ian wanted to sabotage her relationship with Anders by bringing Orin into the picture. She never knew that to persuade Elle to join his cause, he had stood in the snow all night long.