Chapter twelve(12)
583 Words
Chapter 12
The next morning, the air was still and quiet as Clara stood outside Adrian’s(Adam) door.
She raised her hand… then hesitated.
You have to do this.
She knocked.
A pause.
“Come in.”
His voice was cold. Steady. Unreadable.
Clara pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Adrian was already dressed, standing by the window, his back to her, as if he had been expecting the day to begin without interruption.
“Good morning, sir.”
No response.
Clara clasped her hands together, steadying herself.
“I came to inform you of something.”
That got his attention.
He turned slowly, his sharp gaze settling on her.
“And what is it?”
Clara swallowed.
“I won’t be able to take Annabel to school today. I have an urgent matter to attend to.”
Silence filled the room.
Adrian didn’t speak immediately. He simply watched her—calm, calculating—like he was measuring the weight of her words.
“Urgent?” he repeated.
His tone wasn’t loud, but it carried pressure.
“You don’t strike me as someone careless with responsibilities.”
“I’m not,” Clara replied quickly, then steadied her voice. “This is important.”
“To you,” he corrected.
Clara said nothing.
Adrian took a few steps toward her, his presence closing the distance in a way that made the room feel smaller.
“Where are you going?”
Clara hesitated—just for a second.
“It’s… personal.”
Something in his expression shifted. Slightly colder.
“I don’t employ people who disappear without explanation.”
“I’m not disappearing,” she said softly, but there was firmness beneath it. “I’ll be back.”
A brief silence followed.
Adrian studied her again, more intently this time.
“You were at my grandmother’s event last night,” he said. “And now this ‘urgent matter’ appears the next morning.”
Clara’s fingers tightened subtly at her sides.
“Is there a connection?”
A pause.
“No, sir.”
The answer came quiet—but steady.
He held her gaze for a long moment, clearly unconvinced.
Then—
“Fine.”
Clara blinked, almost surprised.
“But understand this,” he added, his voice dropping slightly, “Annabel’s routine is not to be disrupted.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“It shouldn’t have happened at all.”
The words landed, sharp and precise.
A beat passed.
“…You may go.”
Clara nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
She turned toward the door.
“Miss Clara.”
She stopped.
“If this ‘urgent matter’ becomes a pattern…”
A pause.
“You won’t be needed here.”
His tone didn’t rise—but it didn’t need to.
Clara’s hand tightened slightly on the door handle.
“I understand.”
And without another word—
She walked out.
Clara closed the door quietly behind her.
The moment she stepped into the hallway, the tension she had been holding in finally slipped.
She exhaled slowly, her fingers curling slightly at her sides.
Adrian’s words still lingered in her mind—but they weren’t what unsettled her the most.
It was the call from last night.
Bella.
Her chest tightened.
The image of her sister—tired, overworked, fragile—flashed in her mind.
And then—
Her stepmother’s voice.
“One word… and Bella disappears from the industry.”
Clara’s jaw clenched.
No.
She couldn’t ignore this.
Not this time.
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