No Strings Attached

"Why the heck do you need books on pregnancy?" lan felt as if his heart had come to a screeching halt at that moment, his grip on Della's hand tightening with an intensity that bordered on desperation. A surge of realization was hammering at the forefront of his mind.

He yanked Clara towards him, his eyes burning with an urgent intensity. "Clara, are you keeping something from me? Why do you need those books? Are you pregnant?"

His barrage of questions pelted her like machine-gun fire, leaving Clara reeling. She stepped back, irritation flaring in her voice, "lan, have you lost your mind? How could I possibly be pregnant?"

"Then why the pregnancy books?!" lan scrutinized every flicker of emotion on Clara's face, terrified of missing any vital clue.

Just then, Clara's phone erupted into a jarring ringtone. She swiftly tapped to answer. Chase's deep, raspy voice came through. "Clara, whose kid is Sasha carrying?"

Clara's brow furrowed slightly. "Dr. Chase, let's not start wildfires. Our company is just catching a break. Idle gossip won't do us any good."

couple of days ago, she said she felt off and went home early. I saw her buying a pregnancy test, and yesterday, she was at

fall for her. She wanted to clear the air, but lan's piercing gaze was locked on her, unblinking. With a bitten lip, she managed to say, "Dr. Chase,

met with lan's searching

avoided his gaze and

with disappointment. "I was hoping

that tugged painfully at Clara's heartstrings. She lowered her eyes and accepted the items from Christy, offering a strained smile. "It's not that heavy. I can manage." The tumultuous misunderstanding concluded with Sasha unwittingly caught in the

hospital, Sasha sneezed several times, muttering under her breath, "Who's talking about

called her over. "Sasha,

and jogged over.

briefed her, and

confront the man, a powerful shove