No Strings Attached

"Ms. Heidi, how did she snatched me from you?" lan's voice cut through the tension, as smooth as the whiskey he preferred.

He strode into the room, a picture of elegance in his tailored suit vest and sleek black dress shirt. His figure was tall and commanding, and he had a coat casually draped over one arm. His features were sharp and imposing, his eyes a fathomless depth of cool resolve. With each step, his perfectly pressed trousers carried him with a self-assured gravity, as if the air itself became thinner in his presence.

He approached Clara and tenderly placed his coat around her shoulders. The chilly indifference that had once marked his expression melted into warmth the moment he looked at her, a softness there that spoke volumes.

His voice was a low, caressing rumble. "You're dressed so lightly. What if you catch a cold?"

Clara, taken aback, could only muster a surprised gaze. "How did you get here?"

tousled Clara's hair, his gaze shifting past her to land on Heidi, smiling with faint mockery. "If I hadn't come, how would I have had the pleasure of hearing such an entertaining joke? How many times must I tell you, Ms. Heidi, that there was never an 'us' to begin with, so how can there be any talk of stealing from you? Besides, Clara is the one I've been chasing without success. Does

shades like a painter's palette. She had assumed Clara would be an easy target without protection, but she never

a feigned innocence as

such nonsense again,

teeth, Heidi tried a different angle. "Ian, I said all that to defend you. Clara broke up with you and didn't hesitate to get cozy with my cousins. And to think you adored her so when, in reality, she doesn't care

chuckled lowly, "Whether she likes me is irrelevant.

Northbridge, a man whose social standing and personal allure were the epitome of every woman's dream. Now,

with fury, clenched her fists, but her face betrayed a semblance of sincere remorse. Raising a glass, she offered it to Clara. "lan has spoken,

contrition was more common among men, and as a woman, Heidi performed