No Strings Attached

At this moment, lan was stripped of all his usual defenses, resembling a pitiful little puppy. His big, doleful eyes begged for sympathy.

Clara's heart felt as though it had been pricked with a needle, which sent waves of sharp pain throughout her chest. She slowly crouched down, gently stroked lan's hair, and whispered softly, "lan, let me take you home."

Red-eyed, lan looked up at her. "Promise you won't leave, and I'll go with you."

"Alright, I promise."

Hearing this, lan stood, albeit unsteadily, and allowed himself to be led away. His grip on Clara's hand never loosened. It was as if he feared he'd lose her the moment he let go.

Upon arriving at the Miller family residence, Clara helped lan clean up a little and tucked him into bed.

His brows still furrowed in distress. When she watched him sleep in this way, she felt a twinge of heartache and softly smoothed his furrowed brow with her fingers. Her fingertips couldn't resist tracing the contours of his handsome face, from his eyebrows to his eyes, from his nose down to his mouth.

each inch of his skin her fingers caressed, Clara's heart ached in tandem. She knew that after she left, lan would be in pain for a while, and she hoped that time would be as brief as possible. The cool touch of her fingertips lingered on his sensual lips. Unbidden, memories of their intimate moments together flooded

to lan's lips and

last, she couldn't hold back any longer

lan awoke, it felt as if he had been in a dream. In that dream, Clara had cried. She had apologized to him. She had even

he immediately grabbed his

out of the airport terminal, felt a sting in her eyes. "I had some stuff to take care of, so

her words, lan bolted upright in bed. "Why didn't you tell me? Wait for me. I'll be at the

alright. Ryker and Sasha are with me. You enjoy your time with Grandma Rose and the others. I need to spend some time with my dad and visit some

all this back and forth while pregnant? Was she going to look for the baby's father? After giving Clara

out of the airport, a hurried figure flashed by her side. Paolo, pale as a sheet, was on the phone. "Eddie, what the hell is going on? What do you mean Heidi isn't Mom's child?" Edwin's voice was cold as ice. "We'll talk about it when you get

is Heidi right now? Don't hurt her.

for this daughter. Her mother must have been quite special to

how you speak to me. I've only ever loved your mother.