No Strings Attached

How could it be Leonora? She was her Mom's dearest friend, her confidante. Her mom trusted Leonora implicitly, so much so that she had promised Clara to lan before Clara was even born.

Why would Leonora do this to May? Not only did she have an affair with May's man, but she also bore him a daughter. For the sake of her own daughter's happiness, she sacrificed years of sisterhood and was complicit in May's death. And because of her, Clara had been cast adrift for years.

Tears streamed down Clara's face as these thoughts consumed her. She had vowed to find the culprit and avenge her mother, no matter who it was, but she never imagined it would be Leonora. The culprit was the mother of lan, the man she loved most.

What about her and lan, then? His mother killed her mother. They were bound by a blood feud.

Clara's body shook uncontrollably. She slid off the bed, collapsing onto the floor, mumbling over and over, "Why is this happening? Why?"

After all she and lan had been through, why did fate script such a melodrama?

recently. He had insisted that she should never leave him,

the truth all along and feared she would

She caressed it gently. Her voice was choked with

her mother's spirit

pain. She lay on the bed, sobbing

when she heard a knock at the door, followed by lan's desperate voice. "Clara, please open the

only

was a mess. She didn't know how to face lan or what to do next. Fighting back her sorrow, she whispered to the door, "lan, I need some

replied immediately, "Clara, you can't shut yourself in there. Casey and I are worried. Open the door. I need to talk to

see

just give me a moment. My thoughts are all over the place.d