No Strings Attached

Chapter 503

After walking to the car, he looked up towards the building above. The moment he spotted Clara standing quietly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and watching him, he felt an impulse. He wanted to rush upstairs right away and hold her in his arms to comfort her.

But he didn’t do that. He just stood silently in place, looking intensely at her.

The two of them, one standing on the balcony and the other in the yard, stared at each other for several minutes. Every minute felt like an agony.

Clara just calmed herself down, but when she saw Ian, tears streamed down her face again. She knew this had nothing to do with Ian, and she shouldn’t take her anger out on him. She had also said she wouldn’t let Leonora’s hurt affect Ian.

Still, she was only human, unable to put aside her mother’s grievances to be with Ian. The moment she saw him, she remembered how her mother must have felt after being betrayed by someone so close, and how heartbroken she must have been.

She was so young, loving everyone around her with a gentle heart, yet she lost her life in her prime.

When she thought of this, Clara’s tears flowed even more fiercely. Looking into Ian’s captivating eyes, she couldn’t help but say, “Ian, what should we do?”

When Ian saw her lips move, a sharp pain stabbed his heart. He lifted his foot, wanting to run upstairs, but at that moment, Clara drew the curtains shut.

He could no longer see Clara’s sorrowful face. Only a silhouette reflected on the curtains.

Ian lifted his hand to rub his somewhat sore eyes. He took out his phone and sent Clara a message. [Clara, I have to head back to the office for a bit. Remember to eat well and sleep well.]

After sending the message, he looked towards the balcony again, but Clara’s figure had disappeared.

Ian stood in the yard and smoked a cigarette, then drove away. Not far from the house, he received a call from the butler of the old mansion. “Sir, a letter was just delivered to the old mansion. Should I bring it to you now?”

Ian’s brow furrowed slightly. Who sent letters these days? And to the old mansion at that.

All his mailing addresses were either the company or his villa. How could someone send a letter to the old mansion? He hadn’t used that address in over a decade.

Feeling something was amiss, Ian immediately said, “I’ll be right there.”

A few minutes later, Ian took the letter from the butler’s hands. After carefully inspecting it and finding nothing amiss, he cautiously opened it.

When he was reading the content, his eyes instantly widened in shock. The letter was one he had written to No. 11, asking her to come to this address after she was discharged. He had waited seven years, and searched for seven years, with no news.

Ian felt this was all so sudden. Now, as the Hayes family faced a crisis, he had to be extremely careful.

He carefully read the content of the letter and on the back, he saw a neatly written line. [No. 99, 8 PM tonight, I’ll wait for you at the Left Bank Café. Don’t be late.] This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Ian glanced at his watch. There were twenty minutes till eight. He immediately stuffed the letter into his pocket and drove straight to the Pearl Café.

At a seat by the window, he saw a girl with a delicate face, holding a red maple leaf bookmark. The moment she saw him, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and she waved at him.

After that, his old-fashioned phone in his pocket buzzed with a message. The sender was No. 11.