Chapter 18 Haven’t You Ever Thought About Contacting Me?
“Is it really such a surprise that I’ve lost my virginity? We were in a marriage of convenience. You didn’t actually fall for me, did you?” Clara noticed something was off with Michael and laughed. “Or do you have germophobia?”
Michael did have a bit of that fear.
Seeing his increasingly grim expression, Clara shrugged and headed toward the kitchen. “If you’re obsessed with cleanliness, then we have a problem. You never brought this up before.”
As Michael watched Clara’s calm demeanor, his other work phone rang. He glanced at the unfamiliar number and saw an attached photo. The image showed Clara in a dimly lit setting, looking as though she had been assaulted.
Clara was alone. Even though her clothes were intact, her messy hair suggested she had been…
Accompanying the photo was a text. ‘Your current wife has already been with someone else!‘
The message was sent by Emma, who had obtained Michael’s phone number from Dylan. After her diligent investigation, she finally tracked down where Clara had been spending the night with the big shot.
Though she had managed to get hospital surveillance footage through intermediaries, all she had were these images.
Emma intended to use this to force Michael into divorcing Clara. I’m not going to make things easy for Clara!
Michael scrutinized the photo on his phone. The location looked very familiar—like a hospital. Could it be that she’s…
He strode briskly to the kitchen, grabbed Clara by the arm, and caused the spoon she was holding to clatter to the floor.
“Did you lose your virginity to a stranger in a hospital storage room?” His eyes were filled with intense seriousness and an urgent need for answers.
Hearing the mention of a hospital storage room, Clara was momentarily stunned. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his phone.
The glaring photo on the screen made her eyes widen in shock. Had I been caught on camera?
In an instant, her mind was in turmoil. Michael was cornering her.
“I’m asking you!” He took a large step forward, pinning her against the wall behind her.
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Chapter 18 Haven’t You Ever Thought About Contacting Me?
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Clara met his piercing and fierce gaze, forcing herself to stay calm. With a smile, she said, “There is indeed a storage room in the hospital, but I’ve never been inside it. I was on the same floor, taking care of my grandmother.”
She was alone now and couldn’t afford to admit anything. After all, this had happened not long before she married him. If Michael found out, it would be a blow to his pride, and she would no longer be able to stay by his side.
Suddenly, she smiled. “My virginity was given to my ex–boyfriend, not some stranger. Also, the woman in the photo on your phone isn’t me–I don’t recognize that outfit.”
After spending the night with a stranger in the storage room, she had discarded that outfit.
Her gaze flicked to the phone in his hand, and she noticed the phone number. She remembered it was Emma’s.
She had accidentally discovered Emma’s number while seeking help from a hacker to investigate videos related to Emma. It appeared that Emma had intentionally sent this photo to Michael to frame her with a woman who looked somewhat like her, hoping to force him into a divorce.
The chilling realization made Clara clench her fists. She absolutely couldn’t let Michael discover that the woman in the photo was her.
“If you don’t believe me, you can check to see if I have an ex–boyfriend. Also, the message was sent by Emma. Her aim is to frame me with someone who resembles me in order to get us to divorce.”
Seeing her composed demeanor and the honesty in her eyes, Michael recalled that the woman from that night did indeed resemble Clara’s physique. It seemed that person must be Jade.
Though Clara appeared composed on the outside, she was deeply unsettled inside, hoping Michael wouldn’t ask more questions.
She didn’t notice the flicker of disappointment in his
eyes.
“Alright, I’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said before leaving.
Once he was gone, her racing heart finally settled back into her chest.
She did have an ex–boyfriend, but he had long since gone abroad, so Michael probably wouldn’t uncover anything in his investigation.
The thought of Emma sending that photo to Michael made her uneasy. She picked up her phone to confront Emma but quickly set it down again. Doing so would only confirm that the woman in the photo was her.
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There was also a chance that Emma might take screenshots of their chat history and send them to Michael.
Since Emma seemed so at ease, Clara decided to stir up a little trouble for her instead.
She quickly sent a text to the hacker and picked up the spoon from the floor, returning to her cooking.
Meanwhile, in the study….
Michael had his assistant, Eric, investigate the username linked to the phone number. Then, he used his personal phone to call Jade.
“Darling, are you on your way to see me now?” Emma thought he had arrived early and couldn’t
hide her excitement.
“No, something came up on my end, so I won’t be coming for now.” Frustrated after learning the truth, Michael still held onto a glimmer of hope. “Have you kept that pendant?”
Emma, initially disappointed that he wasn’t coming, perked up and replied cautiously, “Yes, I still have it.”
“Have
you never thought about contacting me? I remember leaving you my contact details.”
Michael’s words startled Emma. Contact details? Does that mean Clara has his contact information?
Why hadn’t she reached out to him?
“Hmm? Why haven’t you contacted me?” Michael asked again after receiving no response for a while.
Emma’s eyes darted as she carefully chose her words. “I didn’t want to bother you, but I was surprised when you reached out to me. If you hadn’t, I would’ve terminated the pregnancy and kept out of your life entirely.”
Her response made Michael feel a twinge of guilt.
“But you’ll take responsibility for me and the baby, right?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” He wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation. “I have other matters to attend to. Let’s leave it at that.”
After the call ended, her previously obedient expression shifted to anger. She couldn’t allow Clara to get in touch with this big shot. Without wasting a moment, she dialed Clara’s number.
Clara, in the middle of cooking, heard her phone ring. Seeing Emma’s name on the caller ID,
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Chapter 18 Haven’t You Ever Thought About Contacting Me?
she let out a cold laugh before answering.
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“Clara, you’ve already been with other men, and now Michael knows. I also know that the stranger from that night left you his contact details and a pendant. Well, the pendant is with me now, so don’t even think about reaching out to the man you spent the night with!”
It took Clara a moment to piece together what Emma was saying.
Huh?
So, Emma has gotten involved with that man?
Thinking back to the night she had been violated, she hoped the incident would forever remain buried.
“Let me be clear,” Emma continued. “That man is looking for you, but by some twist of fate, the baby I’m carrying is his. I also took your pendant, so you’d better know your place and not try to reconnect with him, or I won’t let you off easily!”
Emma’s words finally made everything clear to Clara.
So, the baby Emma’s carrying is from that stranger–the same guy who assaulted me? How revolting!
And now he’s trying to find me?
“Don’t worry,” Clara replied. “I have no interest in that man. You’d better keep a tight hold on him.”
She hung up the phone, finally understanding why her pendant had gone missing–Emma had taken it.
As she recalled the scene in the hospital, she realized Emma must have picked it up then.
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