Chapter 53

Clara POV

"I was on my lunch break. I was in a quiet corner outside the hotel, right at the back. Some security guards were doing their rounds a few feet from me.

"It's my fault. I was the one who insisted that he drop me off at the corner," I answered.

Layla continued to laugh. "I'm just mad that I wasn't the one to beat him up instead. I wish someone had captured it on camera." She continued. "How is your mother handling everything?" she asked.

"I think it's best if Derek joins the witness protection program," I answered. "She might not have said something last night, but this morning, she was ready to murder him," I explained.

"I would be mad too if I found out that some guy was dropping off my daughter on some corner in the middle of the night, then I find out that she is pregnant. If she wanted to kill him, I could provide a shovel and a shallow grave. " She joked.

Hearing it from Layla, I could understand how bad this seemed.

"Good thing I don't have any daughters. Now I'm just looking for anyone who isn't a psychopath to take him." She laughed.

"He is going to hate me when he finds out about everything. I can't believe this is all going to come to an end soon." I sighed.

I have been using Madison as an excuse this whole time. Now that she was gone, I had to face the truth. It was better for everyone. I was already in so much trouble.

"About that," she paused. Why did I get a bad feeling about this?

"Derek can never find out the truth." She said. "He has many wonderful qualities, but forgiveness is not one of them. I didn't consider this well enough. I'm worried about what he'll do when he finds out." She spoke.

"So, you suggest that we just keep lying to him?" I whispered.

"No, we are just finding a different way out. The result will be the same. There will be no baby. Win, win." She answered. "Do you think Madison left because she wanted to? Something happened, I'm sure of it." She said.

She had a point. But that didn't make this any less wrong.

"Don't worry, it will all be very simple. You'll say you woke up not feeling very well, you started bleeding terribly, and decided to go to the doctor. From there, he said you had a miscarriage. It's as simple as that. From there, everything can get back to normal." She stated.

Something told me she already had this plan in place weeks ago.

"It would be better for all of us. He'd never be able to trust anyone again or speak to either of us if he found out. This way, we ensure everyone moves on with their lives after this." She said.

Derek didn't have to know everything. It's not like I was using this chance to get his money.

If I didn't have a chance with him, I'd hope he could still trust someone else to be with them.

"Can I at least get time to think about it?" I asked.

"Sure," she answered. "But don't take too long. Time is not on our side."

"Bye," I whispered into the phone.

I then hung up and checked the time on my phone. I still had a couple of minutes left of my lunch break before I needed to get back to work.

I don't remember the last time I saw Ivy. We are both on different schedules now, but I think she was in the building today.

"Hi," a voice said over my shoulder.

I nearly jumped off the concrete steps I was sitting on as Luke stood beside me, his hands crossed as he shot me a suspicious glare. I hadn't seen him coming.

I nearly had a heart attack.

It took my heart a while to return to its normal pace.

What was he doing here? Had he heard any of my conversation with Layla? I had quite the habit of getting caught.

"Hi," I whispered back anxiously. "You nearly gave me a heart attack," I stated.

He stepped forward, taking a seat right next to me. "That was quite a lengthy phone call you had there." He pointed out.

Was he watching me now?

"It was just someone," I answered anxiously. "I should probably get back to work. I might be needed," I said, picking up my half-eaten bag of chips.

He stopped me, placing his hand on top of mine.

I froze, staring back at him.

"So, what do you know about Ms Madison?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

What was he getting at? What was he trying to find out?

"What were you doing in her room yesterday?" He asked more directly.

Now, I was convinced he was watching me.

"Just my job," I answered confidently.

"I'm pretty sure spying is not part of the job description." He retorted.

Everything makes sense now. I should have known. Now I understand why he mentioned the security cameras to Derek and why he suddenly kept quiet.

"You know Derek could have easily seen that footage. Who knows what he would have thought about the whole thing? He'd hate to find out you've been up to something." He continued.

Now, I was a bit unsettled by his words. Was this a threat to uncover everything I was hiding?

"Don't take it as a threat, love. I'm just warning you to be more careful." He added.

His gaze remained fixed on me as he studied me. I didn't dare flinch, and I didn't want to look more suspicious.

"I won't keep you here any longer. As you said, you might be needed." He smiled.

I forced a smile, gathering my things so I could leave.

With a smile, he waved me goodbye.

Was that supposed to be sincere, or was that a threat? I couldn't quite figure out which side he was on.

Everything was spiraling out of control. This had to end soon.

I walked down the corridor to take the elevator to Marcus' office.

Thanks to Luke, I was returning to work a bit early. There were only ten minutes left anyway.

I wasn't sure whether to love or hate Luke right now.

I stepped into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. Derek stepped in just in time, stopping the doors before they could close.

Why was everyone bent on giving me a heart attack today?

"You," I pointed angrily at Derek.

He took a step back. You were prepared to throw me right into the wolf's mouth," I said.

"But you are still alive, aren't you? That means I had faith in you." He answered.

What an excuse.

"How is your mother doing?" He asked.

"I think she is busy catching up on old episodes of how to get away with murder," I answered.

"Oh," he mouthed.

"Didn't I warn you that she wasn't ready for this?" I asked.

"She had to find out sooner or later. I'm sorry that I let it slip. On the bright side, we are both still alive. I thought I'd never survive after the way she punched me."

"How about I punch you instead?" I threatened. He was about to have a bigger problem.

"You could never hurt me." He answered.

He didn't know how wrong he was. But in the literal sense, I'd probably break my hand if I tried to punch him. It wasn't worth the try.

"You know, I was thinking. Since I've met your family, how about you meet mine? We can make things official and tell my parents about the baby." He said.

I nearly choked on my spit.

He seemed too excited to notice how anxious I was right now.

"Sure, my mother is a little crazy, as you already know, but she is not that crazy when she is on her meds. Besides, the rest of my family is pretty normal. "I'm sure they will love you," he said.

"Do you always talk about your mother like that?" I asked curiously.

"That's just our way of saying we love each other." He answered. "So, are you in?" he asked again.

I was fine with telling my mother that I had lost the baby or even considering telling her the truth, but his poor grandmother. She was too kind for me even to consider breaking her heart.

"We don't even know if you are still going to be alive within the next twenty-four hours, and you want me to meet your parents?" I asked. "Besides, you saw what happened when we just sprang the news on everyone. We need to give everyone a little time to adjust first.

"Fine, but we are going tomorrow. I'm having dinner tonight with my parents, so I'll see how they react to it." He said.

Before I could respond, he kissed me and made his way out.

How was I supposed to explain that his grandmother and I had already met?