Chapter 63

Clara's POV

I remained frozen on the spot. A part of me must have seen this coming. I was screwed if I told him the truth. A baby wasn't something I could continue lying about. Either way, my life was over.

He glared at me, expecting me to leave.

Just then, Luke returned, accompanied by another well-dressed man in a suit.

"Just say one thing to piss me off, and you'll be out of here in a second." Derek threatened.

There wasn't a place for me here. I walked away slowly, dragging my feet as I walked out.

I don't know how I managed to get to the elevator or the ground floor. I kept replaying our conversation.

“Clara, what happened?" I heard a voice as I felt a rough shake on my arm.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I stared back at Ivy, who looked at me worriedly.

"Why? What happened?" I finally managed to answer.

"Well, guess who I finally bumped into this morning? Derek." She answered. "He knows that we weren't cousins and that I worked here too. He thinks that whenever I'm around, I get you into trouble, and now I am on the verge of losing my job. He just asked me to submit a five-hundred-page essay on why I should keep my job or else I'll be fired." She said, "Within two days." She added.

"He did what?" My eyes widened.

This was a lot worse than I could have ever imagined.

She sighed. "I probably shouldn't be seen with you, and I'll get back to work." She answered.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see two security guards behind me. "Good morning, ma'am," the security guard said after he had cleared his throat. "I was told to escort you out of the building. If you don't want to comply, I was told to carry you out." He informed me.

Was he kicking me out? I couldn't believe it. Was this so bad that he'd have someone kick me out of there? Everything was starting to feel more real every second.

Ivy stared at me with her eyes widening.

Some of the hotel staff were slowly gathering to see what was going on.

This was beyond embarrassing.

"Fine, I'll leave alone," I answered, raising my hands in defeat.

The security guard watched me as I walked out of the building, a few steps behind me to ensure I wasn't taking any decoys.

By the time I was out of the building, I was the one who was completely upset. I understand his reaction, but for him to take things this far was a new low.

I was officially out of the building as the security guards made a turn, returning inside the building.

A man stopped me. He wore a tux with a matching black hat to complete his chauffeur uniform.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. "I was told to drive you home." He gestured at the car behind him.

My anger erupted in my face. He couldn't order me to do everything he wanted. I think he has already made his point.

I continued walking, ignoring the chauffeur.

He followed behind me, his fast steps matching mine. "If you don't want to get in the car, ma'am, I must walk home with you." He insisted.

I sighed. I didn't think anything was working according to my plan today.

I got into the car hesitantly, clearly displaying how upset I was.

The driver drove me to my house. I was doing my best to prevent myself from plotting Derek's murder. This was all my fault. I should have never agreed to play this kind of dangerous game.

This had strayed too far from just being a small lie. Everything was messy. Ivy was about to lose her job, too. I didn't know how to pull things back under control. I've never felt so trapped. It's a bit ironic, I'd say.

The car stopped in front of my house. I pushed the car door open before the driver had the chance to open the door for me.

I stormed into our yard without looking back. Our front door was unlocked. Mom was probably at home.

I walked into the house, smelling the aroma of baked goods from the oven.

Mom peeked out of the kitchen, checking to see what was happening.

"You are home early. Is everything okay?" she asked.

I placed my bag on the floor.

"I'm really tired. I want to be left alone right now." I said, dismissing her.

She didn't insist. I continued walking upstairs to my room.

It took me a while to gather my thoughts as I paced around my room.

I looked out the window. There wasn't anyone at my gate, nor was anyone following me.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Layla's number.

"Hi, how are you?" she asked after the first ring.

"I'm in a lot of trouble," I admitted.

"I'm sure you're overreacting. Surely getting married can't be that bad." She answered. Something was wrong with her. I've never heard her this relaxed.

"Who is getting married?" I asked.

"What?" she yelled. I pulled my phone away from my ear. Her voice was now more alarmed. "What happened?" she asked.

I then began explaining the situation to her from last night, obviously omitting some family details.

"Oh, thank goodness." She sighed. "I thought that something worse had happened." She said,

"How is this not bad?" I asked.

"You could have decided to tell him everything. Besides, did he ask you to go for a doctor's appointment to check on the baby?" She asked.

I wasn't sure he wouldn't do that soon.

"I need to do something about this now. He will kill me if I tell him the truth. I'm just going to go with a miscarriage or something. I can't stay pregnant for another day, and my problems are only getting worse." I whined.

"Let me get this straight: you went and got drunk, and then you suddenly had a miscarriage." She paused. "Congratulations, you just took away the only chance I had of ever being a grandmother. "I'll forgive you and pretend you didn't do anything to cause it, "she replied sarcastically."I was thinking more along the lines of a car accident. Someone could just run me over, and if I end up with amnesia, that would be even better." I sighed.

"What if that plan goes wrong, and you end up paralyzed? Besides, Derek would find that unfortunate driver. Do you want to ruin a man's life and have him stay in prison for the rest of his life because Derek will do that?" she asked.

"What would you have me do instead?" I asked.

"I'm saying we can't do anything drastic now. We have to be more careful. I'll do the best I can here without arousing any suspension. Don't worry, it will all be better soon. " She said assuringly.

Knowing you have a problem and cannot do anything about it was the most frustrating feeling. If I could turn back in time, I would not have lied.

We said our goodbyes as I hung up the phone. I lay on my bed, trying to stop myself from overthinking.

****

I spent the day compiling my thoughts and running through my options. Right now, it didn't seem like I had that many. All of them included me being screwed and not being able to find a job anywhere else again.

Katy and I were lying on my bed as we stared at the ceiling.

"So, let me get this straight. You'll be getting paid without working?" Katy asked.

I nodded.

"Then why are you even complaining?" she asked.

"Because I'm in trouble, he is already responding this way just because I had a few drinks. What would he do when I finally tell him the truth?" I asked.

"You are the one who tried to kill my poor little niece or nephew with alcohol. You should be very ashamed of yourself. You are lucky he is not keeping you locked somewhere with twenty-four-hour surveillance." She answered.

"There is no baby," I almost yelled at her.

Right now, I want everyone to get that. I knew that lying was a terrible idea from the start.

"Your solution is very simple, and you just have to get pregnant before he finds out." She answered. I couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not.

I could hardly live with this lie. I'd never take it that far.

"Okay, I'll just walk up to him and be like, 'Hey, I wasn't pregnant before, but now I'm ready to have your baby.'" I answered sarcastically.

"Fine, enjoy unemployment for the rest of your life." She answered. "I wonder if you were born with a warning label that read, 'attracted to trouble.'" Katy joked.

"If someone finds you murdered on the side of the road, no one should ask why," I answered.

She sat up straight and then turned to look at me. "Now that we are not talking to Mom, what will we eat? Are we just going to starve?" she asked.

"I'm too stressed out to be worried about food," I answered her.

There were a few car honks outside our house. Katy jumped off the bed and rushed to the window. She peeked through the curtain as she looked to see what was happening.

"Your boyfriend is here." She whispered, looking out the window.

This was not going to be good. He had already taken everything away. What else could he do?