No Strings Attached

Chapter 445

She lay there on the hospital bed, swathed in bandages from head to toe like a mummy straight out of a horror flick. Her throat could only muster up a series of feeble “ahh ahh” sounds, not a single coherent word.

He turned to Clara. His voice was gentle. “I brought her back. I want her to witness our happiness with her own eyes.”

Clara’s expression was nonchalant. “Let’s go in. I suspect I’m the last person she wants to see.” With that said, Clara took the lead, stepping into the hospital room.

Heidi, stubbornly clamping her mouth shut, was refusing her medicine just as Clara’s slim silhouette appeared before her.

Despite the ordeal Clara had been through, just a few days of recuperation had restored the radiant beauty to her face. Her complexion was glowing once again. Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Sure enough, the moment Heidi laid eyes on Clara, her eyes bulged in disbelief. She shook her head furiously, a raspy growl emerging from her throat, “No, no, no...”

Clara sauntered over, eyeing Heidi’s battered form before whispering softly, “Did you ever imagine I’d come back alive, Heidi?”

Heidi writhed in her bed, desperate to sit up and strike Clara, to exact revenge on the woman who, in her eyes, was to blame for her current state. But no matter how much she struggled, her arms and legs were numb, unresponsive. She began to sob uncontrollably. Her tears were blending into the bandages wrapped around her face.

Clara took the medication from the nurse, leaned in close, and said with a light voice, “I was tied up, beaten, and left for dead in a fire by you, yet I never gave up on living. How can you not have the

courage to keep going? Don’t you want to see me welcomed back by the Campbell family? Don’t you want to see me and Ian together?”

Heidi shook her head vehemently. Her teeth chattered from the force of her bite. But no matter how hard she tried, not a single curse could pass her lips. She could only watch helplessly as Clara stood before her, unscathed. The hate in her heart was now matched only by her pain and helplessness.

Clara let out a soft chuckle. She leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Rest assured. I’ll find the best doctors to treat you. And I will find the woman who killed my mother, so you both can face punishment together.”

After saying that, Clara stood up, looking down at Heidi as if she were nothing more than an ant, then turned and walked away.

As Clara and Ian’s figures receded, Heidi screamed at the ceiling. She couldn’t accept her defeat to Clara. She couldn’t stand the thought of everything that was hers being taken by Clara.

She should have been the one to seal Clara’s fate, so why was she the one who ended up losing?

She refused to accept this. She would never accept it, not even in death!

Days later, Clara was discharged from the hospital. For safety’s sake, Ian brought Clara and Casey back to his villa, surrounded by a cadre of bodyguards.

Returning to the villa after so long felt like waking from a dream to Clara. She remembered leaving, heartbroken, even burying the custom ring she’d had made under the maple tree laden with their memories. Never had she imagined then that there would be a today for her and Ian.

Clara stood in the yard. Her emotions were a tumultuous blend as she took in her surroundings.

Ian came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the nape of her neck gently, murmuring, “Mrs. Hayes, welcome home.”

As his words fell, music suddenly filled the air. The once quiet lawn burst into life as people, each holding vibrant balloons, emerged from nowhere.

Smiles were on every face as they gathered around Clara. The voices united in a warm chorus, “Mrs. Hayes, welcome home.”