Chapter 42: Why is Alex calling you
The stern look on Dominic’s face disappeared the moment he saw Clara standing safely before him. The icy aura surrounding him melted away, replaced by visible relief.
Only the lingering anxiety in his eyes remained.
He walked over to her without hesitation and stopped in front of her.
"Where were you?" he asked, his voice calm but carrying a hint of worry. "You were supposed to be home three hours ago."
Clara blinked in surprise.
How does he know I closed the bakery three hours ago?
Before she could ask, Dominic’s thoughts flooded into her mind.
(Do you have any idea how worried I was?)
(I thought you left me, Wifey...)
(You promised you wouldn’t disappear.)
(And what about the reward you promised me? I’ve been waiting for it all afternoon.)
Clara nearly choked.
Seriously?
He’s been worrying himself sick... and he’s still thinking about that reward?
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing.
Stay calm, Clara. Don’t laugh.
If you laugh now, he’ll definitely become sulky.
Seeing that the terrifying atmosphere had finally eased, Mark immediately stepped forward before another misunderstanding could ruin everything.
He smiled awkwardly.
"Madam, did you get stuck in traffic?"
Clara turned to look at him.
Traffic?
She had spent the last half hour fighting four grown men inside a VIP room.
There wasn’t a single traffic jam involved.
Mark subtly widened his eyes and gave her a tiny nod.
Please go with it, Madam.
I’m trying to save everyone’s lives... especially mine.
Realizing what he was doing, Clara quickly nodded.
"Yes... the traffic was really bad."
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
"Traffic?"
(Three hours of traffic?)
(Did every car in the city decide to stop moving at once?)
Clara forced an innocent smile.
"It was... unusually crowded."
Mark nodded so hard his neck nearly snapped.
"Exactly! The roads have been terrible lately."
Silvia and Lily exchanged confused glances.
Neither of them remembered seeing any traffic.
Dominic looked at the two women.
"You were with her?"
"Yes," Silvia answered calmly.
Dominic narrowed his eyes.
"So you were all stuck in traffic?"
Silvia paused for a second before nodding.
"...Yes." she lied causing Lily to frown.
"But we were at the-"
Lily almost blurted out the truth but Silvia quietly nudged her with an elbow.
"Ow— I mean... yes! Terrible traffic."
Mark nearly cried tears of gratitude.
Wonderful. Everyone is cooperating. My job has been saved.
Dominic looked back at Clara.
(Something feels off...)
(But she’s safe.)
(That’s all that matters.)
The tension in his shoulders finally eased.
Without caring that everyone was watching, he stepped forward and gently pulled Clara into his arms.
Mark who almost let out a long sigh of relief, gape seeing his boss hugging his wife.
Not just him but even the people witnessing their boss embracing his wife bawled their eyes out in disbelief.
Their neat freak boss was actually hugging his wife.
Then Dominic whispered while still holding Clara.
"Next time, don’t lie if you’re going to be late."
(I don’t ever want to spend another three hours thinking you’ve left me.)
Clara pulled back her face laced with shock but see the calm look on Dominic face made her blush.
"..."
***
Meanwhile, at the Hayes mansion, Julian informed Dorothy about Clara’s newly opened bakery.
"What on earth is that girl planning now?" Dorothy muttered, her brows knitting together. "First, she agrees to marry Dominic, and now she’s opened a bakery?"
Her expression darkened as an old memory resurfaced.
Years ago, Clara had timidly shared her dream of opening a bakery to fulfill her late mother’s wish. Vincent had rejected the idea without a second thought, dismissing it as something that would only tarnish the Hayes family’s reputation. After that day, Clara had never brought it up again.
Yet now, she had gone ahead and done it.
Dorothy slowly clenched her fingers.
"Mom..." Julian suddenly spoke, her tone unusually serious.
Dorothy looked at her daughter. "What is it?"
Julian hesitated for a moment before saying, "There’s something wrong with Clara."
Dorothy frowned. "Wrong how?"
Julian’s eyes narrowed as she recalled everything that had happened earlier that day.
"She almost exposed me in front of Grace."
Dorothy’s expression stiffened.
"What do you mean by exposed?"
Julian took a slow breath.
"I don’t know how to explain it, but... she isn’t behaving like the Clara we’ve known."
She lowered her gaze, remembering Clara’s cold stare.
"She looked me straight in the eye and accused me of lying. She even questioned my intentions."
Julian let out a bitter laugh.
"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Clara has always trusted everything I said. She never questioned me, never doubted me, and never argued back. But today..." Her voice trailed off.
"Today she looked at me as if she could see right through me."
Dorothy remained silent, her expression growing increasingly grim.
Julian continued, "I’ve manipulated her for years without her noticing anything. It was always so easy. A few words, a few tears, and she’d believe me without hesitation."
She slowly shook her head.
"But today was different."
"There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in her eyes. It was as though she already knew everything."
Dorothy’s fingers tightened around the armrest of the sofa.
"Are you saying she found out the truth?"
"I don’t know." Julian frowned. "That’s what scares me."
She replayed the encounter in her mind over and over again.
"It wasn’t just the way she spoke. It was the confidence she had. The old Clara would never have looked at me like that."
Dorothy’s face darkened.
"Ever since she married Dominic, she’s changed."
Julian nodded slowly.
"It’s more than that, Mom. It’s like... she’s become an entirely different person."
For the first time in years, she felt a faint sense of unease.
If Clara truly knew what she had done all these years...
Then everything Julian had carefully built could come crashing down.
The room fell into an uneasy silence.
Just then, Julian’s phone suddenly rang.
The sharp ringtone echoed through the living room, startling her.
She quickly picked up the phone, only for her expression to freeze.
The caller ID displayed a single name.
Alex.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Dorothy immediately noticed the change in her daughter’s expression.
"Julian?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why is Alex calling you?"
Julian stared at the screen, gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white, while the ringtone continued to echo through the silent room.