Chapter 2

After stepping out of the shower, Sebastian approached Clara, leaning in to nibble at her earlobe as his hands skillfully slid beneath the edge of her clothes. By the time Clara tried to push him away, it was too late. He'd already tossed her onto the bed, capturing her lips in a kiss—until his phone rang sharply, cutting him off. Seeing the caller ID, Sebastian paused for a moment, then quickly got up to take the call. "Sebastian, I think someone broke into my house. Can you come over now?" Sebastian spoke gently to the woman on the other end of the line. "Don't worry, I'll be there soon. Wait for me." After hanging up, he gave Clara an apologetic kiss. "The part-timer needs a replacement. I have to rush over now to cover for him." Calmly, Clara asked, "Didn't I tell you not to work so hard?" "Things are different now. I know what happened to your family, so I need to earn more to support you." Sebastian ruffled her hair fondly before changing his clothes and heading out. … Sebastian didn't return home until late that night. Only when he noticed that some things were missing did he realize that a few of their couple's items were gone—they were all things Clara had carefully chosen during their dates. "Why are you spring cleaning suddenly? I thought you adored all those things." Clara tossed a few other items into the trash can and made up an excuse. "I don't like them anymore. I'll replace them later when I find things I like." Sebastian's heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he quickly grabbed her hand. "It's getting late. Where are you going?" "I'm staying at my house tonight," came her reply. After moving in with Sebastian, Clara had seldom returned home. Back when her feelings for him were at their strongest, she could only sleep soundly in his arms. Flashing a smile at him, Clara grabbed her luggage and walked out. After getting into the car, she received a call from the real estate agent. "Ms. Zimmerman, you'll lose a lot if you're in a rush to sell this property. Are you sure about it? If you've made up your mind, I'll go ahead and list it." "The price doesn't matter. I just want it sold as quickly as possible." Clara had bought this villa for Sebastian three years ago. Over time, they'd shared intimate moments in the study, the bathroom, the balcony, and all the other corners of the house. Even after her family had run into trouble, she'd still thought about leaving some things behind to help support Sebastian. But it turned out he'd never needed anything from her. Despite knowing that her family had gone bankrupt, Sebastian had done nothing. He'd simply watched as she was forced into an arranged marriage. When she needed money the most, he was still pretending to be poor. Clara's lips curved into a self-deprecating smile. Suddenly, she received a text from someone asking to meet her. … Erica Hart smiled at Clara. "Ms. Zimmerman, my name is Erica Hart, and I'm Sebastian's ex-girlfriend. "But he's probably never mentioned me to you. Three years ago, I went abroad to pursue my dreams. He got so upset that he's been giving me the cold shoulder since then, but we've never broken up officially. Now that I've returned, he'll definitely come back to me." She then added, "He didn't come home last night, did he? Aren't you curious about where he went? Do you seriously think he had to work the night shift at the bar because he's broke?" After saying that, Erica pulled out a bank card and slid it across the table to Clara. "I know you're in need of money. Here's 30 million dollars for you, but I have one condition—stay away from Sebastian."