Chapter 123

"By the way, Henry told me my mom came to see you today. She didn't give you a hard time, right?" "Not really." "If she ever does again, just call me. I won't let her mess with you. I want you to come to me if there's ever anything, don't try to handle it all on your own." "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Nicholas kept piling food into Clara's bowl. "Hey, that's enough. I can't eat that much." "You're way too skinny. A little more meat wouldn't hurt—looks better too," Nicholas said softly, eyes full of fondness. His gaze, as sly and gentle as a fox's, lingered on Clara like she was the only thing that mattered. Right then, Clara's phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at Nicholas before answering. "Boss, it's me!" "Yeah." "I just got home and wanted to check in. I'm back in Centralia! Boss, where are you? Can I come see you?" Clara: "..." "Boss, we haven't seen you since you left the group. Kinda miss you, you know?" "We'll run into each other if it's meant to be," Clara