A Night of Desire

Back at the office, Seth Quinn went to the conference room for a last-minute meeting, asking Clara Grant to wait for him in his office.

Clara sat for a while, growing a little bored, and decided to find a book to read from Seth’s bookshelf.

After searching all over the packed bookshelf, she couldn’t find a book she wanted to read. She casually pulled one out at random, but in doing so, accidentally dislodged a manila folder.

Clara couldn’t catch it in time. The folder hit the floor, its contents spilling out.

She quickly knelt to pick everything up, but as she did, the contents of the folder caught her eye.

Although the documents were all in English and contained some technical terms she didn’t fully understand, she could still grasp the gist: they were medical records—Autumn Shelby’s.

Clara frowned. ’Why would Seth have Autumn Shelby’s medical records from the U.S.A? Don’t tell me he suspects her depression is fake and had her investigated?’

’She just didn’t know what Seth planned to do. If he investigated Autumn and found out her illness was fake, what then? And if it was real, what would he do?’

’If it’s fake, does that mean he’ll be free from his guilt? And if it’s real? Besides feeling guilty, what else would he do?’

’Would he accept any of her other demands, short of marrying her? All because he feels guilty toward Autumn.’

’Would he, like any man of honor, be at his ex’s beck and call, dropping everything to rush to her side whenever she needed him—doing anything for her, except marrying her?’

’Because he owes her. He still feels responsible for her.’

And these medical records were solid proof that Autumn Shelby’s depression was real!

’Does that mean Seth is going to start granting Autumn’s every wish?’

’No matter what we’re doing, will Seth rush over the moment Autumn calls? No matter the time of day, if Autumn asks him to meet, will he just get up and go without a word?’

’Seth doesn’t love her, but he can’t bring himself to abandon her. So from now on, will Autumn just be stuck to our lives like glue, a constant presence we can never shake off?’

She remembered something Autumn had said: "As long as a man feels guilty toward a woman, his heart can never truly move on."

’It’s not that his heart doesn’t want to move on—it’s that it’s being forced to stay!’

A shiver ran through Clara, startled by her own thoughts. She didn’t like this. She didn’t like having an ex like that in her and Seth’s life.

Even if Seth had no romantic feelings for Autumn—only guilt and a sense of responsibility—Clara still couldn’t stand the thought of another woman constantly clinging to her husband.

Besides, Autumn Shelby was no pushover.

She was a kind person, but she wasn’t a saint. If his ex called him away in the middle of the night, or even while they were being intimate, she couldn’t bring herself to be the gentle, understanding wife who would say something like, "You should go. The poor woman needs you."

But then, Clara suddenly wondered if she was overthinking things. ’Maybe I’m just so distraught over what happened to Sarah that I’m automatically assuming the worst.’

After all, she had seen for herself how Seth treated Autumn.

As for why Seth was looking into Autumn’s medical records, she could just ask him to his face.

「...」

When Seth finished his meeting and returned to the office, Clara was on the sofa, scrolling through her phone. She glanced at him coolly as he entered, then immediately looked back down at her screen, not even bothering to ask if his meeting was over.

Seth assumed she was still upset about Sarah Shelby and wasn’t in the mood to talk, so he didn’t think her behavior was too strange. He tidied up the documents on his desk and said to Clara,

"Alright, I’m done for the day. Let’s go."

Clara stood up as well, but she didn’t move. She looked at him and opened her mouth, hesitating before she could speak.