Chapter 245: Is she not happy with me?
Dorothy stared at Julianna in surprise. "What are you talking about? Why would you give him money?" she asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.
Dorothy had always believed Alex was nothing more than a fool who stayed close to Clara because she was Vincent’s daughter. She had never imagined that Julianna would have any reason to give him money, which made the situation all the more suspicious.
"I’m asking you a question, Julianna! Why did you give him money?" Dorothy demanded, her voice growing stern when her daughter failed to offer a satisfactory explanation.
"Because we were working together against Clara. I paid him to keep his mouth shut," Julianna replied, carefully concealing the truth.
She had no intention of telling Dorothy that she and Alex had been sleeping together in secret. Her mother would undoubtedly look down on her for getting involved with a man like him. After all, Alex was a deadbeat with nothing going for him, and Julianna knew Dorothy would never approve of their relationship.
Dorothy’s expression darkened as she studied her daughter in silence.
"Is that all?" she asked, clearly unconvinced.
Julianna let out an irritated sigh. She had spent enough time answering questions, and her patience was wearing thin.
"Yes! That’s all there is to it!" she snapped. "I just want to get the money back so we can finally live in peace. But guess what? That deadbeat has run out of money himself, and now I can’t even ask him for anything!"
Her voice rose with every word, her frustration spilling over as she thought about her current predicament.
Julianna knew that revealing the truth about her relationship with Alex would only make her look like a fool in her mother’s eyes. Whatever had happened between them, she had never considered him someone she could build a future with. Back then, however, Alex had been the only man who could satisfy her physical needs, and she had continued seeing him because of it.
But now, everything was slipping out of her control.
With the possibility of being detained hanging over her head, she couldn’t afford to act recklessly. She couldn’t simply storm into Alex’s place and demand that he give her the money, especially when she had no idea what he might do.
Taking a deep breath, Julianna turned on her heels and marched toward her room.
The next second, the door slammed shut, leaving Dorothy standing alone in the living room.
Dorothy stared at the closed door, her suspicions growing. Even though Julianna had insisted that there was nothing more to the story, Dorothy couldn’t shake the feeling that her daughter was hiding something important.
Yet she couldn’t bring herself to force Julianna to confess, either.
Letting out a shaky breath, Dorothy pressed a hand against her chest as the thought of Julianna ending up behind bars sent a chill down her spine.
"Just how much trouble is this girl going to get us into?" she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
For the first time, Dorothy wondered whether her daughter’s unpredictable behavior would eventually drag the entire family into ruin.
***
The next morning, Dominic and Clara got ready for work and left the house together. However, this time, Dominic decided to drop Clara off at the bakery himself.
"You know you didn’t have to go out of your way to drop me off, right?" Clara asked, glancing at him from the backseat.
[I can’t take any chances. That fool Alex might try to stalk her again, just like he did the other day.]
"There’s no trouble in dropping my wife off at work," Dominic replied calmly.
Clara forced a smile, knowing perfectly well what was going through his mind.
"Right. Of course, there’s no trouble in that," she murmured before turning to look out the window.
Soon, the car came to a stop outside the bakery. Before Clara could even reach for the door handle, Dominic had already stepped out and walked around to open it for her.
"..."
Clara blinked in surprise as he offered her his hand. The moment she stepped out, Dominic wrapped an arm around her shoulders and glanced around the street, his sharp eyes carefully surveying their surroundings.
Only after confirming that everything was fine did he guide her toward the bakery entrance.
"I’ll come to pick you up this evening," he announced before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Without waiting for her response, he turned around and walked back to the car.
A few moments later, the car drove away, leaving Clara standing outside the bakery with a bewildered expression.
"..."
She was still trying to process what had just happened when a familiar voice broke through her thoughts.
"Why did that look more like something out of a thriller than a romantic moment?"
Clara turned toward the voice and found Lily standing at the entrance, staring after Dominic’s departing car.
"You felt that too?" Clara breathed, as though a sudden realization had struck her.
"I’m still trying to get used to it," Silvia chimed in, shaking her head in disbelief.
However, unlike the other two, Gen was practically beaming.
"Our master is so considerate! He came all the way here just to drop Madam off!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Clara, Lily, and Silvia simultaneously turned to look at her as if she had completely lost her mind.
Normally, Clara would have been the one feeling giddy after such a sweet gesture from her husband. Yet, somehow, the entire experience had left her feeling more like a character in a suspense movie.
"Anyway, what was all that about?" Silvia asked, finally bringing Clara back to the matter at hand.
Clara dropped her bewildered expression and placed her bag on the table.
"He’s just being extra careful because of Alex. He’s worried that Alex might try to stalk me again," she explained.
"Alex?" Lily repeated, her expression immediately changing.
Even Gen, who had been smiling from ear to ear moments ago, frowned in confusion.
"Then why trouble Master with this? We could have handled that creep for you!" Silvia declared, clearly displeased that someone had dared to bother their beloved Madam.
Clara smiled at her friends’ concern.
"Don’t worry. He’s already been taken care of," she assured them.
The three women exchanged knowing looks.
Since Clara had assured them that there was nothing to worry about, they decided not to question her further. After all, they trusted their Madam completely and knew she was more than capable of handling the situation.
Still, as Clara glanced toward the door through which Dominic had disappeared, she couldn’t help sighing.
My husband really needs to learn the difference between being romantic and conducting a security inspection.
A small smile crept onto her lips. Well, at least she couldn’t deny that his concern made her feel loved.
Soon, the girls dispersed to attend to their respective tasks, leaving Clara to settle into her usual corner. She opened her laptop to check whether she had received a reply.
"Maybe he really has disappeared for good," she muttered, already preparing to shut it down when a notification suddenly popped up on the screen.
Clara froze, her eyes widening in surprise as she read the message.
***
Meanwhile, the car came to a halt in front of the building, and Dominic stepped out. He walked inside and headed straight to the top floor, where his office was located.
Once inside, he made his way to his desk and settled into his chair. However, instead of focusing on work, his thoughts drifted back to the message that had appeared on his phone after such a long time.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes. It had been ages since Clara had been active on that account, yet the moment he saw her message, his heart skipped a beat.
He had no idea why Clara had suddenly reached out to her anonymous online friend, but one thing was clear: she must have been feeling lonely to seek out that person again.
"Is she not happy with me?" he muttered, his expression darkening.
The thought left him feeling strangely unsettled. He had always believed he was doing everything he could to make Clara happy, yet here she was, reaching out to someone else instead of him.
What had he done wrong?
Dominic ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening as another thought crossed his mind.
He had never imagined that he would one day find himself jealous of himself. Yet, somehow, he had managed to turn his own anonymous identity into a rival for his wife’s attention.
Just then, someone knocked on the door before entering.
"Boss, I’ve brought the documents you asked for—"
Mark stopped mid-sentence the moment he saw Dominic’s expression. For a brief second, he wondered whether he had walked into the wrong office.
Dominic sat behind his desk, his face dark enough to make Mark reconsider every decision that had led him there.
What happened to him now? why does he looks like he is ready to murder someone