No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)
Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Casey and Clara turned their gazes simultaneously to lan. There he was, the

quintessential bad boy, casually sipping his tea with a hint of a smirk on his lips. Yet his eyes radiated an undeniable sincerity.

Without a second thought, Clara deleted his picture from her phone and smiled at her father. "Dad, I think the judge looks quite promising. If things actually work out, we'd have plenty to talk about. You make the call."

Casey nodded with a smile. "Alright, after dinner, I'll reach out. You've met him when you were little, and he's always been quite fond of you.

Then, with impeccable manners, he turned to lan. "lan, I get where you're coming from, but after all the breakups and makeups, I just can't bear to see Clara get hurt again. Maybe it's best if you both just moved on."

"Casey, I-"

lan started to say something more but was cut off by Casey. "Let's dig in, shall we? I've prepared Clara's favorites-garlic shrimp and spicy crab."

lan's heart tightened as he glanced at the spread before them. Seafood was in every dish. Even the soup had clams in it. He was severely allergic to seafood.

Of course, Clara knew this-when they were together, she never cooked seafood.

lan gave Clara a longing look, seeking some trace of the affection that should have been there, but after what seemed like an eternity, Clara kept her focus on devouring the crab as if he didn't exist at all. The ache in his chest intensified. The colder Clara was to him now, the more he remembered how warm she used to be.

Unaware of the tension, Casey cheerfully offered lan a plump crab. "lan, try this. It's especially meaty."

With a polite smile, lan said, "Thank you, Casey."

He carefully donned a pair of gloves, picked up the shellfish tools, and meticulously extracted the meat from the crab. Under Casey's watchful eye, he unapologetically placed it before Clara. His voice carried a rare note of indulgence. "Why so clumsy? Can't even eat a crab properly."

Clara raised an eyebrow at the white, tender crab meat lying neatly before her. She had to admit, lan was skilled at whatever he committed to-even if he never ate crab, he could shell it better than she ever could in large, neat chunks.

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With an emotionless face, Clara replied softly, "Thanks, Mr. Hayes, but you should have it. I prefer cracking it myself-that's the real joy."

lan's eyebrows quirked up as he looked at her, "Are you sure you want me to eat it?"

"Whatever you like. If you don't want it, give it to Mimi."

Mimi was a scrappy little stray cat Clara had taken in, now lying on the floor, gazing up at lan with a longing meow.

lan's brow twisted in irritation. He had gone through the trouble of shelling that crab, risking an allergic reaction, and she didn't even want it-instead, he had to offer to the hideous little stray stray.

With a scoff, he picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth under Clara's watchful eye. He nodded as if savoring it, "Delicious and quite juicy. Casey, you've picked out some excellent crab." Clara's fingers tightened momentarily, the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat. If he wanted to play this, so be it.

Afterward, Clara stopped paying attention to lan and focused on her meal. She knew about his allergy to seafood but had never seen it in action.

However, as she set her utensils down and prepared to leave, she inadvertently noticed several red spots blossoming on lan's neck. She couldn't help but call out to him, "lan.”

lan, who had been deep in conversation with Casey about business, turned abruptly at her call. His voice was as smooth as melted chocolate. "What's wrong?"

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