Chapter 34

"I hope you guys like it," Clarie said as she opened a wooden door with a mosaic glass ornament on top.

“Wow! This is amazing, Clarie! Is this going to be where we live?” asked Caitlin enthusiastically after stepping inside followed by Silvia.

"Of course, we'll be living here from now on," Clarie replied.

Silvia walked around the house and looked around. Clarie bought a modest house for her mother and sister in town. The money was the result of the savings Lucas had been sending over the past few months into her account.

Luckily Steve was no longer disturbing Clarie's life and her family. The last time Clarie met the man was at her flat where the man almost raped her. After Clarie found out where Steve was, Lucas said that he had someone take him to the police station when the jerk was unconscious.

"Is this for real?" Silvia still couldn't believe what her eldest daughter was saying. Clarie went to her mother and hugged her arm assuring that this was true.

"What about my job?" she asked again.

"You still want to work,Mom?" Clarie asked back.

“Of course, I have to work Clarie! How are we going to eat, besides Caitlin's school needs are still a lot," complained Silvia.

"You don't have to worry about that, Mom, because I will take care of you now," Clarie said soothingly.

Caitlin walked over to her mother and sister. "Mom, you don't know that Clarie's husband-to-be is the boss in her office," Caitlin said in a low whisper.

Silvia directly hit the arm of her little daughter.

"Did I say right, Clarie?" asked Caitlin for support. Clarie only responded with a straight smile.

At the Henderson residence, Lucas is discussing the upcoming wedding with his parents in a week. Rose objected very much to the discussion of Lucas' marriage to his secretary. While David, the husband, seemed to be silent in his oversized chair trying to digest everything.

"From the beginning, I wanted to know what your reasons were for divorcing Marion, and now I'm starting to understand why you did that," said David in a calm tone. “Isn't Marion the perfect woman, many men who adore her want her to be theirs. And, you're wasting it instead. Actually, what made you prefer that girl, heh?!” David asked again with a curt face.

Lucas shifted in place. It's hard to find excuses, but he is a true man who will not break his promise no matter how complicated the situation is. He had promised Marion and Terry he would keep their relationship a secret even though his ex-wife almost horribly killed Clarie.

“Give me one reason why you abandoned Marion in favor of your secretary!” asked David again as if losing his temper.

The news of Lucas' application last night has spread in various media, with very embarrassing titles. That made David Henderson very upset. Their family had never experienced bad news in their entire lives, but now their son has tarnished his family's good name with charcoal.

"Marion doesn't want to have children."

David and Rose were dumbfounded by what their eldest son had just said.

"You're kidding, right?" This time it was Rose who asked. "This is ridiculous, Luke."

"I don't want to force you to believe it or not, because that's the way it is."

"You're having an affair with your secretary, that's what they say!"

Lucas stood up from his seat while patting the front of his cloth pants.

"Sooner or later you will find out the reasons why I sued Marion, and one thing for sure the news did not come out of my mouth but from the media. I'm leaving now!" Lucas said turning his body and away from his father's desk.

Lucas pulled out his phone and dialed Clarie's contacts.

"Are you done, honey?" he asked once the call was connected.

"We're almost done here."

"Okay, I'll pick you up now. Wait for me."

"Okay."

Lucas put his cell phone back in his pants pocket and got into his car which was parked in the carport. Hurriedly he started the engine and then slid out of his family's residence.

The cell phone in his trouser pocket rang again for an incoming call, the man carefully took the flat object he had kept.

Lucas frowned as he focused on the street in front of him.

"Yes, Terry?" said hello to the caller.

"Can we meet?"

"When?"

"Now. I'm at the 17th Street cafe, can I?”

"Okay." Lucas hung up the phone.

Not even thirty minutes later, the car driven by Lucas stopped in the parking lot in front of the cafe where Terry was waiting for him. He hoped it would be just a moment so he could pick up Clarie right away.

"Hey, Luke!" Terry called Lucas who had just arrived. The woman with long black hair sat on the chairs in front of the cafe terrace. "Sorry to make you have to come here," she said again.

"No problem, I happen to be going in the same direction," Lucas replied as he landed his buttocks on the metal chair. "What is it?" Ask Lucas again

"I hear you're getting married, right?"

"Yes, this weekend we will have a blessing," Lucas confirmed.

“Oh, congrats. I'm so glad to hear that. Maybe if I'm not busy I'll come,” Terry said with a straight smile as she reached for her coffee cup.

Lucas knit his brows. "With Marion?" he asked skeptically.

Terry put the cup still filled with coffee on the table again, then put on a sad face towards her girlfriend's ex-husband.

“Me and Marion have separated.”

Lucas was a little surprised to hear the statement of the woman in front of him.

"There is a problem?"

"There have been a lot of problems lately, making our relationship chaotic," said Terry while looking straight at the street.

"I'm sorry, Terry. I'm sorry," Lucas said sincerely.

"Why do you think it's your fault?" Terry shook her head vigorously. "It's not your fault at all, Luke. Marion who is too selfish, I can't continue to see her tormented by your divorce. So, I better back off and give her some time to think clearly."

Lucas really really understands what kind of relationship Marion and Terry have. As far as he knew, Terry was the most important person in Marion's career so far. Is Marion just going to let Terry go? According to him, it was a very stupid action, because Marion really adores her career.

"A moment." Lucas opened his phone and found Clarie's message on it. Then the man immediately called his future wife.

"Wait a minute, I'm at the cafe chatting with Terry," he said to Clarie via a phone call.

"You can invite her here, I want to know her." Terry chimed in on Lucas' conversation with Clarie.

"Honey, can you come here, Terry wants to get to know you," Lucas said.

"Okay, I'll order a taxi."

Lucas closed his cell phone and returned to discussing other things with Terry while waiting for Clarie's arrival.

Less than thirty minutes later, Clarie was seen getting off a yellow taxi across the street. Terry who saw that immediately told Lucas.

"She's there," Terry told Lucas. The man looked across the street.

"So true." Lucas immediately got up from his seat to approach Clarie who was still standing across the street to approach him.

The pink tinge on the girl's cheeks was obvious even from across the street. Clarie looked at the man she loved waving her hand.

Terry just waited in her chair while enjoying her coffee. However, her eyes unintentionally glanced towards the right side of the road where a car he was very familiar with was driving at high speed. Terry kept glancing at the car and at Clarie.

"Unlucky!" Terry ran quickly down the street trying to warn Lucas and Clarie who were currently standing facing each other on their respective sides of the road waiting for a quiet vehicle to cross. Terry knew who the car was targeting, not Lucas, but the girl.

"Luke, stop Clarie from crossing!"

Lucas looked behind him and found Terry sprinting towards him.

"What's wrong, Terry?" asked the man confused.

"Claire stays there!" Terry screamed, but the girl didn't understand and kept trying to cross the street.

"Hey! What is it?!" Lucas asked again.

Suddenly ....

“Terry!” Lucas shouted when he saw the woman sprinting to the middle of the road to catch up with Clarie who was already halfway across.

They were only two meters away when a black sedan sped up and sent her flying.

Bang!

Clarie was pushed backward while Terry was blown away from the road. The deep red color covered the streets, with her head hitting hard on the asphalt, her eyes blinking slowly, looking at her boyfriend who got out of the car and ran towards her until her eyes closed.