Chapter 88 Pack A Bag
THIRD PERSON’S POV.
“Guess what,”Jonathan said,leaning against the bathroom wall.The door was left slightly ajar so Clara could hear him from inside.
“What?” she asked
“I got us plane tickets,” he replied,“First class.”
Immediately,the sound of the water faucet hushed and Clara came speeding out the door."Plane tickets to where?”
“To Marrakech,” Jonathan replied,picking her up and spinning round the room.
“Why?” she asked midair.
“What do you mean?It’s for our honeymoon, of course.”
Clara shrugged him off.“We talked about this and I gave you my conditions for traveling.”
“Yes,and I met those conditions.”
“You went to work one time!” she screamed.“The rest of the time you were running around with my father.”
“Can you just give it a rest?”Jonathan said,visibly annoyed.
“No,you didn’t say you were marrying me only to become my father’s dog!” she countered.
“Enough,”Jonathan screamed.“I’ve booked the tickets and called the hotel,so we are going to Marrakech.Pack a bag and get with the program.”
He tried to move past her and go into the bathroom, but she held him back.“Trisha just posted a photo from Marrakech.Is that why you want to go there so bad?”
“Are you asking me if I want to go see Serena’s little friend in Morocco?”
“Don’t be coy with me,Jonathan.You know damn well I’m talking about Serena.You only want to go there because she’s there.”
He scoffed.“Stop accusing me of things I’ve not done.”
“Why are you so obsessed with Serena all of a sudden?” Clara asked.
“Clara,”Jonathan said slowly,inching closer to her face,“I told you to go pack your things for our trip.” He paused."Do not make me repeat myself.”
“I said, I’m not going,” she retorted.
Jonathan scoffed, then he shook her hands off him,backing away from the bathroom door."We’ll see what your father has to say about that.”
“You are going to report me to my dad?” Clara asked, bewildered.
“Trust me,I wish I could punish you myself,” he said finally before walking away,slamming the bedroom door behind him.
As he walked down the corridor,he tried to calm himself before reaching Horace’s study.Why was he so angry?he thought.Clara had asked why he had become so obsessed with Serena,but he had no answer. All he knew was that when he heard Serena was to marry Damian,all the love he hadn’t felt for her because of the circumstances of their relationship came rushing in at once.He would be the man who stole Damian Crowne’s wife.
~ ~ ~
Horace had spent the entirety of the previous day waiting for Sarah to show up at the office,but she never did.He had left in a fit of rage,instructing the chauffeur to drive him back home at full speed.He needed the adrenaline rush to calm down.
Presently,the incessant knocking on his study door was giving him a small migraine.He was about to send the person away when the door flew open and Jonathan rushed in like he owned the place.
“Why are you in here?” Horace screamed.“I’ve told you that this place is off limits to the likes of you,” he spat.
Jonathan paused for a second,taking in a deep breath and trying to find his voice.“I know,Horace,but this is urgent.”
“Okay.It better be something important.” Horace sighed,reclining back in his chair,urging Jonathan to speak.
“Clara is refusing to come to Marrakech with me,” he said.
“So you barged into my study to report that your wife is refusing to go on a trip with you?”Horace seethed in one breath.“Why the hell would I care about such foolish things?”
“No,” Jonathan stuttered,sinking into the chair beside him.“I came to you with this because I thought it would be best for you if Clara were out of the house right now.”
Horace grinned in amusement."And why exactly would I not want Clara in the house?”
“Because…” Jonathan lowered his voice, leaning forward in his seat,“I heard you over the phone last night.You are moving forward with a plan B involving Sarah.” He paused for dramatic effect before ending his sentence with,“I know your plan involves incapacitating her.”
A bead of sweat instantly formed on Horace’s forehead.
Jonathan’s lips twitched in a small smirk.When he had accidentally bumped into Horace making a secret call outside on the courtyard the previous night,he’d decided to listen in but hadn’t understood most of the conversation,being that he could only hear Horace’s part of it.Yet,he had memorized the little he overheard,and now seeing Horace sweat,knowing that the little information from that brief call was what was causing this reaction,brought him immense satisfaction.
“So,” Jonathan continued when Horace didn’t say anything,"we both agree Clara needs to be out of the house and out of the office,don’t we?”
Horace thought for a minute.He did need as much time alone with Sarah as he could get these next couple of days,and with most of the family gone,this was the perfect opportunity to strike.
“Where is Clara?” he asked,rising from his seat.
“She’s still in the bedroom.”Jonathan jumped to follow behind him,grateful that his plan had succeeded.
“Lead the way,” Horace replied,his voice calm as always.
Jonathan knocked once before turning the knob and popping his head into the room."Your dad is here,” he announced,becore turning the knob open.
As Horace entered the room,clara immediately jumped of the bed, stretching her hands above her head,yawning loudly,while she prayed the sound from the TikTok video she had been watching didn’t start playing loudly from the pillow where she had hidden it.
Clara would rather pretend to have been sleeping than admit she had been watching AI cat videos on TikTok all day.
“Why are you sleeping when you should be packing for your trip?” Horace demanded,his voice already sounding cold so she instinctively stepped backwards before responding.
“What trip?She asked,turning to Jonathan with an accusing look.“I already said I was not going on that trip.”
“Oh,yes you are,” Horace replied.
“Why do you care about our honeymoon?”
“I don’t,” Horace muttered,"but you have to do this,to show the world that you are enjoying marital bliss.”
“We don’t have to go to the same place as Serena to show that.”
“Look Clara,the flight has been booked so get over your whining.” Horace didn’t bother masking the irritation already building in his voice.
Jonathan stayed by the door,choosing to remain silent while Horace did the work for him.
Clara huffed,folding her hands under her chest. “Serena and her friends went to Morocco on her husband's private jet and we are going on what?” She asked,looking between the two men.“We are going on a commercial flight!Do you see how ridiculous that is?”
“No, I do not,” Jonathan said,peeling himself off the wall.
“But the internet is going to mock us,”Clara whined “They are going to call us the poor couple,well they already call us that,but now you are giving them a proper reason to.”
“So, what are you saying exactly?” Jonathan questioned.
“I’m saying if we must go to Morocco then we must do it the right way,in grand style.Just like Serena did.”
“Am I supposed to go get you a private jet now, Clara?”
“Well that would be a start,” she mocked.
“That’s enough!" Horace thundered,turning to Clara, “I’ll find you a private jet to use, just pack your bag and make sure you have a cameraman on standby,this will be how we convince the world that your love story is better than your sister’s.”
With that, Horace turned to leave the room but on a second thought,he paused by the entrance and said.
“Oh and Jonathan?”
“Yes,Jonathan answered,a knot instantly forming in his throat.
“Next time,i don’t care if you are being chased by an army of angry Vikings,” he said,each word rolling off his tongue with venom,“if you barge into my study ever again,I swear to God I will chop off each of your fingers and feed them to you,just so you never have to knock on a door again.”
Horace straightened his jacket and walked out without another word.
“I can’t believe you actually went to report me to my father.” Clara snorted,breaking the silence.
“Do as you are told,Clara,” Jonathan snapped,walking past her in fury.
When Jonathan walked out the door,he hadn’t noticed the figure in the shadows,hidden quietly behind the thick silk curtains.Although he had paused there for a brief second in an attempt to calm his rising temper,he had immediately walked past without a second thought,ignoring the obvious bump sticking out.
The person behind the curtains slipped out right after Jonathan and blended in with the other people moving about in the house.
The door to Clara’s room remained open,but even she didn’t notice the figure slipping past because her back was turned, her attention fixed on her walk-in closet.