Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Ryan pulled Sarah to the door and shoved her out. "Just leave, I'm not up for a fight right now."

Sarah, taken aback by the intensity in his eyes, gulped. "Ryan, what did I do wrong? She's trying to control you, so you end up working for her forever. The Bradford Corporation was yours to begin with. Now that you're back, she should step down and let you take over. Don't you see what she's planning?"

Ryan exhaled deeply. "Without Clara, the company would've gone under. I really don't want to argue, Sarah."

He turned away, swapped out the damp blanket, and carefully lifted Clara, carrying her to his bedroom.

As he leaned down to give her some painkillers, Clara's phone buzzed with a call from her boyfriend.

Boyfriend?

Ryan's eye twitched. After giving her the medicine, he spoke, his voice rough. "Clara, how are you feeling? I'm sorry for not listening to you. I was the one who kept Sarah around. Once you're better, you can yell at me all you want."

He sat by Clara's side and began to cry. Clara, barely awake, reached out to ruffle his hair.

Ryan had gotten her the best painkillers, and they kicked in fast.

Ten minutes later, she felt more alert.

She took a deep breath and adjusted the blanket around her. "Ryan, could you turn up the heat? It's chilly."

Ryan quickly did as she asked, standing by the bed with eyes red, looking like a sad little rabbit.

Clara wanted to comfort him, but she was too exhausted, so she closed her eyes. Ryan picked up her phone and called back.

Z's voice came through the line, "Weren't you coming to see me?"

Ryan frowned, his tone sharp. "Why don't you come see Clara yourself? She's not well, so she's staying home. If you want to visit, I'll give you the address. She's resting for a few days."

Hearing this, Z's tone shifted.

"Ryan?"

Ryan felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Clara must've told her boyfriend about him. Of course, he was her only brother.

His tone turned proud. "Yeah, I want to meet you. Why are you and Clara being so secretive? I need to see if you're hiding something."

But the call ended abruptly.

Ryan stared at the phone, disbelief etched on his face. Most guys would be polite when talking to the girl's family. This dude was rude.

He must not care that much about Clara. Otherwise, why act like that?

Feeling uneasy, Ryan decided he'd talk to Clara about her boyfriend once she woke up.

Before she could wake, the doorbell rang. A stranger in a white coat stood outside.

Sarah opened the door, rolling her eyes when she saw the man dressed like a doctor.

"Did Ryan call you? Wow, he really cares about Clara. He's never called a doctor for me."

If Clara were awake, she'd recognize him as Z's doctor friend.

The man nodded politely. "I'm a friend of Ms. Clara, here to take her to the hospital."

Hearing Clara was leaving, Sarah was thrilled and led him upstairs.

"She's in that room. Hurry and take her. What bad luck."

The man said nothing, but his eyes showed a flicker of emotion.

Ryan was still by Clara's side. Seeing Sarah bring in a stranger made his blood boil.

"Sarah, who's this?"

Sarah, wiping her eyes pathetically, said, "He says he's Clara's friend, here to take her to the hospital. Did I do something wrong again? Ryan, you didn't even comfort me after you slapped me."

Ryan's face darkened as he studied the man. "I've never seen this friend of my sister."

The man remained polite but glanced at the sleeping Clara. "Ms. Clara has lots of friends. You can't know them all. I'll take her to the hospital first."

Sarah sneered, "Exactly. If Clara's hiding something from you, Ryan, you'd be in the dark. Do you even know how many Bradford executives she's replaced? Those you knew are gone. She's building her own empire. She never planned to give the company to you, Ryan. She's keeping so many secrets. Wake up."noveldrama

"Shut up!"

Ryan couldn't handle her constant nagging, and he knew Clara wasn't like that.

After being yelled at, Sarah snorted and turned away, feeling wronged. She was just looking out for Ryan, so why couldn't he see that?