But hearing the choked sobs in her voice and seeing the tears slide down her face, he couldn’t bear to say another harsh word to her.

Instead, he gently coaxed her, "Alright, alright. I was being a bully..."

His attempt to soothe her only made Clara Grant feel more aggrieved, and her tears began to fall even harder.

Seth Quinn watched her tears stream down her face endlessly. He let out a soft sigh, only able to say awkwardly, "It’s all my fault. I was wrong. Please stop crying, okay?"

But Clara Grant ignored him, continuing to cry.

By the time Seth Quinn had placed her in the passenger seat, gotten into the car himself, and fastened her seatbelt, she was still sniffling and sobbing.

Clara Grant was beautiful, and she was one of those people who even looked good when they cried—the type to only shed tears, without a runny nose.

So even when she was crying her eyes out, she just gave off an impression of tragic, pitiful beauty.

In Seth Quinn’s eyes, this was especially true at that moment.

After fastening her seatbelt, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he reached out to wipe her tears and sighed again. "Please stop crying, okay? If not, how about you hit me with this again to blow off some steam?"

As he spoke, he held out the brocade box to her.

Clara Grant shot him an irritated glare, but she was gradually calming down and her tears subsided.

Seeing that she had finally stopped crying, Seth Quinn sat up straight and started the car.

Clara Grant suddenly felt a flush of embarrassment. She had always been strong and optimistic. She rarely cried because she knew it was useless; tears couldn’t solve anything.

But after meeting Seth Quinn, she had felt the urge to cry in front of him time and again. This time, she had completely broken down.

’I didn’t want to cry, but for some reason, I just couldn’t control my tears.’

Then, she found herself ridiculous. ’So what if the woman he loves is back? So what if he yelled at me? So what if he used me to spite another woman?’

’What’s the big deal? It’s not like I’ve fallen in love with him. What is there to cry about?’

’That’s right, I haven’t fallen in love with him! I really haven’t!’

But even as she tried to comfort herself with these thoughts, she still wanted to ask Seth Quinn if he had anything to say to her.

’Just because I’m a substitute, just a tool, does that mean I don’t even have the right to an explanation?’

Clara Grant couldn’t help but glance over at Seth Quinn. He was focused on driving, showing no intention of saying anything to her.

As if sensing her gaze, Seth Quinn turned to look at her, but Clara Grant snapped her head away to face the window just before he could meet her eyes.

’What’s the rush? He’s taking me home right now, isn’t he? Once we’re back, he’ll bring up the divorce. When he does, maybe he’ll offer a word of explanation then? That would be some kind of closure, at least.’

Seth Quinn glanced at Clara Grant, who was staring silently out the window. He said nothing, but a knot of nervousness tightened in his chest.

’I can’t believe she’s this angry for this long just because I tricked her into coming here,’ he thought. ’If she finds out our whole marriage was a lie... what will she do then?’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The car sped onward, and the two inside remained silent.

When they reached the apartment, they had just stepped inside when Seth Quinn swept Clara Grant off her feet before she could even get her balance.

Startled, she instinctively threw her arms around his neck. Before she could even process what he was doing, Seth Quinn had already carried her upstairs and into the bedroom.

Then, he recklessly pushed Clara Grant down onto the bed beneath him. Clara Grant cried out, "Seth Quinn, what are you doing?"