Your Love Is But a Dream (Clara and Wren)

Clara instinctively looked up, only to find herself face-to-face with someone she hadn't expected.

"Mr. Chase?" Clara frowned, instinctively becoming more guarded. "What are you doing here?"

Holding a bouquet of fresh white roses in his left arm and a fruit basket in his right hand, Ryan walked toward her. He set the items on the table, then turned his gaze to Clara, his eyes scanning her with an unsettling intensity.

His stare made Clara feel strangely uneasy.

She was about to speak when Ryan spoke first, breaking the tension.

He said, "I was in the city the past few days. I only found out about your accident today and thought I'd come by to check on you. How are you feeling? Do you think you need to go to the City Hospital for another checkup?

Thinking she might have misjudged the situation, Clara realized that since they were colleagues, it would be awkward to ignore him completely.

She responded politely but distantly, "I'm fine now, and I'll be discharged tomorrow. I'm sorry for troubling you to come all this way, Mr. Chase."

Ryan could easily tell Clara was deliberately keeping her distance.

The more she pushed him away, the more determined he became to win her over. He was determined to see if she was pretending to be aloof or if she genuinely wasn't interested in him. He refused to believe Clara couldn't tell he had feelings for her.noveldrama

Suppressing the hint of irritation inside, Ryan smiled with a concerned expression. "The medical conditions in this town are poor. I'm still worried about you.

"If you're worried about asking for leave since you just arrived, I can talk to Mr. Shaw for you. Besides, you don't look good," he said.

He reached out as he spoke, intending to touch Clara's forehead. "Are you still running a fever?"

Clara, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, hadn't expected Ryan to get so close and make such a bold move. Reflexively, she raised her hand and pushed his hand away, quickly standing up.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she frowned.

Ryan stared at the back of his hand for a couple of seconds, reddened from her

push. A brief flicker of something cold passed through his eyes, but he quickly hid

it.

He looked at Clara with an innocent

expression, pretending not to understand why she had reacted so strongly. "Ms. Salford, I just wanted to check if your fever has gone down. Did I scare you?"

He immediately apologized, "I'm sorry... I should have let you know first."

His acting was flawless, completely convincing.

Clara watched him, still feeling uneasy, but she couldn't spot any obvious flaws in his behavior.

Besides, they were in a hospital. Even if Ryan had bad intentions, he wouldn't do something like that here.

Was she really just overreacting?

However, Ryan had been observing Clara's reactions. His fingers, tense at his side, subtly twitched in frustration.

It was so close... Just a little closer, and he was able to touch her...

Clara still felt uncomfortable, instinctively wanting to avoid being alone in the same space with him.

"Thanks for coming to see me today,

Mr. Chase. need to rest now, so you should head home," she said, picking up the items from the table and handing them to Ryan. "And here's your stuff. You can take it with you."

Ryan had heard she was sick, and he had been thinking about her, bringing gifts

to check on her. Yet now, Clara was ungrateful and tried to send him away!

Frustration built up inside him.

"There's no reason to take back a gift once it's given, and it's not even worth much. Don't be so polite with me, Ms. Salford," Ryan said, deliberately reaching for Clara's hand.

The moment his fingers brushed hers, Clara recoiled as if shocked, letting go of the items. The fruit basket dropped, landing with a thud on Ryan's foot.

Ryan yelped in pain, kicking the basket aside. Frustration and anger boiled over, pushing him to the edge of losing control. His face darkened as he glared at Clara.

His gaze was cold and intense, sending a shiver down Clara's spine and making her heart race. Instinctively, she took a step back as she sensed the danger.