That was Ethan Blackwood.
Clara Walton froze for a second, but she didn’t move toward him.
“Come here,” Ethan said again, his voice laced with warning.
Her foot twitched slightly.
But before she could even consider moving, Nathaniel Griffith held her back.
Clara looked at Nathaniel, slightly stunned.
“Why go to him?
He was just sweet-talking some other woman, and now he’s charging out here flipping at you?” Nathaniel scoffed, full of disdain.
Only then did the parent nearby realize she’d misread the situation.
Awkward as hell, she didn’t say another word, grabbed her kid, and left right away.
“Senior…” Clara was clearly helpless at this point.
Nathaniel glanced at Ethan, then, right in front of him, took Clara’s hand and started leading her toward his office.
Clara was totally confused.
Ethan’s face darkened more with every step.
In the blink of an eye, Ethan was in front of Clara, grabbing her other wrist.
Now she was stuck between two men, one pulling from each side.
“If you squeeze any harder, Mr.
Blackwood, Clara’s hand’s gonna snap,” Nathaniel said flatly.
Ethan didn’t even glance at him.
His cold stare was still locked on Clara.
“Come here.
If you don’t, you’ll deal with the consequences.”
That was more than a hint—it was a flat-out threat.
Clara saw the fury in his eyes.
She didn’t dare delay anymore and gave Nathaniel a slight shake of the head.
Nathaniel went quiet for a beat, his eyes fixed on her.
“You’re seriously going with him?”
Before she could answer, he added, much more directly, “If you don’t want to, come with me.
He won’t dare touch you.”
It was a barefaced challenge.
Clara didn’t even have time to react.
Ethan’s fist came flying fast and brutal, slamming straight into Nathaniel’s face.
Nathaniel didn’t dodge in time and took the hit full force.
His expression instantly turned cold.
He might’ve been wearing a doctor’s coat, looking all proper, but when it came to fighting, he didn’t hold back at all.
Chaos exploded instantly.
Even the nurses and doctors rushing over were stunned.
But no one dared to step in.
Neither Ethan nor Nathaniel gave an inch, taking precise shots at where it’d hurt the most.
They both ended up looking rough—sleeves askew, collars pulled.
Just stop!” Clara yelled.
Obviously, that didn’t work.
She clenched her jaw, not even bothering with words anymore.
As everyone watched in shock, Clara stepped right between them.
The men, mid-swing, froze and pulled back their fists.
“Are you out of your mind?” Nathaniel shouted at her, his face still cold.
Clara looked at him calmly.
“Thank you for standing up for me, but let me handle this, okay?”
Nathaniel kept his eyes on her, unblinking.
Meanwhile, Ethan’s face looked absolutely terrible.
Whether it was Nathaniel’s attitude toward Clara, or Clara’s tone with Nathaniel—it was all rubbing Ethan the wrong way.
Then, without a word, Ethan grabbed Clara’s wrist.
“Let’s go.”
He didn’t explain, didn’t wait—just dragged her off.
Clara frowned, clearly not happy about it.
“What, don’t want to leave?” Ethan’s tone grew even darker.”No.” Clara denied it flatly.
Ethan stared at her, his face tight with cold anger, then yanked her straight into the lounge.
At the end of the hallway?
Fiona’s hospital room.
“Came to see Nathaniel Griffith, huh?” Ethan looked down at Clara, voice sharp.
“Nope.” Clara shook her head again.
Nathaniel cut in, not bothering to sugarcoat it.
“Then why were you getting all handsy out there?
Why not explain it properly?”
“Huh?” Clara blinked, a little confused.
Blame it on the pregnancy brain—she couldn’t keep up.
Explain what, exactly?
Even if something was going on between her and Nathaniel, she wasn’t dumb enough to flirt in a hospital lobby.
That’s just asking to be scolded.
“So, you’re not denying that you and Nathaniel aren’t married?” Ethan challenged, his tone dark.
Clara responded with a throwaway “Yeah, okay.”
What was there to deny?
They weren’t close.
Basically strangers.
Her indifferent attitude just stoked the fire in Ethan’s chest.
“Clara Walton!” he snapped, using her full name like some kind of warning.
Clara tilted her head, calm as ever.
“Fiona’s inside, right?
Great.
I’ll apologize then, just so you can stop holding it over my head.”
She didn’t wait for his reaction, just walked off toward the hospital room.
Ethan moved to stop her, but missed—she was already through the door.
He followed right behind her.
…
Inside the room, Fiona was flipping through a book. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
The second she saw Clara walk in, her face darkened.
When she noticed Ethan behind Clara, her expression soured even more.
“Why are you here, Clara?” Fiona snapped, jumping to attack first.
“To apologize,” Clara said evenly.
“So you won’t keep obsessing over it and ruin my day.”
“Heh—” Fiona sneered.
Clara’s laid-back tone clearly annoyed her.
Ethan stayed silent, standing behind Clara like a silent shield.
The message it sent?
Obvious.
Fiona’s brows furrowed deeper.
“Clara, I don’t need your half-hearted apology.”
Clara didn’t say a word.
Instead, Fiona turned her frustration on Ethan.
“Ethan, are you seriously doing this just to piss me off?”
Ethan frowned.
“Fiona.”
His voice low, like a warning.
Fiona’s emotions only ramped up.
Clara, still calm, spoke up again.
“Then how exactly should I apologize to make it count in your eyes?”
She didn’t back down.
Her eyes stayed steady on Fiona.
Fiona glared back, eyes full of contempt.
Ethan noticed—Clara was unusually cooperative today.
Not what he had expected.
He’d only brought her here to squash the drama.
He knew perfectly well how much Clara disliked Fiona.
Then—
Fiona let out a cold laugh.
“Oh, you wanna be sincere?
Fine.
Get down on your knees and apologize.”
She was doing it on purpose—to humiliate Clara.
Clara just stared at her—quiet, unmoving.
Her eyes gave nothing away, but the way she looked at Fiona made her skin crawl.
“You really want me to kneel?” Clara asked softly.
Fiona, suddenly caught in her own game, tried to stand her ground.
“That’s right.”
“Okay.” Clara smiled.
That smile sent a chill through the room—it made Fiona recoil for a split second.
Ethan’s frown deepened.
He hadn’t expected Fiona to go that far.
And definitely hadn’t expected Clara to slowly start kneeling.
He moved fast.
Faster than thought.