The Officer's Runaway Wife and Secret Son novel Chapter 352

"Clara," Noah said suddenly.

Clara looked up. "What is it?"

"What if..." Noah chose his words carefully. "What if he's not just coming home?"

Not just coming home, but coming to see her.

Clara was silent for a moment.

Though Noah hadn't said it aloud, the implication hung in the air between them.

"It's a free country. I can't stop him from going wherever he pleases."

"Can't stop him, or don't want to stop him?"

The thought flashed through Noah's mind, but he didn't ask.

He lowered his eyes. "Yes, you're right."

Just as he couldn't stop her from falling in love with that traffic cop from off-campus all those years ago, he couldn't stop that SWAT officer, now covered in scars, from chasing after her.

All he could do was hold his ground.

Noah asked, "Are we still going to the garden party tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

He had asked so cautiously, but her answer came too quickly.

Noah felt a slight pang in his heart, but he forced his usual gentle smile back onto his face. "Alright, I'll pick you up after work tomorrow then."

By the end of the meal, neither of them had touched the plate of meatballs again.

As they were paying the bill, the waiter politely asked if they wanted to take anything to go. Clara glanced at the meatballs, congealed with cold grease, and told the waiter, "Not that one."

It was cold. The flavor had changed.

Standing to the side, Noah's gaze flickered at her words.

Neither of them spoke on the way back.

When they arrived at the hotel, he walked her through the lobby and all the way to the elevators. The overhead lights stretched their shadows long across the floor, but they never overlapped.

"Thank you for taking me back," Clara said politely.

Noah stood a step away from her, not embracing her as he had on the rooftop.

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