Never Getting Her Back

After checking in at the hotel, Clara saw that the rain had stopped. She grabbed her bag and hurried to a restaurant to meet Olivia.

They hugged each other tight, then sat down and started catching up. When Olivia heard Clara had walked away from the divorce with half of Damon's net worth, her jaw hit the floor.

Ignoring the curious looks from other diners, she flung herself at Clara and shrieked. "My best friend is loaded now! Oh my goodness! Does that mean I'll never have to worry about money again if I latch onto you?"

Mortified, Clara clapped a hand over Olivia's mouth and shot an apologetic look at the startled diners. Then, she dragged Olivia into a private room.

Once they were alone, Olivia's eyes gleamed with curiosity as she whispered, "Did the money actually hit your account?"

"It did," Clara said. "But I'm scared to spend it. It feels like a lucky break and could be taken away any second."

Olivia refused to let her think like that.

Taking Clara's hand, she reassured her patiently. "It's not some lucky break. It's your fair share! Damon was generous enough to split his fortune, so why shouldn't you spend it? It's not like you held him at gunpoint to marry you!"

That logic made Clara stop and think.

Olivia saw her start to unwind and couldn't help but grin. She grabbed the menu, skimmed it real quick, and slapped it into the waiter's hands.

"I'll take the priciest stuff-spiny lobster, top-shelf everything-one of each!" With that, she leaned back, looking completely pleased with herself, and smirked. "How was that? Did I nail the role?"

Clara shot her two thumbs up and decided to tease her. "Not bad, Ms. Hyde. But let's see if you still feel that way when the check comes."

"What? You're not picking up the tab, Clara? Guess we'll just have to split it then..."

Once the feast was over, Olivia looked completely pleased.

Noticing how satisfied Olivia was, Clara pressed the bell to call the waiter. She was ready to pay when a mocking voice broke the silence.

"Well, well, if it isn't Clara."

Both Clara and Olivia looked up. A group of people-most of them from Aeloria College—was coming down the stairs, with Giselle right in the center.

As they got closer, Olivia leaned in and whispered some gossip into Clara's ear "Clara, the day after you left the country, Giselle's whole mess with juggling multiple guys blew up it got so bad it even trended online. Apparently, she was involved with way too many men. noveldrama

"Word is, Damon's friends were the ones who spread it around. Her reputation's been in shambles ever since She tried crawling back to Damon and begged him to take her bäck, but he completely shuther down. You should've seen her face when he rejected her in front of everyone-it was priceless."

Giselle approached them and caught fragments of what Olivia was saying. Her

face soured, and she shot Clara a harsh look.

"Didn't you leave the country, Clara? What are you doing back here?" she snapped.

"That's none of your business," Clara said.

"What's there to be so smug about? Do you think coming back will get you anywhere with Damon? He never cared about you before, and he definitely won't now!"

Clara had no idea why Giselle was so hostile, especially since she and Damon were already divorced. Not wanting to make a scène, shë....... quickly paid the bill and took Olivia's hand. She was ready to leave.

But Giselle only got angrier when Clara ignored her.

She stepped forward, blocking their way. "You walked away with half of Damon's fortune because you took my wedding. You're nothing but a gold-digger, so stop acting like you're better than me!

"So what if you've got all that money? Look at you—you still reek of poverty, no matter how much you try to cover it up. Don't come anywhere near me with that stench."