she watched as the girls glanced at each other mischievously and she felt a headache coming.'Urgh'.
"So, Clara... How's it going?"
"Yes, Clara... Zach told me that Big brother sleeps at your place."
"Huh, really?... Hehehe... Clara, should we be expecting__"
"Argh! Leave me alone." Clara felt her cheeks heated up from the girls' intense gazes. "N... Nothing really happened between us," she stammered, then heard the girls sighed in disappointment.
She bit her lips and sighed inside, also surprised that she couldn't muster up the courage to tell him to go home whenever night comes.
But it may be because she had grown very fond of his cooking right?
"Shit! Clara, don't tell me you're not over your so-called dream guy yet," Maya snapped, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Clara... Why can't you open your heart for him already," Mira muttered exasperatedly while staring at her friend's expression.
Clara sighed inside again while fiddling with the hem of her blouse. Without bordering to answer their questions, she quickly cleared her throat and changed the topic.
"Maya, how's your wedding preparation going?" She asked carefully then sighed in relief hearing her friend's sudden chuckle, as her attention was suddenly diverted and Mira's eyes also lit up.
They started discussing the wedding and the events that were going to unfold, which would be mostly planned by Ken's parents, and before they knew it, many hours had passed by.
"What!?... Shit!!!__ I need to go back to the basement with Zach!" Mira suddenly exclaimed in shock, then stood up with a jerk as she stared down at the text message that had just popped up on her phone's screen, which was informing her that there's an attack. She suddenly gasped while her eyes darted to the girls sitting beside her, noticing that she had subconsciously mentioned the basement.
Clara watched the girl's expression with a chuckle, then slowly stood up and turned to the girl who was still on the couch. "Maya, I'll take my leave now," She muttered softly then picked up her bag.
"Oh, okay." Maya nodded, then her phone suddenly starts ringing and she also stood up and walked toward the table then picked it up.
Seeing that it was her husband, she bid her friends goodbye and quickly received the call.
_____
After walking out of the office, Clara bid Mira good night as the girl rushed toward the elevator to catch up with her boyfriend.
Walking toward the guy who was busy with his phone from a distance while leaning against the wall, a small smile appeared on her lips while she sighed inside.
"Big brother..." She stopped in front of him and Carl looked up with a smile.
"Let's go." He took her hand and they started walking toward the elevator.
They stood silently inside the elevator, with Carl's gaze not leaving the girl even for once. "Clara..." He softly called out after a while and watched as she slowly looked up.
Clara stared at him confusedly and urged him to go on and Carl sighed inside, then shook his head.
"Nothing," he muttered with a small smile and Clara made an "Oh" sound then slowly nodded while wondering what he wanted to say.
Carl's gaze lingered on her face and he sighed again. Maybe he's just overthinking.
The elevator soon came to a stop and they walked outside the mall, toward the parking lot.
By then, the sky was very dark. However, people were still flooding inside the mall while the street lights shone brightly.
As they walked hand in hand toward the spot where his car was parked, Clara glanced sideways at him and slowly muttered, "Big bro... I think__" she paused mid-sentence as her gaze subconsciously darted to a direction, where a car had suddenly parked and a girl was coming out of it.
Carl frowned slightly while watching her expression then he slowly followed her gaze and in the next second, his expression had darkened.
Still, in her shock, Vivian stared between the two people standing in front of her and her gaze landed on their hands which were intertwined.
Her gaze turned back to Clara and she stared at her face for some seconds with an indescribable emotion, then started walking forward and softly greeted, "Big brother..." Before walking away from the parking lot.
Clara's gaze followed the girl's back with a sigh, then turned to the guy who now had on a calm expression, and in no time, they left in his car.
_____
Meanwhile, Vivian stopped in her footsteps and turned back after hearing the car took off.
Staring blankly at the direction it went, her fist tightened on her bag and her eyes flashed with so many emotions.
"Hehehe... Pearl." She chuckled while shaking her head then turned back and continued walking toward the mall.
_____
Inside the car, Clara glanced sideways at the guy whose attention was on the road and she sighed inside, remembering the lady from minutes ago.
It seems like her friends were right.
Another sigh escaped her lips and she gasped slightly as the guy had suddenly placed his palm on her hand which was clasped tightly on the hem of her blouse, while his other hand rested on the stirring wheel.
Carl glanced sideways at her with a soft smile while rubbing her palm slightly and Clara whose attention was still on their hands finally looked up and smiled back at him softly, then she placed her other palm on his.
After some minutes, she glanced ahead and noticed that the car was taking a different route. "Big brother..."
"I need to work on some documents, do you want me to drop you first?" Carl asked patiently while stopping the car at the roadside. He had a lot of things to take care of as his workload had increased tremendously after giving his assistant a week off.
"Oh." Clara slowly nodded in realization, then hurriedly shook her head. "Let's go," she said with a soft smile and Carl nodded while smiling back at her, then started driving again.