The Lawyer’s Lie Chapter 22

The Lawyer’s Lie Chapter 22

The car was very quiet.

Asher held Clara in his arms, his grip so tight she could barely breathe.

Only then did Clara realize his body was trembling.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice muffled against the top of her head. “I got there too late.”

Clara froze for a second.

She lifted her head and looked at his face.

That face, usually so bold and full of swagger, was tense now, his brows drawn tight and his eyes shadowed

with deep, lingering fear.

All at once, she remembered when they were children. He had been beaten to the ground, and when she

rushed over to shield him, he had looked at her the same way.

His eyes had been full of nothing but her.

Something in Clara’s heart softened. She raised her hands, cupped his face, and tried to distract him.

“How did you know he took me?”

Asher held her hand and pressed it against his cheek, sounding almost aggrieved.

“I’ve had people watching over you this whole time.”

Clara paused, then understood.

She smiled faintly but said nothing.

Asher studied her for a while, and only after he was sure she was all right and not angry did the tension in

his brows finally ease.

“Send someone to save him,” Clara suddenly said.

Asher’s brows pulled together again. “He kidnapped you, and you still want me to save him?”

“If he dies, you’ll have trouble on your hands.” Clara looked at him, her tone calm. “Haven’t you already been

busy enough lately?”

Asher froze for a second.

Then his eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.

“So you’re worried I’ll get dragged into trouble? You’re worried about me?”

Clara said nothing and turned her gaze out the window.

Asher laughed softly and pulled her into his arms again.

“I’m not busy anymore. Those people and those problems are all handled.”

He lowered his head and murmured beside her ear, “No one can stand in our way anymore.”

The tips of Clara’s ears turned red.

She said nothing. She only leaned lightly against his shoulder.

It was cold outside, but here, it was warm.

She liked it very much.

When Julian woke up, the hospital room was empty.

He knew who had saved him. He cooperated with everything, but he did not say a single word.

After he was discharged, he did something no one expected.

He left the firm. More than that, he left the legal profession entirely.

He handed every case and every resource he had to the people who had followed him for years.

He ignored their pleas for him to stay. He ignored Mr. Warren’s furious scolding.

He ignored the wall full of awards and commendations. He ignored the career and dream he had spent his

whole life building.

He walked away without looking back, and before he left, he took care of only two things.

First, he transferred half of his assets into Mia’s parents’ account with a brief note that, in essence, said he

was sorry.

Second, he wrote Noah a long letter of apology, apologizing for letting an innocent man suffer for nothing.

After that, he disappeared.

No one knew where he had gone.

When Clara heard the news, she only sighed.

Someone beside her asked quietly, “Clara, are you okay?”

Clara shook her head and pulled herself out of her thoughts.

Her phone rang. It was a video call from Noah.

On the screen, Noah signed, “Life abroad is good. The weather is beautiful, and the food is great.”

Clara smiled.

Noah kept signing, “If you’re not happy, come to me.”

Clara thought about it, then picked up two bouquets beside her.

She held them up to the camera for Noah to choose.

“Which one looks better? This one, or that one?”

Noah froze for a moment.

Then he smiled.

He signed, “They both look good. You decide.”

Clara smiled too.

Holding the bouquet, she looked into the camera and said, “Noah, I’m happy.”

“I really am.”

After hanging up, she looked at herself in the mirror.

She was trying on the wedding gown Asher had commissioned from a world-renowned designer, and a happy smile touched her lips.

One month later, by the sea.

The sun was warm, and the breeze was perfect.

On the white sand beach, guests sat on both sides of the aisle, leaning in to whisper to one another, every

face bright with a smile.

Asher stood at the altar in a white suit. He was so nervous his palms were slick with sweat, and he kept

taking deep breaths.

A friend beside him laughed at him. “I’ve never seen you this scared.”

Asher shot him a glare, then went right back to taking deep breaths.

The music began, and everyone turned around.

Clara stood at the end of the aisle in a white wedding gown.

Her veil was long, lifted by the ocean breeze until it drifted through the air like a goddess descending to

earth.

She walked toward him step by step.

Asher looked at her, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

When Clara reached him and saw his reddened eyes, she could not help smiling.

“Why are you crying?”

Asher sniffed and stubbornly said, “Who’s crying? It’s just the wind.”

Clara did not call him out on it. She only placed her hand in his.

His palm was hot, and he held her tightly.

The officiant began leading them through their vows.

They exchanged rings, made their promises to each other, and vowed to spend the rest of their lives together.

At last, the officiant said, “You may kiss the bride.”

Asher lowered his gaze to her.

The sea breeze lifted her veil and tousled her hair.

He reached out, brushed that loose strand aside, and cradled her face in his hands.

“Clara,” he said.

Clara looked up at him.

“I finally got to marry you.”

Then he kissed her.

Clara closed her eyes.

In a daze, she thought she saw a figure beneath a tree in the distance.

That figure stood there for a long time before disappearing into the shadows.

She paid it no mind.

She only held tighter to the man in front of her.

The cold season had already passed. In the blazing heat of that summer, she stepped into a new life.