Chapter: 924

Clara noticed Rachel's puzzled look. But when they caught each other's eyes, they smiled without explaining anything.

For the second time that night, Rachel heard the word "friend." She pursed her lips and looked away.

The first time that Rachel heard the word was from Carson. It didn't make her feel uncomfortable. Carson was a frivolous man. He was joking most of the time so nobody took him seriously.

And now, Clara had just said that Rachel was her friend.

Rachel felt that she was transported back to a time when a man and

@ woman came to hurt her badly. That was four years ago. The scene had recurred to her many times over that she vowed not to trust anyone but herself. She promised herself that she shouldn't repeat that mistake.

Consequently, Rachel never took the word “friend” lightly. It made her feel queasy, thinking that she might get hurt again as she was hurt then. Moreover, Abby died at that time. Rachel had blamed herself for her death because she was not able to protect her. Since then, she had suppressed her feelings, bringing to naught any affection she would have for others.

"Oh, I see," Ameer said as he touched the tip of his nose. Thinking of what he hadn't said to Rachel, he felt his face flush. And now that Clara was here, the more he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

He had to find an excuse to hide his embarrassment.

"Well.. Clara, is

Roger here with you? I think I'll go find him."

If Clara was Ameer's cousin, then Roger would be, too.

"Oh, he's not here. He's in Baltimore for a month now. There's a project there that he needs to oversee," Clara explained as she unwittingly looked at Rachel.

“Oh.." Ameer felt embarrassed for asking about Roger. He glanced at

Rachel but found her showing no interest in what they were talking about. He felt somewhat disappointed.

“Your parents should be here, right? I'll go and see them since I haven't seen them for some time now."

Clara noticed that Ameer was observing every movement of Rachel and saw the disappointment in his eyes. Clara's eyes darkened. She seemed to know something but she was careful enough not to show it on her face.

"Yes, they're here and so is Riley," Clara said.

"It would be a good idea to have a good chat with them. They'd like that."

Ameer nodded, said goodbye to Rachel, and hurriedly left. He was a bit confounded.

Clara followed Ameer with her eyes and then looked at Rachel.

“Ameer seems to like you very much," she said in a casual tone.

Rachel just shrugged her shoulders. It seemed that she had no intention to pursue the topic.

Clara was secretly relieved that Rachel was not interested in Ameer.

She knew that look that Ameer had given Rachel. He was looking at