Chapter 176: What a match made in heaven

[A Few Minutes Ago]

Somewhere near the refreshment stall, Clara stood watching the event with Lily and Silvia. However, despite being surrounded by the lively atmosphere, her thoughts kept drifting toward Julianna.

Her eyes wandered across the gathering, eventually settling on Julianna as she attempted to strike up a conversation with Hannah.

"Tsk. Such a pretentious woman. I wonder how Hannah doesn’t see through her lies," Clara muttered under her breath.

In her past life, Julianna had not only manipulated Clara but had also played a significant role in poisoning Hannah’s mind against her. While maintaining a seemingly cordial relationship with Clara, she had slowly turned everyone in the Sterling family against her, until they could barely stand the sight of their own daughter-in-law.

That was why, when Clara discovered Eric’s affair with Hannah, she had refused to help. At the time, she had believed it was her way of retaliating against the family for all the suffering she had endured as their daughter-in-law.

But now, in this new life, Clara couldn’t help wondering whether things were unfolding the same way.

Ever since her relationship with Hannah had begun to improve, she had rarely heard Hannah mention Julianna. That alone had given Clara some hope. Still, she couldn’t shake the suspicion that Julianna might be working against her behind the scenes.

"Why does Julianna look as though someone just slapped her?" Clara murmured.

She had barely finished speaking when her eyes widened.

Penelope had accidentally bumped into Julianna, spilling champagne all over the expensive dress the older woman was wearing.

A low chuckle rumbled in Clara’s chest.

From where she stood, she couldn’t hear their conversation, but she could easily imagine how it had gone. Julianna’s expression was growing increasingly sour, while Penelope appeared to be speaking with the stern patience of an adult reprimanding a troublesome child.

Clara’s amusement deepened.

Well, this is unexpected.

Then Hannah stepped in, seemingly taking Penelope’s side. After a brief exchange, the two walked away together, smiling, while Julianna remained behind, visibly fuming.

Clara watched them disappear into the crowd, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"I wonder what happened over there," she said, tilting her head slightly.

Whatever Penelope had said, it had clearly struck a nerve. And judging by Julianna’s expression, the conversation had been far more entertaining than Clara could have imagined.

For the first time that evening, Clara found herself wishing she had been close enough to hear every word.

Clara let out a quiet sigh as she watched Julianna storm away. She knew the woman well enough to understand that, despite her anger, she wouldn’t simply let the matter go.

But Julianna was too careful for that.

She valued her reputation above everything else and would never openly do something that could make people question her character. Whatever she planned, Clara was certain she would do it discreetly, behind closed doors.

Still, something about her behavior made Clara uneasy.

She lingered near the stall for a while, pretending to be occupied while keeping a subtle eye on the Hayes family.

A few moments later, she noticed the couple speaking quietly with each other. Soon, Julianna joined them, standing beside them for a short while. Everything seemed normal until her phone suddenly rang.

Julianna glanced at the screen before stepping away from the crowd.

Clara’s brows furrowed.

"Where is she going in such a hurry?" she murmured.

She tried to convince herself to ignore it. Perhaps it was nothing. Perhaps she was simply being overly cautious because of everything she remembered from her past life.

But something about the urgency in Julianna’s movements bothered her.

Clara watched as Julianna disappeared farther into the crowd.

"No. I need to know."

She was just about to follow when Lily stopped her.

"Madam, where are you going?"

Clara turned and gave her an urgent look.

"I’ll be back soon. You and Silvia keep an eye on the stall for me."

"But—"

"Just handle things for a while, Lily. I won’t be long."

Before Lily could ask anything else, Clara had already turned and strode after Julianna.

Lily watched her leave, confusion written all over her face.

"What was that about?" she muttered.

Beside her, Silvia simply shrugged.

"Knowing Madam Clara, we’ll probably find out soon enough."

***

Clara continued following Julianna discreetly, keeping enough distance to avoid drawing attention. But just as she rounded a corner, Julianna came to an abrupt halt.

Clara froze.

Julianna stood still for a moment before slowly turning to look behind her.

Why did she stop?

Panic flickered through Clara. She quickly stepped backward, hoping to remain out of sight, but her heel caught on an uneven patch of ground. She stumbled and fell straight into the bushes.

"Ouch!" she hissed, wincing as a branch scratched her arm.

Holding her breath, Clara carefully peeked through the leaves. Julianna was staring in her direction.

Did she see me?

The thought made Clara’s heart race. The last thing she needed was to get caught before discovering what Julianna was up to.

She remained perfectly still as Julianna’s footsteps slowly approached.

But before the woman could come any closer, her phone rang.

Julianna stopped and answered the call.

"Yes, I’m coming," she said, her voice edged with irritation.

After ending the call, she glanced around one last time before walking away.

Clara waited until the sound of her footsteps faded.

"Phew..." she breathed, releasing the tension in her shoulders. "That was too close."

She carefully pushed herself out of the bushes, only to feel her dress tug sharply.

"What the—?"

The fabric had caught on a branch.

"Seriously?" Clara muttered, trying to free it. "Come on, let go!"

She pulled harder, but the branch refused to cooperate. With one final tug, the fabric suddenly came loose, sending her stumbling backward.

"Whoa—!"

She fell out of the bushes just as a loud scream rang through the air.

"AHHH!"

Startled, Clara screamed too.

"AHHH!"

[Present]

"What are you doing here, Hannah?" Clara asked, clutching her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.

Hannah was supposed to be inside with the others, not lurking outside and appearing out of nowhere like a ghost. But seeing Hannah also trying to catch her breath, Clara finally relaxed.

Hannah, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at her.

"Clara, why do you keep jumping out of bushes? Is this some new hobby of yours? Hiding in the shrubs and scaring people?"

Clara opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She looked away, suddenly very interested in the leaves clinging to her dress.

"I wasn’t hiding," she said, trying to sound convincing. "I tripped."

Hannah gave her a long, unimpressed look.

Clara sighed.

"Fine. I was following Julianna. I didn’t want her to see me, so I ended up falling into the bushes. Happy now? Your turn. What are you doing here?"

She couldn’t understand why Hannah had left the gathering when the rest of the family was still inside.

Hannah’s expression softened slightly.

"I was following Julianna too."

Clara blinked.

"What?"

"I wanted to keep an eye on her. I didn’t want her causing you any trouble, especially today. It’s an important day for you."

Clara stared at her.

For a moment, her heart seemed to skip a beat.

"You were worried about me?"

Hannah shrugged, though she didn’t try to deny it.

"Knowing how you always seem to find trouble, it’s the least I can do."

"..."

Hannah could be blunt, but her intentions were clear. Clara’s eyes softened as she looked at her.

Then, suddenly, her expression brightened.

"Wait! You ended up saving Mark!"

Hannah frowned.

"What does Mark have to do with this?"

"You know, I was planning to punish him, but you saved him from me. What a match made in heaven!"

Hannah stared at her as though Clara had finally lost her mind.

"Are you done?"

"Not yet, but I can be."

"Good. Because we need to find out where Julianna went."

Clara instantly returned to her senses.

"Right!"

She glanced in the direction Julianna had disappeared.

"I heard her talking to someone on the phone. From what she said, I think the person she’s meeting is somewhere nearby."

Hannah nodded.

"Then let’s find them before they leave."

Clara straightened, determination returning to her face.

"Let’s go."

Both Clara and Hannah wasted no time. Although they had no idea where Julianna had gone, they searched the area until they finally spotted her standing a short distance away.

"Hide!" Clara whispered, grabbing Hannah’s arm and pulling her behind a nearby hedge.

The two peeked through the leaves, watching Julianna speak to someone. Unfortunately, Julianna’s position blocked their view, making it impossible to see who was standing in front of her.

Clara narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look.

"By the way..." she whispered, glancing at Hannah over her shoulder. "What made you think Julianna was going to cause me trouble?"

Hannah paused.

Clara’s earlier suspicion resurfaced as she studied her friend’s expression.

Hannah had never told Clara that she knew about Julianna’s secret affair with Alex. And if she revealed too much now, she might accidentally expose what she had been keeping hidden.

"I was just being cautious," Hannah replied.

Clara raised an eyebrow.

"That’s a very vague answer."

"It’s the answer you’re getting."

"Wow. So mysterious."

Hannah gave her a sideways look. "Do you want to find out what Julianna is doing or interrogate me?"

Clara turned her attention back toward Julianna.

"Both, actually."

"Clara."

"Fine. We’ll start with Julianna."

Hannah sighed, while Clara continued peeking through the hedge, determined to uncover the identity of the person Julianna had gone to meet.