Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

She was never really part of the Bradford family to begin with. This time, when

she headed back to the Capital, she planned to take Z with her, move to another city, and never look back.

A day went by.

Clara was sitting on a bench in the village when someone called out behind her.

"Clara, is your foot any better? Want to take some more medicine?"

This village was a good day's drive from downtown Capital, tucked right on the edge of the city. She'd walked nonstop for two days and nights, her feet covered in blisters. Luckily, the place she was staying belonged to a local herbalist.

She turned and smiled at the girl with twin braids.

"I'm feeling a lot better, Emily. Thanks."

Emily was the one who took her in. Her parents worked in the Capital and left her to be raised by her grandfather in the countryside. The old man was a renowned herbalist, and Emily had picked up a lot from him over the years.

Emily came over and crouched down to take a look at Clara's foot.

"It's healing, but you should still rest up. Try not to walk around too much."

Clara nodded. It had been ages since she'd chatted with someone so easily.

So much had happened in the Capital-just the mess with Ryan was enough to drive her crazy, not to mention that sudden, ridiculous marriage to Dylan. For the first time in a long while, she finally felt like she had a moment to herself.

From her very first day in the village, Clara had sensed something was off.

Usually, villages like this were filled with old people and little kids left behind by parents working in the city. But here, there were a ton of middle-aged men, and all of them looked fit and strong, like they did manual labor all year round.

She'd pretty much stayed inside at Emily's, but now, watching a dozen or so men pass by in the distance, she couldn't help but ask,

"Your parents went off to work in the city, but how come there are so many middle- aged men around here? I don't see any factories or anything like that."

Emily was busy organizing herbs on a shelf, and she looked a little awkward at the question.

"They built a rehab center here about ten years ago, for people with... you know, mental health problems. The jobs there pay really well. That's who those men are -the staff. My parents wanted to work there too, but for some reason, they ended up taking my little brother to the city instead. Maybe there are requirements to get hired. My dad, well, he didn't really fit the bill."

A rehab center? Way out here?

Weird.

Scarlette wasn't coming until tomorrow, and Clara had nothing to do, so she started limping in that direction.

"Where's the rehab center? Wouldn't Western medicine work faster on my leg? Maybe they have a pharmacy or something?"

Emily quickly grabbed her arm. "Clara, you can't go over there! Only the staff are allowed anywhere near it, and most of them are men-not exactly friendly, either. You have no idea, but around here, getting a job at that center is a big deal The village chief is basically in charge of everything. His family drives luxury cars, and every year, on his birthday, people line up to suck up to him."

Emily's grip tightened. "When they built the rehab center, it took over most of our family's land. My granddad tried to fight it and ended up with a broken leg for his trouble."

But that was all years ago.

Emily was only about twenty, still at that age where she couldn't keep things to herself.

She'd barely finished talking when a

harsh cough sounded from inside the house her grandfather's. His voice, rough and aged, came through the paper-thin window "Why are you telling outsiders all this?"

Emily made a face and clung to Clara's arm. "Just don't go near that place, okay? The men who work

there act like bullies. You're so pretty, Clara-I'm worried they'll give you trouble."

Clara had been here a whole day and night without stepping outside. No one in

the village even knew a city girl from the Bolton family was here.noveldrama

She wasn't about to cause trouble for herself, so she just followed Emily back inside.

*

Capital City, Palm Bay.

Dylan sat on the bed, heavy curtains blocking out all the light.

The whole room felt sealed up and suffocating.

He sat like that until evening, when a hesitant voice spoke up from outside the

door.

"Sir, would you like some dinner?"

It had been two days since he'd eaten. He couldn't keep this up.

Dylan ran his palm slowly across the bedspread, his voice steady. "No."

The maid looked helpless and hurried off to find Aiden.

Aiden, still sporting bandages on his head, heard Dylan was refusing food again and just sighed, waving it off. "Let the boss be for now. He'll eat when he wants to. No one can force him."

Really, Aiden was waiting for an order for the word to go track down Mrs. Bolton and bring her back.

He'd passed out that day and never expected Mrs. Bolton would use that chance to run, leaving the injured boss behind and making her escape.

Since Dylan had been brought back, he hadn't said a word. He hadn't given any orders to go after her.

It was like his soul had left him. He just sat in the master bedroom, refusing to eat or drink a thing.