No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)
Chapter 478

Clara couldn't help but let out a chuckle upon hearing those words. The laughter was so hearty it tugged at her wound, causing her to wince and suck in a sharp breath of cold air. lan shot Chase a swift kick. "Damn it, you mutt, you made my wife hurt herself."

Chase glared at Sasha, whose expression was as frazzled as a cat in a thunderstorm, and drawled, "What's the big deal? You touched the ugly mug, and now you want to blow a gasket. Sasha, have a heart, would ya? Who's been looking after you these past few days when you were down in the dumps, huh?"

Sasha bristled even more at that. "Chase, just you wait, I'll give you a piece of my mind tonight! Enough, I can't even look at you. Pass the phone to Clara."

Chase handed the phone to Clara without hesitation and muttered to lan under his breath, "I've never seen such a hotheaded chick. Which poor sod's gonna end up marrying her?"

lan gave him a meaningful look. "Could be someone far off, or maybe right under my nose, you unlucky guy. Help me rub my arm, will ya? Can't lift it."

Chase was about to help when it dawned on him that lan was referring to him.

He couldn't help but snort softly, "If I marry her, I might as well call you Dad."

"Sure, son. Get to it and give your old man a hand."

"Get lost! You never quit, do ya?"

While the two bantered, Clara and Sasha chatted on their end.

Sasha, who had been giving Chase the cold shoulder just moments earlier, now spoke in a gentle, soothing tone.

"Clara, that wound of yours still hurting? I've sent you some snacks. I'll be shipping them to Chase's office at the hospital. Make sure he hands them to you. A little snack might just take the edge off the pain. Worked for me when I broke my leg."

Clara smiled and nodded. "Thanks. Aren't you feeling cold dressed like that? It's below freezing outside."

"What can I do? It's the life of an actor, right? They make you wear thermal pants in the heat of summer if the script calls for it. Gotta run. Director's calling me back to set. We'll chat later tonight!"

Sasha hung up in a rush and dashed off, only to be greeted by Jackson holding out a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

"Here, take a sip of this. It'll warm you up in this freak spring chill, especially since you're hardly wearing anything."

Sasha took the hot chocolate with a smile. "Thanks, Jackson. I'm fine, really. I've been through worse when I was an extra with no trailer and had to wait outside all day."

Jackson's gaze was tender as he stared at her. "Won't be long now. Once this film wraps, you're gonna be a star. I'm betting you'll have tons of offers."

"Fingers crossed. Otherwise, my grand escape from that arranged marriage would've been for nothing."

"What did you say? Escape from marriage?"

Jackson asked, his curiosity piqued.

Sasha lightly brushed it off, saying, "Yeah, my granddad tried to set me up in a marriage I didn't want. So, I bolted from home and got cut off. I've been hustling on my own in Northbridge ever since. If it wasn't for Clara taking me in, I probably would've frozen on some street corner by now."

Jackson chuckled, "Wow, that's gutsy. If I'd had your courage back in the day, maybe I wouldn't be where I am now."

Sasha's interest was piqued by his somber tone, "Go on, spill it. Sounds like there's a story there."

Jackson's expression turned wistful, "When I graduated from film school, I was broke and had no connections. Couldn't get a role to save my life. Then my mother fell ill, and to cover the insane medical bills, I... well, I became a sugar baby. Eventually, though, I fell for my benefactor, and I know she had feelings for me too."

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