The Officer's Runaway Wife and Secret Son novel Chapter 417

As soon as the other woman was gone, Rhys crouched down in front of Clara, his eyes level with hers.

Seeing the red rims of her eyes and her glistening lashes, he would have rather had her yell at him with a cold face than see her cry again.

He pulled out a tissue and tentatively reached toward her face.

"Why are you crying? What did she say to you?"

This time, Clara didn't pull away.

The warmth of his thumb passed through the thin tissue as he wiped the corner of her eye.

She lifted her gaze, which settled on the scar on his brow bone.

It was a dangerous spot. A little lower, and he might have lost that eye.

Over the years, just how many old wounds had this body hidden, all sustained while desperately protecting others? How many hidden attacks and schemes had he endured that she knew nothing about?

A lump formed in Clara's throat, and the tears welled up in her eyes until a large drop fell with a soft pat onto the back of Rhys's hand.

Rhys panicked, instinctively shifting from a crouch to dropping to one knee.

"What is it? What did I do wrong?"

He was at a loss, wanting to hold her, to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but he was afraid of crossing the line they now had and making her hate him.

"If you feel stuffy in here, we can go somewhere else. Don't cry. Clara, please don't cry."

But the more he spoke, the harder she cried.

She didn't want to lose her composure in public, especially not in front of Rhys, where she didn't want to appear weak.

But the tears came quickly and wouldn't stop. Thinking about the bloody, mangled details Nettie had described, she felt a real, physical pain in her chest.

Old grievances and resentments came pouring out along with her tears.

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