A Night of Desire

Chapter 373 - 366: Choosing Autumn Shelby Again

Just as Seth Quinn led Clara Grant to the door, they heard Autumn Shelby’s voice. Seth froze, pulling back the foot he had been about to step forward with.

Clara’s heart clenched, and she instinctively looked up at him.

His expression was mostly unreadable, but his features were slightly tense. Clara couldn’t tell if he was displeased, surprised, or nervous.

Even if Clara wasn’t familiar with Autumn Shelby—couldn’t recognize her from behind or even by her voice—that one sentence was enough for her to realize in an instant that the person inside was none other than Autumn!

Autumn Shelby said she had her reasons for leaving all those years ago. ’Seth probably doesn’t know what they are, does he?’

’What if her reasons are good enough for him and everyone else to forgive her? Would he abandon me and choose Autumn again?’

At that thought, Clara’s first instinct was to stop Seth from hearing any more. She wanted to pull him away, but her legs felt rooted to the spot, completely unable to move.

All she could do was stand there as the voice from inside the room once again reached her ears, loud and clear.

"Autumn Shelby, what reasons could you possibly have?" Sienna Hale demanded, shaking off Autumn’s hand. "What kind of reasons would make you abandon your own wedding preparations, abandon the dignity of the Quinn and Shelby families, and abandon Seth?!"

"Autumn, do you have any idea how much pressure your sudden disappearance put on Seth and all of us? Especially Seth! For the entire year after you left, he never once mentioned you. He forbade any of us from ever bringing you up,"

"Eventually, even your name became taboo in our family. We all knew it was because he couldn’t get over you. And now, when he’s finally moved on and found someone new, what are you doing back here looking for him?"

Outside the door, when Clara heard Sienna Hale say, "it was because he couldn’t get over you," her heart felt as if it had been struck, a sharp, piercing ache.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the woman speaking had to be Seth’s mother.

Seth had once told her that his relationship with Autumn hadn’t been good. He’d said he never felt the same impulse for Autumn that he felt for her, neither emotionally nor physically.

He also said he truly didn’t care that Autumn left; in fact, he didn’t bring her up precisely *because* he didn’t care.

He’d even said he was grateful Autumn had left back then, because her leaving was what allowed him to meet Clara!

But now, his mother was saying that for that entire year, he had never gotten over Autumn!

’Maybe his mother is telling the truth. After all, a mother knows her own son’s heart best.’

’Maybe he’s been lying to me all along, just to get his hands on my body, the only thing he’s interested in!’

Clara instinctively tried to pull her hand from Seth’s grasp, to break free from his palm. But the moment she moved, he only held on tighter.

Seth turned to look at her. Her lips were pressed into a thin, tight line. He gave a bitter, inward smile. ’It seems Mom’s baseless speculation has made her misunderstand things.’

Sensing his gaze, Clara stubbornly refused to look back at him. Or perhaps, she simply didn’t dare to, afraid he would see her eyes, which were starting to turn red.

She just kept struggling, trying to wrench her hand free.

But in the next moment, Seth tightened his grip and pulled her right into the room.