Clarissa looked at Luana with concern and scrutinized her from head to toe. "Luana, did he do anything bad to you?" she asked.
"No," Luana shook her head.
However, Clarissa's sharp eyes immediately noticed the hickey on her neck, and her expression stiffened.
"Luana, what's this..."
Luana initially didn't realize her neck was covered in hickeys.
It was only when she saw Clarissa's shocked gaze that she suddenly realized and panicked, covering her neck and awkwardly lowering her head.
"I..." she stammered.
"Was it that Mr. Elan who did this to you?"
Clarissa had seen the greedy and possessive look in Mr. Elan's eyes, as if he was scrutinizing his prey.
She had intended to warn Luana yesterday but got caught up with wedding preparations and entertaining Albert's relatives, never finding the chance for a serious conversation.
Seeing Luana return so disheartened, Clarissa became more confident that Mr. Elan had mistreated her.
"Luana, tell me the truth. If he really did this to you, I'll go confront him right now!"
The thought of Luana being violated by that despicable man made Clarissa furious. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to rush into the kitchen for a knife to seek justice for Luana.
Luana quickly stopped her, urgently saying, "Clarissa, it wasn't him."
Hearing this, Clarissa was taken aback. "Then who was it?" she asked.
This was a difficult topic for Luana to broach, and she didn't know how to start.
Seeing her hesitation, Clarissa had a thought and tentatively asked, "Did you reconcile with Cline?"
Previously, whenever Luana returned from Cline's place, she would have bruises and injuries.
So Clarissa assumed Cline was responsible, as he had always been rough with Luana.
"It's not him," Luana decided not to lie to Clarissa anymore and confessed, "I... I was with another man last night."
Clarissa was shocked by this revelation, never expecting Luana to be involved with a man other than Cline.
She was skeptical and hardly dared to believe her ears, but seeing Luana's embarrassed expression, she had to accept it.
Clarissa held Luana's hand tightly, her face tense with worry. "Who is he? Is he reliable?"
Seeing Clarissa's concerned look, Luana hesitated and vaguely replied, "Reliable... I guess..."
Clarissa frowned, her face full of doubt. "Luana, are you hiding something from me?"
She felt that Luana's behavior had been odd lately, which made her feel uneasy.
Luana shook her arm, acting coquettishly. "Oh, Clarissa, don't worry. When I'm serious about him, I'll bring him to you, okay?"
Hearing the words "be serious about him", Clarissa's tense expression eased slightly.
"You just broke up with Cline. How could you find someone to marry so soon?"
It didn't seem like Luana's usual reserved style.
"It's just a work collaborator. You know the nature of my job. I have to deal with people like him. When I was with Cline, I couldn't consider anyone else. Now that we're apart, I'm just trying to get to know someone suitable. Don't you always hope I'll get married soon?"
"I do hope you'll marry soon..."
"So what are you worried about then?"
Luana interrupted her with a smile.
"I'm worried you'll meet some bad guy."
Clarissa, fearing she might nag too much and annoy Luana, didn't say more.
"Alright, we've agreed that your future spouse must pass my scrutiny, no exceptions!"
"Okay, if you don't approve, I won't marry in this life!"
"What?" Clarissa widened her eyes in a panic.
"I'm joking," Luana forced a light laugh, but it was tinged with bitterness.
Seeing a smile returning to Luana's face, Clarissa's worries lessened.
In Clarissa's eyes, Luana had always been a sensible girl who knew her limits and wouldn't do anything outrageous, so there was nothing to worry about.
After chatting for a while, Albert came to pick up Clarissa.
They were on their honeymoon leave so they still planned to go to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
Albert had changed their flight to the evening, and since Luana was free, she drove them to the airport.
At the airport, Luana reminded Clarissa and Albert to be safe, then waved them goodbye.
After getting home, she went straight to the bathroom and scrubbed herself thoroughly from head to toe.
It was strange, but she felt nauseous and intolerable just by being touched by Travis.
Yet with the mysterious Mr. Night, despite his rough violation, she felt no revulsion.
In fact... during that process, all she could think of was Cline.