No Strings Attached

Sasha offered a sheepish smile. "Me and him? I'll never end up with him in this lifetime, anyway."

"But if he's serious, wouldn't you consider it?"

"When have you ever seen him serious? He's always so nonchalant, and anyone who ends up with him is cursed."

As Sasha placed the dish on the table and dusted off her hands, she said, "Let's drop the subject about that jerk. Just talking about him ruins my appetite. Sorry for not appreciating the meal you worked hard on, Casey."

Carrying soup from the kitchen, Casey responded with a smile, "Love will find its way. Don't force it. Let's eat."

After the meal, lan took Clara upstairs for her nap. Only when she was asleep did he take the necklace and head straight to the prison to see Leonora.

Leonora didn't seem surprised to see him. Her face bore a mocking smirk. "What, couldn't figure out Katherine's identity and came back to me? lan, let me tell you, you'll never uncover the truth in this lifetime." lan looked at her with his eyes slightly raised. His voice was calm and steady. "Katherine was the person who dated my dad back then, which means she is the real Leonora, and you were swapped and placed into the Hayes family. Am I right?"

Leonora laughed lightly, unimpressed. "What proof do you have that I'm a fake? If you had any, you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me."

lan pulled out the necklace from his pocket and dangled it in front of Leonora. "Do you remember this necklace?"

"Of course, I designed it for May's baby as a token of your future engagement. I never thought that bitch would harm Heidi like this," Leonora gritted her teeth.

lan handed her a piece of paper and

a pen and said softly, "Since you designed it, you should be able to draw the design. If you can, I'l believe you're the real one. If not,

then you're a fake."

Leonora scoffed, "You expect me to draw something I designed over twenty years ago? Even if I did design it, I probably would've forgotten it by now."

lan's lips curved into a slight smile. "Yet, Katherine managed to draw it exactly as it was in the original design. How do you explain that?"

Hearing this, Leonora's eyes

flickered with panic. "She must have

been prepared well. She mimicked me every day, not just my speech but also my handwriting and designs. It's not strange that she

could draw it."

lan replied, "But she had amnesia. An amnesiac drawing of a design of the necklace from over twenty years ago only proves how important it was to her. This proves Katherine is the real Leonora."

His certainty left no room for argument, instilling unprecedented panic in Leonora. She picked up the pen and paper and glanced at fan with a cold laugh. "And what makes you so sure I can't draw it?" Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Then, she began sketching on the paper. With each line she drew, lan's heart tightened. Until at last, the complete design was laid out before him. He was stunned.

Why could Leonora draw this design?

Writing could be mimicked, and voices could be imitated, but designing was innate. If the necklace wasn't her creation, how could she replicate it?

Unless... she had seen the design before.