My dear little broccolis 💚💚💚

💚 So this story is a three-chapter story. I enjoyed writing it a while ago, and I hope you will enjoy reading it now, even though it's ... atypical.

READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER

Love, Mina 💚💚💚

💚 No Strings Attached 💚

The terms were quite simple, and yet, he couldn't follow them ...

‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️

‼️Angst/Drama/Language/Sadness‼️

‼️Clary Fray/Jace Wayland‼️

💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚

Part 3: Jace's Pov (3,3K)

With restlessness, Jace bounced his leg up and down, looking at the nurses going on their merry lives without a care in the world for him. He had been waiting at that damn hospital for four hours, and yet, no one wanted to tell him anything because he wasn't family. He had tried lying, bribing, bargaining, begging, but those annoying nurses and doctors just kept throwing back in his face that he had no affiliation to Clary and they couldn't tell him anything.

Not even if she was alive!

So he was waiting like a hobo with all the patients that were waiting for someone to do their job and take care of them. He hadn't moved from his spot in those four hours, sitting in front of the door that led to the ER, his mouth resting against his closed fist as his worry was mixed with anger and fear.

He still couldn't believe his chance. He hadn't been supposed to be there. And yet, out of nowhere, he saw Clary with her beautiful green eyes, her luscious red hair and his heart skipped a beat. He had tried to forget her over the past six weeks they had spent apart since it was obvious that he meant very little to her. He had tried to forget all those little things he had envisioned for them, like their whole lives together. He had tried to forget how even the thought of her made him feel.

But in the end, he loved her. And he didn't want yet to put her to the past as she had done to him.

The email in itself had been kind of odd. It came from an email address he had never seen before, and that apparently didn't exist when he tried to reply. It wasn't signed but asked him to be in this part of town he had stopped going to long ago. As soon as he received the email, he tried to call Clary, sure that it was coming from her, but her number was still disconnected.

So he still went there, though the email never said explicitly that he would find Clary there. Just what he had been obsessively looking for over the past weeks. Because yes, he had hired a couple of PIs to look for her. He had been that desperate.

And Clary Fray seemed to never exist. Which made him realise that there was no way Clary was the journalist she said she was. He had even told the detective to dig into Camille's past since Clary was her best friend, but it seemed that Camille never had any Clary in her entourage.

With a long sigh, he closed his eyes, resigned to the fact that no one would ever tell him anything about Clary's state. All he could do was wait for her to walk out. And if he needed to wait for days, he would. Still, he had taken the time to forward the email to one of the detectives so he would be able to trace who sent that to him. He knew for sure it wasn't Clary, because she had been surprised and worried to see him.

He was lost in his thoughts when someone rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, seeing Camille, and he simply briefly nodded to acknowledge her presence, his mouth still on his fist, and his eyes back on the entrance of the ER.

"Oh, Jace… how are you doing?"

"I'd be better if I knew what's going on. What are you doing here?"

She sat by his side, and he turned his head to glare at her. She gently smiled and gave him a coffee cup. He took it out of reflex, and frowned when he didn't feel any warmth coming from the cup,

"It's the only way I could sneak alcohol," Camille explained, and he nodded, asking again,

"What are you doing here?" He didn't call her, or Alec. No one but his bodyguard Simon knew that he was there.

"I … Someone called me."

"Clary doesn't have an emergency contact. I've heard the emergencies say so when they put her in the ambulance."

Camille nodded approvingly, biting on her lower lip, before she informed Jace, "I have news. She's okay. They sedated her until tomorrow morning, to give her body the chance to rest. But … apparently, she will have some sequelae."

"How do you know?" He coldly asked

Camille looked down on her knees, and Jace started feeling bad as he saw tears build in her green eyes. Clary was her best friend, and she obviously needed comfort, and all he did was coldly question her.

"You know … I've known Clary since kindergarten. She was my first friend. She was Adele, back then. And she was … the best. She never liked bullies, and she used to beat the crap out of those who would bully me. I was kind of a nerd back in school …"

Jace longly looked at Camille, seeing her in a new light. Camille had always exuded confidence and her looks always made Jace think that she used to be one of those popular girls he used to chase when he was in school. But this was not what he lingered on, "Adele?"

Was this why he never found anything on Clary? Because she changed her name?

Camille let out a sigh, her eyes lost in space. "Adele… Adele died shortly after her mother died.

When we were ten, Jocelyn died of an illness. It was quite sudden, and within a month, Adele became an orphan. I begged my parents to adopt her because I didn't want my best friend to leave me. But her father came out of nowhere. It was odd. All our lives, Adele and I thought that her father died when she was still in the womb, but …

He took her away, and for two years, I didn't hear anything from her. Not a single letter, phone call, or visit. And the night before my twelfth birthday, she snuck into my room. Though … she wasn't Adele anymore. Adele was gone. It was Clary.

She didn't tell me much about her two years away. All she said was that she was sorry it took her so long, and that I couldn't tell anyone about her visit, or her new name. Over the years, she told me a bit more about her new life and I learnt that her father always pushed her to cut ties because … I'm not like them, I'm her weakness. But Clary always refused, because she loved me too much …"

Camille interrupted herself to wipe away her tears, and so Jace awkwardly patted her shoulder as he told her something he was not sure of, "Everything will be fine, Camille."

Camille shook her head. "The thing is, Clary was raised to not love people because loved ones are … complicated. And yet, she fell in love with you. She fell in love with you long before she broke up, and she kept going back to you because she felt that as long as she was the only one with feelings, she could manage.

I'm sorry you got caught in this mess Jace … I just think that … I saw her a couple of weeks ago, and she was odd when we parted. I think that she intended to cut ties because she couldn't be with you. And this is the only way she can cut ties." She vaguely pointed at the hospital before getting up and saying that she was going to refresh her face.

Jace moved, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his knuckles. If he understood correctly what Camille said between words, Clary had never been the person he thought she was. She could be a hitman, a spy, a killer, a black-op … the list was endless.

And yet, Jace still loved her. He didn't think that she faked anything the rare times they were together. It was her true self she showed when she would ask about his life, and listen when she would be vulnerable and sought comfort in his arms. He fell in love with the Clary which made his heart beat when he knew he would see her. He knew nothing of that other Clary, or Adele, or whatever her name was.

Camille sat back next to him, though her voice had drastically changed to a masculine one when she said, "She's going to make it."

Jace snapped his head back up and saw a man sitting where Camille used to be. He was casually dressed in jeans and a white tee, his hair cut short in a military buzz. He looked like he was in his late fifties, which Jace found impressive, given his imposing muscles.

"Who are you?"

"The man who sent you that email. You were early."

The man seemed annoyed by that fact, which Jace found odd. People usually appreciated it when someone was early. In fact, he didn't like this trend of being fashionably late. Still, when the man got up and told him they would see Clary, Jace immediately followed him.

He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he knew he didn't expect to see Clary the way she was. First, she was bruised, and both her hands were bandaged as if they were burned. He didn't remember the explosion being so bad. But there was also a whole different thing about Clary. Her hair was short and beach blonde.

Jace could feel the man looking at him, but he didn't care much. All he cared about was all the bruises on her body, turning into dark blue. It wasn't the first time he was seeing bruises on her. In fact, he often got annoyed at them, and she just said that she was clumsy. But now … how many times did she almost die and ended up covered in bruises?

"Her whole life is in here," The man said, giving Jace an envelope.

He opened it and found two sets of keys, credit cards, papers and a driving licence with blonde Clary smiling and listed as Adele Fairchild. Jace turned his head to the man, and asked again,

"Who are you?"

The man glanced at the bed where Clary was peacefully unaware. "I'm the man who screwed up her life twice. I'm trying not to make it a third time."

Jace clenched his fists, sure that this man was Clary's father, the reason for all her problems. If he had left her alone, she would have had a normal life. The man glanced at his fists, and chuckled with condescendence,

"You could try. But you will fail. You and I don't come from the same worlds." Then he looked back at Clary, and asked, "She never told you about her, did she?"

Jace shook his head, and so the man explained,

"She was what civilians commonly call a spy. I've raised her into it since she was ten after her mother died. And … this was the life she was sure she wanted.

For years I've told her to sever ties with Camille and fake her death, and for years, she was sure she could have it all. And then you came into the picture. Her feelings for you managed to do what I haven't been able to do in years. She decided to disappear.

But I won't allow her to make the same mistake I did. She should disappear from our radar, and live a normal life. She was supposed to see you after the explosion, so she wouldn't be able to lie to you, and I would have given her that envelope, so she could try the apple pie life.

But you showed up too early, she got caught in the explosion, trying to protect you, and now … she lost her memory."

Jace glanced at the man before turning his gaze back to Clary. She had lost her memory. He no longer existed. There was no more hope for them. He had hoped that being in that accident would have made Clary open up to him, and put her life in perspective, but she needed to know him to do that. He was nothing but a stranger to her.

"No matter what you decide, I will make sure that she remains a civilian. This is the life I wanted for her, and this is why I left before she was born. No one from her past will come to bother her, I vouch for that.

If you stay, you will have to be patient. She doesn't remember a thing. Which, in a way, is good for her. But you won't be able to pick up where you left off. You will have to start from the start.

If you can't handle it, I'll understand. Even though I'll watch over her, her past is a lot to take on. But in that case, just leave now, and never bother her again."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

It had been a week since the accident and Jace hadn't seen or heard from Clary's father again. Still, he was pretty sure someone was following him. Or maybe he was being paranoid. After all, Simon assured him that no one was shadowing them.

Clary, or Adele, woke up the next day, with no memory of who she was, who Camille was, who he was. But he didn't let it defeat him. He came to see her every day, with a bouquet of flowers each time, and today was no different.

Adele brightly smiled when he popped his head into her room, and she told him as he sat on the chair by her bed, "The nurses are fighting to take care of me because you made my room smell so nice."

He smiled back as she was smelling the Alstroemeria flowers. "You know, I don't want to sound ungrateful. I know my name is Adele and all, I'm pretty sure but there are other flowers in the world."

Jace chuckled because he had been bringing her adeles of different colours for the past seven days. "How are you doing today? Any news as to when you'll be allowed to have normal food again?"

She grimaced because the hospital food was terrible, and Jace had been forbidden to bring her food from outside. "Apparently, I will be a free woman tomorrow, if all my tests are positive."

Jace nodded, glad to hear that he would soon be able to ask her out on a date and start a real courtship with her. She looked at him, her green eyes scanning through his soul, and as she did so, Jace thought to himself that, in the long run, he could get used to her blonde hair.

"Were we together?" She asked, and he raised an eyebrow, wondering if her memory was coming back to them. After all, the doctors had warned them of that possibility, and Jace was ready if that was the case. As her father said, it was her past. Whether she was aware of it, or not, she shouldn't care about it anymore.

Adele looked down at her hands, and explained her trail of thoughts, "I don't know. You're a handsome man, and according to Camille, you're successful as well. And you come to visit me every day with flowers. You're either gay, or we have history. Please tell me you're not gay."

"Hardly."

"So we have history …"

"You could say that …" She waited for him to continue, and so he stayed as truthful as he could. "You were never clear on how you felt about me."

"Oh," She said, bending her head down, defeated. Jace was about to reassure her that he didn't want her to feel any kind of pressure when she said,

"Camille came to visit earlier. With her daughter. And … how can I be her best friend and not the godmother of her daughter? And I asked if she could bring pictures, and she keeps forgetting them. And now, you're saying between words that I was a coldhearted bitch … I was a terrible person, wasn't I?"

"No! Don't even say that. Who cares about the past, anyway?" Jace said, not liking the way Adele was seeing herself.

"I do."

Of course, she did. She didn't know anything. She was lost. And neither Camille nor him could help her. There were no pictures because she had probably avoided them for so long. And she never told him how she felt, because of who she was.

"The truth is, you were someone who kept for herself. But you were a nice person, who would have put her life in the line if that meant that you protected those you cared about. That's all you should care about."

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Partly," He admitted. "But also because it's true."

She smiled, feeling a new pep come over her, and she asked, "So? What kind of history? We were clearly not married, because none of us wears a ring. And we were probably not that committed since I was a cold bitch who didn't tell how she felt to the handsome gentleman."

He chuckled, liking this new Adele he was discovering. And he said more than what he said when he had asked her for a steady relationship. "I wanted you to move in with me."

"Really? Am I that good in the shack?" She joked, making him laugh again, before she said, "Well, that's going to be an issue for now. I mean, I've been told that I have a place of my own by my lovely friend Camille. And … imagine I suddenly remember that one thing that would piss me off. I don't know, maybe you don't put the toilet seat down, or worse. Maybe you belong to that species of odd people who pour the milk before the cereals! You don't do that, do you?"

"Haha. I promise the milk is poured after. But … if you don't want to be alone straight away, I have a big place. You could have your own room, and I'll give you all the space you need. Like that, you'll see with your own two eyes that I'm the perfect gentleman."

She raised a doubtful eyebrow at him, and shook her head with disappointment as she pointed out with a teasing voice, "If you were perfect, I would have had chocolate with my flowers."

"Duly noted."

She laughed a little, and that simple laugh that just resulted because of a joke made Jace sure of one thing, he was going to marry that woman at some point. So he told her, making his heart light up with hope as she genuinely smiled,

"Adele … this whole experience made me realise that what I thought was love before is nothing compared to what I feel for you.

And I'll fight as much as I can to have you by my side. I don't care about your past, because what I want is your present so we can make a future together."

❌THE END❌

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

💚 So, we finished this little story. And well, let me know what you thought of this story.

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.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

💚 So, Clary is a spy ... and she broke her own rules for Jace.

💚Well, let me know what you thought of this chapter. What was your favourite part?

💚 Cassandra Clare owns the names of the characters from the TMI franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).

Love, Mina 💚💚💚