“Sir, it is impossible,” Horace objected without any hesitation.
A new wife? Horace knew that it would be terrible for Clara if he found a new wife, so he would never betray her.
“Horace, I know you love her. I also feel so sorry for what you have gone through. However, we have no other choice since you must bear a child for the Kirkland family. Your grandpa is dead and I’m the only one who can offer you guidance. I don’t want to disappoint Russell.”
“Mr. Lawrence, please stop that. Let me apologize to my grandpa in heaven after I die. I will never betray Clara,” dredging up the image of his grandpa, Horace helplessly closed his eyes.
“I think that the daughter of Mr. Wilson matches you well. She just came back from abroad and I have told her about you. If you change your mind, you can contact her. I’m too old to take care of you now,” the old Mr. Lawrence stood up and was to leave.
Horace hurriedly stood up and escorted the old man towards the door with Clara. After he left, Clara spoke with fear.
“Horace, who’s that? He looks scary,” she softly patted the head of the doll, “He scared Neo.”
Slightly patting Clara’s head, Horace stared at her with profound love.
“He is a friend of our grandpa. It’s okay. Don’t be afraid,” Horace comforted Clara in a tender tone.
Although what Mr. Lawrence said truly made sense, he was determined that he would never betray Clara as long as he still loved her.
Mr. Lawrence had already made a match for him without even informing him in advance, although he said that he would let Horace decide.
Horace sighed and smiled bitterly-whatever, let it go.
Then, the doorbell rang again as Mr. Lawrence just left. Frowning, Horace opened the door.
A strong scent of perfume dashed into Horace’s nose as the door was open, which made his eyebrows knitted more tightly.
“Hi! I’m Vickie Wilson. I’m the daughter of…” Horace turned around and walked away before she could finish her words. Her family name reminded him of Mr. Lawrence’s plan immediately and also directly told him her identity.
“Are you not interested in who my father is?” glowering at Horace, Vickie was infuriated since she had never been brushed off by someone else in this way before.
In her opinion, Horace loved lovely girls and she was exactly his type.
“I’m not.” Helping Clara take her medication, Horace did not cast a look at Vickie. At first, Clara did not cooperate and even knocked off the glass in Horace’s hand.
Playing it by ear, Vickie hurriedly ducked down to help Horace pick up the broken shards and then pretended to be hurt by the glass. Horace only threw her a glance.
“There is tissue on the table. Please leave as soon as possible after you take care of your wound.” Then, Horace got another glass of water for Clara and continued to help her with her medication.
Vickie realized that a cutie was not Horace’s type, so she changed the style of her behavior.
Living abroad for a long time, Vickie had met so many different types of people and had already been a master of improvisation, which was why she knew how to change her personality according to the needs and preference of different people so well.
“Since you don’t like me, I’ll leave now. We’ll meet another time.” Her tone tinged with disappointment and sorrow. She then left
If Horace ever looked up at her, he could see her lonely and cuddly back, which would definitely inspire every man’s determination to protect her.
Yet, Vickie’s efforts were all in vain since Horace did not look up at her at all. He accompanied Clara back to the living room and tidied up the broken glass.
He had no extra time nor energy to care about others since he needed to pay all his attention to Clara’s health. He began to read the files brought back from Solrace while Clara was watching TV.
He had left Solrace behind for several days. Although it could still operate well, the increase rate of profits began to slow down. He must find out the reasons behind and try to accelerate the increase rate again.
Clara would be absolutely cured if he had enough money. He would hate himself if he became poor when Clara was cured and woke up from her hallucination in the future. Therefore, he must work harder and deal with these business files more seriously.
Clara seemed to know that Horace was busy now, so she watched TV quietly with a doll in her arms. Whenever Horace looked up, he could see Clara sitting still beside him.
After a long while, Vickie came again. She cast several disdainful looks at Clara, who was running randomly around the house with a doll in her arms. Instead of showing contempt on her face, she passionately gazed at Horace.
“Horace, I mean, you can send her to a madhouse, or she’ll be a heavy burden on you,” Vickie said seriously, hoping that Horace would finally agree with her for the company’s as well as his own sake.
Yet, Horace objected without any hesitation and said, “Miss Wilson, I don’t care who sent you here. The only thing that I’m sure about is that Clara is my wife, now and forever. Don’t play your tricks on me anymore.”
Horace’s words embarrassed Vickie and she could only fake a smile to hide her awkwardness. She wanted to lighten the embarrassing atmosphere with a quip and yet she realized that it was inappropriate to do so.
Horace gave her an out by taking Clara upstairs, which had a hidden meaning that she should leave now. He believed that she would understand him and act accordingly.
Vickie left when they both went upstairs. She knew that it would be a waste of her time if she kept staying there when Horace did not even try to pay attention to her. After all, she was so attractive that there would be other handsome guys hoping to take her out.
At the thought, Vickie became confident and proud again. Standing upstairs, Horace stared at Vickie’s back and snickered.
It turned out that he did the right thing or Vickie would not leave so soon.
“Horace, look! Neo grows up,” Clara held a larger doll in her arms. Seeing one’s own child grow up was indeed enjoyable.
In order to cheer Clara up, Horace deliberately bought a larger doll for her. Her happy smile also delighted him.
That evening, Clara had a horrifying nightmare.
In her dream, Neo died in front of her and she could do nothing to save him. She was helpless.
She was anxious and worried.
Gradually, Clara found that what she had been holding all the time was not Neo but only a doll. Suddenly, she hated herself to the extreme.
It was fortunate that the nightmare did not last long and she had another dream soon. Then, she readjusted her posture and fell asleep soundly again.
“Morning, Clara,” the next morning, Horace smilingly greeted Clara when he found that she was awake. However, Clara gave no response but only stared at the ceiling blankly, like a lifeless puppet.
“Clara, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” worried that Clara was ill, Horace sprung up soberly and his eyes were examining Clara closely.
Clara seemed to be acting weird, pale and dull. No matter how Horace talked to her, she gave no response.