She didn’t know how to answer Clara.
“What can’t you accept?” Sophia said, “Ethan belonged to your sister.”
“But he’s my husband now,” Clara replied.
“Have you fallen in love with Ethan? Have you fallen for the wealth and glory of the Logan family? Is that why you don’t want to give Ethan back to your sister?” Sophia angrily questioned Clara.
Clara remained silent.
She hadn’t fallen in love with Ethan, nor had she fallen for the wealth and glory of the Logan family.
But now that she and Ethan were in this situation… Could her sister really be at ease being with Ethan? Would her sister truly not mind?
Moreover, her sister’s wishes didn’t really matter.
Before, she didn’t understand Ethan, nor did she know how her sister and Ethan interacted daily.
But now, she saw clearly that Ethan didn’t seem to have much affection for her sister.
Her sister betrayed Ethan, yet Ethan didn’t seem hurt at all. He continued to work and live seriously, unaffected by her sister’s actions.
Maybe she was only seeing the surface.
But Ethan’s behavior didn’t seem like that of a man deeply in love with her sister.
If Ethan truly loved her sister, he wouldn’t be so calm after being betrayed.
However, it was also possible that she was mistaken. Ethan might be someone who hides his emotions deeply.
Iris looked at Clara and hesitantly asked, “Clara… have you really fallen in love with Ethan?”
Clara shook her head. “I haven’t.”
Iris forced a smile. “Clara, if you’ve fallen in love with Ethan, I can accept it… Ethan is an excellent man.”
Clara looked at Iris.
She wasn’t stupid.
Her sister’s behavior was also hypocritical.
But because she was her sister, who had cared for and loved her since childhood, she could accept her sister’s hypocrisy.
“If he’s so excellent, why did you betray him?” Clara asked.
She had wanted to ask this for a long time.
Why did her sister do that?
She had seen how much her sister loved Ethan before.
The night before her sister and Ethan got engaged, her sister was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. She came to Clara’s room and talked about Ethan all night. After the engagement, every time her sister mentioned Ethan, she was filled with happiness and love.
She couldn’t understand why a sister who loved Ethan so much would cheat on him.
Iris was stunned, looking at Clara, not knowing how to answer.
Could she say she was tempted by Alexander?
“I don’t know…” Iris’s eyes reddened, feeling extremely wronged.
“This is your sister’s business. Are you questioning your sister?” Sophia scolded Clara angrily when she saw Iris upset.
Clara pressed her lips together and remained silent.
“Clara…” Iris looked at Clara with tears in her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me. Just live well with Ethan.”
She looked at her sister. Wasn’t her sister being too naive?
After what her sister did, how could she and Ethan live well together?
Moreover, if her sister truly wished for her and Ethan to live well together, she wouldn’t have dragged her to the room to say these things today.
Although her sister didn’t say it explicitly, Clara wasn’t stupid. Her sister’s every move and word showed that she still loved Ethan. She didn’t know why she cheated, but she still loved Ethan.
She really couldn’t understand her sister. If she loved Ethan so much, why did she do such a thing?
Was it for a moment of excitement?
But couldn’t Ethan give her excitement?
Ethan was clearly very strong in bed.
“Don’t covet what doesn’t belong to you. Ethan is your sister’s,” Sophia said.
“Mom…” Iris looked at Sophia with tearful eyes. “Since Clara has fallen in love with Ethan, I’m willing to give him to Clara.”
Sophia glared at Clara. “Look at how your sister treats you. And how do you treat your sister? Ungrateful.”
Her heart ached.
Even though she knew her mother didn’t love her and even hated her, it still hurt to hear such harsh words from her own mother.
She really wanted to say that if she could choose, she wouldn’t want to be born by her mother or cause her mother to lose her uterus.
These were not things she could choose.
She was born because they chose to have her; she was passively enduring all of this.
“Mom, don’t scold Clara. I know Clara loves me. Clara also wants me to be happy and well. It’s my fault… I made a mistake,” Iris choked up, tears streaming down her face.
Clara remained silent.
She was very tired and didn’t want to speak anymore.
She really regretted it now.
At that time, she shouldn’t have stopped Ethan. She should have let him go. Even if he would later take revenge on her sister and the Everett family, it wouldn’t matter.
Now she understood that even if a family is poor, as long as they are united and harmonious, it’s better than the current situation.
Now everything was a mess for her.
The relationship between herself, her sister, and Ethan was a tangled mess.
She didn’t know how to handle the relationship among the three of them.
At this moment, a servant came up to call them down for dinner.
Clara felt relieved. Finally, she could escape this suffocating scene.
Clara, Iris, and Sophia went downstairs.
Ethan looked at Clara.
He could guess what Iris and Sophia would say to Clara.
He originally thought Clara would be bullied, but looking at her calm expression, everything seemed normal. Instead, Iris’s eyes were red as if she had been crying.
However, whether Iris cried or not had nothing to do with him.
The Everett family’s dinner tonight was very sumptuous, with more than ten dishes including seafood, abalone, and bird’s nest soup. The food looked delicious and tempting.
But no one had much appetite.
The Everett grandparents sat at the head of the table. William, Sophia, and Iris sat on one side while Clara and Ethan sat on the other side.
“Ethan, try this soup. It’s Leah’s specialty… Iris, serve Ethan a bowl,” Sophia said with a smile.
Iris glanced at Ethan, blushed, and nodded before serving him soup.
She felt that at this moment, it might be better if she disappeared.
Ethan didn’t say anything or even look at Iris and Sophia.
Honestly… he couldn’t be bothered with their tricks.
Their tactics were clumsy.
Ethan looked at Clara.
Why was he looking at her?
Clara avoided his gaze and focused on eating.
Iris finished serving the soup and handed it to Ethan gently. “Ethan…”
Ethan didn’t take the soup and pretended not to see it. He even served food to Clara instead.
Seeing this, Iris felt wronged and teared up again. Her hand holding the bowl awkwardly froze in mid-air.
Sophia was angry seeing Ethan’s behavior but didn’t dare say anything to him.
She knew that Ethan never really paid attention to her anyway.
“Clara…” Sophia warned Clara with a look.
It wasn’t that Clara feared Sophia; she just felt it made her sister very embarrassed and awkward.
She prepared to reach out for the bowl.
“Serve me soup,” Ethan suddenly said to Clara.
Clara’s hand froze in mid-air as well.
Her hand was just about to touch the bowl when it was abruptly interrupted.
Iris couldn’t take it anymore. She put down the bowl and ran away crying with her face covered.
“Iris…” Sophia followed to comfort Iris.
Clara glanced at Ethan and withdrew her hand; she wasn’t planning on serving him soup either.
Someone else offered him soup but he refused; he insisted on having hers instead.
Hmph… She wouldn’t serve him then.
If he wanted soup, he could serve himself; he wasn’t incapable of doing so.
Ethan noticed Clara had no intention of serving him soup and raised an eyebrow… Was the little girl disobedient now?
Did she think returning home meant gaining wings?
Did she think her family would back her up?
Heh…
“Clara,” William said with a smile. “Serve Ethan some soup.”
She looked up at William.
William looked back at her.
In the end, Clara had no choice but to serve Ethan some soup.