Ethan drank the soup Clara had served him; it was delicious.
After dinner, Iris and Sophia did not reappear. Ethan and Clara bid farewell to the Everett family and went home.
Ethan drove while Clara sat in the passenger seat.
She watched Ethan driving seriously, thinking about many things, and finally spoke up.
“Why did you marry me?” Clara asked.
At that time, when Ethan came to pick up his bride, someone suddenly rushed up and handed Ethan a package. When he opened it, there were explicit photos of her sister with another man.
In a fit of rage, Ethan wanted to leave.
She didn’t think much at the time, just knew she couldn’t let Ethan leave.
If Ethan left, the situation would be completely uncontrollable.
Then, she inexplicably married Ethan.
She agreed to marry Ethan, at the time, just to save the Everett family. The situation was too chaotic and sudden, she really didn’t think about what to do after getting married, only thinking about getting through the wedding.
But what was Ethan thinking?
At that time, he could have easily walked away.
If the wedding between the two families had been canceled, it would have been a devastating blow to the Everett family, but for the Logan family, it wouldn’t have mattered at all.
Apart from causing some private gossip, such a thing wouldn’t have any other impact on the Logan family.
So why did Ethan marry her?
Ethan glanced at Clara, countering, “What do you think?”
Clara felt a bit choked, frowning as she glared at Ethan angrily.
Why play these mysterious games?
If she knew, why would she ask him?
He was so unpredictable, and she wasn’t a worm in his stomach; how could she possibly know what he was thinking?
“I don’t know,” Clara said.
Ethan didn’t respond.
She wanted a clear answer.
“Why exactly?” Clara pressed, unwilling to let it go.
Since she had asked, she wanted an answer.
After a few seconds, Ethan finally spoke, “It was a temporary expedient.”
A temporary expedient.
It seemed… the same as her.
She had also agreed to marry him as a temporary solution at the time.
“Then, what about you?” Ethan asked.
“… What?” Clara looked at him in confusion.
What about her?
“Why did you agree to marry me?” Ethan asked.
Clara: “I…”
Clara wanted to say that it was also a temporary expedient for her.
But before she could say more, Ethan cut her off.
“I know,” Ethan said.
She looked at him, confused. What did he know?
“You were already infatuated with me,” Ethan said confidently.
Clara’s eyes widened in surprise, and she stared at Ethan in shock.
This shameless man, what was he talking about?
“Even though I was engaged to your sister at the time, you had already secretly admired me in your heart, so… you seized this opportunity to marry me,” Ethan said with assurance.
Clara refuted angrily, “I didn’t.”
This shameless man.
What did he think she was?
A shameless woman who had lusted after her own sister’s fiance?
“You’re angry,” Ethan said.
Clara glared at him angrily.
Wasn’t he just stating the obvious?
How could she not be angry when someone misunderstood her like this?
“Are you angry because I hit the nail on the head?” Ethan asked, smiling.
Is this guy crazy?
Why hadn’t she noticed before how confident and shameless he was?
Even though he did have the reasons to be narcissistic, it didn’t mean he could be overly so.
Does he think every woman in the world secretly loves him?
“I said, I didn’t!” Clara insisted, very seriously.
It was a matter of her reputation, and she had to make it clear.
“… Oh,” Ethan replied lightly.
What did “oh” mean?
Did it mean he believed her?
Or didn’t believe her?
Clara waited for Ethan to continue.
But Ethan focused on driving and said no more.
Could it be that this kind of half-ended conversation, leaving people hanging, had never gotten him into trouble?
“Then… what do you think of my sister?” Clara asked.
She had been staying with the Logan family these days, and now that she had returned home, her sister and mother’s persistent urging made her realize she couldn’t remain confused any longer.
She had to find out.
If Ethan still loved her sister, she would help her sister gain his forgiveness.
If Ethan no longer loved or even hated her sister, she would make her sister give up on Ethan.
“I don’t think much of her,” Ethan said casually.
Clara had been watching Ethan intently after asking her question, trying to gauge his feelings toward her sister from his facial expressions and eyes.
But she was disappointed.
Ethan’s expression remained calm, showing no change in his eyes or face.
Calm.
Very calm.
So calm that it seemed her sister was already a stranger to him, someone not worth causing any emotional response.
Clara was puzzled.
Wasn’t Ethan engaged to her sister?
And… at that time, Ethan should have loved her sister.
Otherwise, she couldn’t figure out why Ethan would choose to get engaged to her sister rather than any of the many noblewomen who were far better suited than her sister.
Apart from loving her sister, there seemed to be no other reason.
But now… she couldn’t sense that Ethan loved her sister.
Even if her sister had betrayed him, he should still hate her.
Love turning to hate.
But now he seemed neither to love nor hate her sister, his feelings as calm as still water.
Clara fell silent.
There was nothing more to talk about.
“Just now, what did they say to you?” Ethan suddenly asked.
Who?
“Your mom and your sister,” Ethan said.
She looked at Ethan, suddenly feeling the urge to confide in him.
The things her sister and mother had said to her.
She couldn’t tell anyone.
She had to keep them bottled up inside.
But she felt so uncomfortable.
She wanted to vent.
“My sister said she hopes we can live well together,” Clara said.
Ethan snorted dismissively.
What was he doing? What did that mean?
“And your mom?” Ethan asked.
Clara: “My mom…”
Ethan interrupted her, “Didn’t your mom warn you not to covet me, saying that I still love your sister, and once I calm down, I’ll forgive her?”
Clara had been angry.
She found Ethan’s constant interruptions incredibly impolite.
But hearing what he said, she wasn’t angry anymore-she was shocked.
How could Ethan know so clearly?
“How did you know?” Clara asked.
She suspected that Ethan might have eavesdropped on their mother-daughter conversation.
“Hah…” Ethan laughed lightly, “I can guess.”
She looked at him, can guess?
Was he really that perceptive?
“Your sister and your mom, one playing the good cop, the other the bad cop,” Ethan said.
He wasn’t meeting them for the first time.
He was good at reading people and had a certain understanding of what kind of people Iris and Sophia were.
But he hadn’t despised them before.
People live in this world; sometimes, a bit of cunning and calculation isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Just like him, if he hadn’t been a bit cunning and calculating, he wouldn’t have been able to reach the position of vice president in Logan Group.
He didn’t like naive, sweet, and dumb girls.
Such people were too stupid.
She knew this too.
She wasn’t stupid.
But what good did it do to know?
One was her beloved sister.
The other was her birth mother.
The bond of blood made it difficult for her to know how to handle the situation when facing them.
“What do you think?” Ethan asked.
Clara: “… What do you think?”
“Yep,” Ethan nodded, “Do you follow your sister’s advice and live well with me? Or do you follow your mom’s advice and give me back to your sister?”
She looked at Ethan, suddenly realizing.
Oh no!
This was a really tough question.
If she answered in a way that displeased him,
Ethan would get angry.
She actually knew how to answer.
But it was tricky.