The four girls in the dormitory had several chat groups.
One of these groups included Ella, Ava, and Zoe.
The group was named: Cinderella’s Home.
The three of them considered themselves Cinderellas, excluding Clara, who was wealthy and beautiful.
Zoe: Ella, Ava, Clara has moved out of the dormitory.
Ella: !!! What? She moved out?
Zoe: Yes.
Ella: Why did she move out all of a sudden?
Zoe: I don’t know.
Ella: Did she change dormitories?
Zoe: No, she moved out entirely. She bought a townhouse in the neighborhood across from us.
Ella: … Oh. Do you know which building and unit?
Zoe: Yes. Building 2, Unit 606.
Ella: Okay, got it. I’m busy with filming right now, but I’ll treat you to dinner when I get back.
Zoe: Sure.
In the afternoon, after class, Clara was about to go home when she received a call from Iris.
“Clara, come to the Everett family home after school. I need to talk to you,” Iris said.
Clara: “… Okay.”
She didn’t want to go back, didn’t want to face her sister and mother.
But… it was her family home; she couldn’t avoid it.
She wondered what her sister wanted to talk about.
Could it still be about Ethan?
Clara sighed and obediently went home.
—
Back at the Everett family home, Clara didn’t see Sophia and felt relieved.
“Clara…” Iris smiled at Clara. “You’re here.”
Clara nodded. “Yes.”
“Come on.” Iris took Clara’s hand. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Clara followed Iris upstairs.
In Iris’s room, she saw some boxes on the floor.
“Clara… please return these things to Ethan for me,” Iris said, her smile fading into sorrow.
Clara looked at Iris in confusion and surprise.
Her sister wanted her to return these things to Ethan?
“These are all gifts from Ethan,” Iris said, opening a box to reveal a handbag.
Clara remembered this handbag. Her sister had said it was a limited edition gift from Ethan, and she loved it so much that she carried it every day for a while after they got engaged.
It seemed like it was a Valentine’s Day gift a month after their engagement.
“This was a Valentine’s Day gift after we got engaged…” Clara said. “I still remember that day…”
Clara began to recall the Valentine’s Day memories with Ethan, including the romantic candlelight dinner they shared…
She stood there, forced to listen to her sister reminisce about her past with Clara’s husband.
What kind of situation was this?
“This is…” Iris opened another box, revealing a necklace. Then she started recounting the details of how Ethan gave her the necklace and what happened that day…
Clara stood there silently listening.
Iris seemed nostalgic as she opened one box after another, taking out each item and telling Clara when Ethan gave it to her and what they did at the time…
One by one, in great detail.
As Clara listened, she felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Her sister remembered every gift clearly. She must have loved Ethan deeply to remember everything about him and his gifts so vividly. The scenes Iris described seemed to come alive before Clara’s eyes.
Seeing the nostalgia and sadness on Iris’s face, Clara wanted to comfort her but didn’t know how.
Her position was too awkward.
“Clara…” Iris looked at Clara with red eyes. “What was I thinking? Why did I do such a foolish thing? Why did I betray Ethan? Clara, I’m really hurting.”
As she spoke, Iris began to cry.
“I’m really hurting…” Iris cried, clutching her chest.
Clara felt heartbroken and went up to hug Iris. “Sis, let it go…”
“Clara… I can’t let it go,” Iris cried. “I know you’re innocent. You sacrificed your love and happiness for me and the Everett family… I know I should step back and bless you… But my heart hurts so much, Clara. It really hurts.”
Clara’s eyes reddened as she held Iris and softly comforted her. “Sis, I know… I know. Don’t be sad. It’ll get better… It’ll get better…”
Iris cried even harder at Clara’s words.
Clara only comforted her by telling her not to cry or be sad… but didn’t say she would give Ethan back to her.
Had Clara fallen in love with Ethan?
She wouldn’t give Ethan back to her, would she?
“Clara… my heart hurts so much…” Iris cried even more sorrowfully.
Clara just held Iris and comforted her. “Sis, don’t cry… It’s okay. Everything will pass.”
Actually… Clara almost said she would give Ethan back to her sister.
But reason stopped her in time.
She couldn’t give Ethan back to her sister anymore.
Even if she wanted to… Ethan wouldn’t forgive her sister.
Her sister and Ethan couldn’t go back to the past; it was impossible.
She couldn’t give her sister false hope and make her delusional.
If she gave her sister hope but it didn’t work out in the end, it would hurt her even more.
Besides… she seemed to have developed selfish feelings.
It seemed… she didn’t want to give Ethan back to her sister anymore.
Iris cried for a while but stopped when she realized Clara wouldn’t promise anything. She slowly stopped crying.
What was the use of crying?
Her tears couldn’t soften Clara’s heart anymore.
She thought… maybe Clara had fallen in love with Ethan and didn’t want to give him back.
“Clara… take these things away. Return them to Ethan… Otherwise, seeing them here will only make me sad,” Iris said with red eyes.
Clara looked at the gifts.
There weren’t many of them.
In total, there were only about a dozen items.
“Sis, you should keep them,” Clara said. “He gave them to you; they’re yours.”
Iris shook her head and smiled bitterly. “He’s not mine anymore… What’s the use of keeping his gifts?”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Keeping these gifts only makes me sadder,” Iris said.
But she didn’t know how to deal with these gifts either.
Should she really take them back and tell Ethan, “These are the gifts you gave my sister; she wants me to return them”?
If she said that, what would Ethan do? What would he think?
Would he scold her again?
“Clara… please take them away. I don’t want to see them and feel sad… I’m begging you,” Iris cried and pleaded with Clara.
“… Okay, I’ll return them to Ethan,” Clara said.
She compromised.
Her sister was already like this.
What else could she do but compromise?
Sigh…
She would take these things back and return them to Ethan. How he dealt with them would be up to him.
If Ethan got angry… she would just have to coax him.
Actually… she thought Ethan was quite easy to coax.
Iris nodded tearfully.
Clara left with the bags of gifts.
Iris watched her leave with tearful eyes.
She wondered… when Ethan saw these gifts, would he remember her? Would he remember their past? Would he… soften his heart? Would he feel a bit of pity for her?
—
Clara took the bags of gifts home and placed them in a conspicuous spot in their room.
Then she waited for Ethan to come home.
Ethan usually got off work at six and arrived home around six forty.
Today, he arrived at six fifty because of some traffic. When he entered the room, he immediately noticed the dozen boxes.
He glanced at them but didn’t ask about them.