Why is he so stingy?
Clara woke up, freshened up, and Ethan returned from his morning exercise.
After entering the house, he didn’t even look at Clara, went straight to take a shower, changed his clothes, and went downstairs without sparing her a single glance.
She had breakfast downstairs by herself.
It had been a week.
A week had passed since Clara last had dinner with Iris and Alexander.
And Ethan… had been angry with Clara for a whole week.
They slept in the same bed every night and woke up together every morning.
However… they were supposed to be the closest two people.
But this past week, they hadn’t said a word to each other.
Clara had wanted to talk to Ethan, but… every time she tried to speak, he would either walk away with an indifferent expression or close his eyes and pretend to sleep, showing no interest in listening to her nonsense.
With him acting like this, how could she say anything?
What could she say?
She couldn’t say anything.
And that’s not all.
Ethan hadn’t touched her all week.
She hadn’t been touched by Ethan for almost half a month, considering her period and this past week.
Compared to the previous nights of passion…
Clara felt that Ethan might have grown tired of her.
Perhaps he had lost interest in her body.
The previous nights of passion were probably just because of the novelty.
Now that the novelty had worn off…
Combined with her provoking him…
He had grown tired of her.
Tired of her as a person, and tired of her body as well.
After school, Clara sighed.
She didn’t want to go back to the Logan family.
Although Ethan was tired of her, he still came home every night.
And every night, they shared the same bed under the same roof, with Ethan exuding an oppressive atmosphere. Clara felt suffocated.
She didn’t want to go back.
Clara decided not to go back.
Tonight, she would stay at the Sycamore Apartments across from the school.
After making up her mind, Clara went grocery shopping.
She bought some rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and meat, then returned to the Sycamore Apartments.
She decided to cook for herself tonight.
After finishing her meal and before going to sleep, Clara thought about Ethan.
She wondered if Ethan would come looking for her.
She was the one not going back for the first time. Would Ethan be worried about her?
Or perhaps he felt relieved that she wasn’t coming back?
Lost in her thoughts, Clara fell asleep in a daze.
Not long after falling asleep, Clara suddenly heard a loud “bang” sound, as if a door had been closed. She abruptly opened her eyes.
—
Ethan returned home from work and didn’t see Clara.
He didn’t pay attention to it.
During dinner, Clara wasn’t there either.
He still didn’t pay attention to it.
He thought Clara had gone out for dinner with her close friends or sisters.
Then it was nine o’clock and Clara still hadn’t come home.
Ten o’clock and Clara still hadn’t come home.
Ethan knew. Clara wasn’t planning on coming home.
Since they got married, she had never stayed out past nine o’clock at night.
So… after ignoring her for these few days, did she decide to run away from home?
Huh…
He hadn’t even settled accounts with her yet, but she was already throwing a tantrum?
Ethan left the house.
He went out to find Clara.
And as for where to find Clara…
He knew in his heart.
—
Clara heard the sound of a closing door and instantly opened her eyes.
Why was there such a loud sound of a closing door?
It definitely wasn’t from downstairs.
This house was soundproofed well.
She took a nap here every day at noon and had never heard any noise from the neighbors before.
Could it be a burglar?
Then Clara heard footsteps.
Clara’s body tensed up. She didn’t dare turn on the light; she was afraid it would expose her presence.
But the footsteps were getting closer.
Clearly heading towards the bedroom.
Clara found her phone under the pillow, turned it on, and prepared to call 911.
Then… she heard another sound of a door opening.
This time, the sound of the door opening was right next to her… She looked up and then…
With a “snap,” the lights came on.
Someone turned on the lights.
“Ah…” Clara exclaimed in surprise.
Ethan: “…”
Clara saw that it was Ethan and was stunned for a moment… then she relaxed and started gasping for breath heavily.
She really got scared just now.
She had been holding her breath the whole time, not daring to let out a single breath of air.
Ethan looked at Clara staring at him in shock, gasping for breath heavily.
He had originally been angry and wanted to give her a good scolding.
But seeing how clearly frightened she was, his heart softened again.
He suddenly came looking for her. She didn’t know that she had scared herself, right?
The little girl must have thought there was a burglar or something.
“Why… are you here?” Clara asked with a trembling voice.
Ethan didn’t answer her. Instead, he walked towards her.
Clara’s body shrank back and she clutched the blanket tightly.
As if the blanket could give her a sense of security right now.
What’s wrong with Ethan?
At this late hour…
His cold face and silent approach were really terrifying.
Was Ethan going to hit her?
Ethan approached the bed and looked down at Clara from above.
Although she hadn’t said anything, he could tell from the way she clutched the blanket tightly and stared at him wide-eyed that Clara was scared.
He chuckled in exasperation.
Scared?
Scared of what?
Scared of him?
Was he really that scary?
After marrying him, he hadn’t done anything excessive to her. He hadn’t hit her or scolded her or made things difficult for her.
Why would she be scared of him?
“Why aren’t you going home?” Ethan asked.
This was the first thing Ethan said to Clara in these seven days.
She heard Ethan’s voice.
Suddenly, her nose tingled and her eyes felt sore. Unexplainably… she felt like crying a little bit.
How could he ask that?
With his cold face scaring everyone away, friends and acquaintances alike…
How could she dare go home?
“I… have an exam tomorrow,” Clara said softly. “I need to go to school early… This place is close to school.”
She made up an excuse.
“Huh…” Ethan chuckled lightly.
Clara felt guilty when Ethan laughed like that.
Did he not believe her?
Actually… she didn’t believe it herself either.
“Heh… why are you laughing?” Clara asked nervously. “Don’t you believe me? Do you think I’m lying?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that obvious?”
Ignoring her these past few days had only made her bolder.
Now she dared to lie to him.