Unfortunately, everything was disrupted.
—
In the morning, Clara attended her class. When she returned to Sycamore Apartments for a midday rest, she received a call from Sophia.
“Mom…”
“Come home for dinner tonight. There’s something we need to discuss,” Sophia said coldly.
Clara responded, “… Okay.”
Sophia hung up the phone.
Clara sighed.
She wondered what her mother wanted this time. Her mother had never liked her, and after Clara married Ethan, her mother hated her even more, believing she had stolen her sister’s fiance. But at that time, her mother was present. If she thought Clara was stealing her sister’s fiance, why didn’t she stop it?
Clara had only tried to stop Ethan from leaving. It was the relatives who suggested she marry Ethan in her sister’s place. Her parents didn’t object; they agreed. For the sake of the Everett family, Clara didn’t resist. Now, her mother hated her for it. It was truly unreasonable.
—
After class, Clara returned to the Everett family home. It was just past five o’clock, not yet six.
Clara initially thought her mother had something specific to discuss, but upon arriving home, she realized the entire family was there. Grandparents, parents, sister, and even her second uncle’s family were present.
Clara greeted everyone.
“Clara, have a seat,” William said with a smile.
Clara sat down.
“Clara… we called you back because we have something to ask you,” William said with a smile.
Clara looked at William and asked, “Dad, what is it?”
William glanced at Sophia. As a father, he felt embarrassed to ask his daughter such a question.
Sophia, though reluctant, didn’t dare defy William. She coldly asked Clara, “Are you pregnant?”
What day was it today? Last night Grace asked her this question, they discussed it at the Logan family in the morning, and now her parents were asking again.
Clara replied, “No.”
Sophia frowned and angrily said, “How can you be so useless? It’s been so long, and you’re still not pregnant?”
She was scolded out of nowhere. They had only been married for a little over a month. Was not being pregnant already considered useless? Was that considered a long time?
“Are you infertile? Do you have some health problem? If you can’t have children, let your sister have Ethan’s child,” Sophia said coldly.
Clara stared at Sophia in shock. Her mother’s words stunned her. Let her sister have Ethan’s child? How would her sister have Ethan’s child? By having a relationship with him?
Clara looked at Iris. Iris’s face showed a hint of embarrassment as she lowered her head slightly. Did her sister also want to have Ethan’s child? What were her mother and sister thinking? How could they have such absurd ideas?
“Shut up!” William scolded Sophia harshly. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Sophia glanced at William and reluctantly closed her mouth.
“Clara…” William said gently to Clara. “Don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense. Clara… there’s nothing wrong with your health, right?”
Clara replied, “… No.”
She had comprehensive health check-ups every year.
“Then with Ethan… are you two a normal married couple?” William asked awkwardly. As a father, asking his daughter such a question was difficult.
Clara blushed… A normal married couple… She understood what her father meant and nodded with a red face.
William sighed in relief. He was genuinely worried that Ethan and Clara were only married in name.
William looked at Clara and said, “Clara, you’re my daughter. I won’t lie to you. I hope you can get pregnant with Ethan’s child as soon as possible.”
“You know the circumstances under which you married Ethan. Although you’re married to him, I’m still worried that Ethan might hold a grudge against the Everett family for what happened with your sister and seek revenge… But if you get pregnant, for the sake of the child, Ethan might not retaliate against the Everett family,” William said.
Clara remained silent. She also worried about Ethan seeking revenge on the Everett family. Although Ethan hadn’t done anything yet, what if he was planning something bigger and more drastic? She couldn’t believe that Ethan wasn’t angry after being humiliated on their wedding day.
If she were in Ethan’s shoes… she wouldn’t tolerate it either. She wouldn’t let those two people off easily.
But so far, Ethan hadn’t done anything to Iris or Alexander. This made her feel uneasy.
“Ethan doesn’t want to consider having children right now,” Clara said. “He said… we’ll think about it after I graduate.”
Her words made the Everett family feel uneasy. Ethan wasn’t young anymore; he was twenty-seven. By the time Clara graduated, he’d be thirty. Normally, married men would want children, and the Logan family could certainly afford it.
Ethan saying they’d consider it after Clara graduated might just be an excuse. He probably never intended for Clara to have his child. He still cared about what Iris had done and might already be planning revenge against the Everett family.
The Everett family’s faces didn’t look good. But Iris felt quite happy inside. If Ethan didn’t want Clara to have children, did that mean he didn’t like Clara? Did she still have a chance?
Finally, William spoke up again: “Clara… even if Ethan doesn’t want you to have children, you should still try to have one.”
How could she… If Ethan didn’t want her to have children, how could she? Was having a child something one person could do alone?
“You can… find a way to make the contraceptive measures fail,” William suggested.
Make the contraceptive measures fail? How? Poke holes in the condoms?
“Clara, think about it carefully,” William said. “Having a child… even if you and Ethan divorce in the future, you’ll have something to rely on.”
Clara replied, “… I understand.”
—
Clara stayed for dinner at the Everett family home before heading back. On the way home, she thought about what her father had said.
She wouldn’t go against Ethan’s wishes. She only agreed to appease her father. What he thought or said was his business; she had her own thoughts on this matter.
She could indeed find a way to get pregnant. But would that change anything? If Ethan wanted to seek revenge on the Everett family, would he stop because of a child?
Ethan not wanting children indicated he didn’t care for or expect them. She herself was an unwanted and unappreciated child in her family; she didn’t want her child to go through the same suffering.
She would choose to listen to Ethan. Whatever he said would go. She only hoped that if Ethan truly sought revenge on the Everett family, he would spare them for her obedience and good behavior.
—
Clara returned to the Logan family home and went to their room.
Ethan was sitting on the sofa playing with his phone. When he saw Clara come back, he asked, “Why so late today? Where did you go?”
Clara replied, “… I went back to my parents’ house.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked at Clara. He knew Clara didn’t like going back there-not because she forgot about them but because it was awkward for her now, especially facing Iris.
“What did they want from you?” Ethan asked.
Could it be that Iris wanted to stir up trouble again?
Clara was surprised that Ethan knew her family had called her back instead of her going back on her own accord.
After thinking for a moment, Clara decided to tell the truth and test Ethan’s reaction.
“They told me… to hurry up and get pregnant,” Clara said with a red face.
These people just wouldn’t stop, would they? They had only been married for a short time and were already pressuring them about having children?
“They said… if I got pregnant, maybe you’d spare the Everett family for the sake of the child?” Clara looked at Ethan as she spoke.