Nora asked, “Cooperate with me?”
On the surface, she appeared surprised, but she knew very well what was going on.
“Yes,” Daniel nodded and said openly, “Cooperate, you get what you want, and I get what I want.”
Nora nodded. Daniel was so bold and direct, she didn’t hesitate either. “Alright… Do you have any plans?”
Daniel smiled and shook his head. “Not at the moment… But we have plenty of time to figure something out. There will always be a way, won’t there?”
Nora felt a bit disappointed. She thought Daniel had come to her with a good plan.
She nodded. “Yes.”
Although a bit disappointed, knowing that Clara had someone she liked was a good thing.
As long as Clara had some ambiguous relationship with Daniel, Clara would be finished.
Ethan was a ruthless man.
Look at Iris’s current situation.
Iris betrayed Ethan, and he abandoned her on their wedding day.
If Clara betrayed Ethan, her fate would be worse than Iris’s.
Nora smiled and extended her hand to Daniel. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Novak.”
Daniel shook her hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you too.”
They released their hands, and Nora looked at the flowers Daniel brought. “These flowers are beautiful. I like them… My hospital room could use a bouquet like this.”
Daniel looked at the flowers and smiled.
Nora’s hospital room was already filled with beautifully arranged flowers.
He had brought lilies.
And there were already several bouquets of lilies in the room.
She didn’t like the flowers… She liked him and the information he brought.
—
Dinner.
The Logan family’s dining room.
Today, Grace and June were also at home.
“Clara…” Grace looked at Clara and frowned. “Come with me to visit Nora at the hospital.”
Clara instinctively glanced at Ethan.
Grace frowned. “You pushed Nora into the water. Nora is magnanimous and won’t hold it against you or press charges… Don’t you think you should visit her?”
Clara looked at Grace seriously and said, “Mom, I didn’t push her into the water. If you don’t believe me, you can check the surveillance footage around.”
Grace frowned.
“And… there were witnesses who saw that it was Nora who fell into the water herself,” Clara said.
Grace was stunned for a moment. “Who saw it?”
“Benjamin Stafford,” Clara said. “Benjamin Stafford told me himself that he saw Nora fall into the water on her own.”
Grace was taken aback.
She knew Benjamin liked Nora.
So, Benjamin wouldn’t falsely accuse Nora.
So… it was really Nora who fell into the water herself?
She wasn’t biased towards Nora; she truly believed that Clara had pushed Nora into the water. Nora was Ethan’s first love, so Clara must have been bothered by it and took the opportunity to deal with Nora.
But now, she realized she had misunderstood Clara.
“Even if Nora fell into the water herself, our family and the Poole family have been friends for generations. What’s wrong with visiting her?” Grace said.
Clara shook her head. “Mom, I won’t go. I won’t visit someone who tried to frame me.”
Grace frowned and said angrily, “How did Nora frame you? Nora has always said it wasn’t you; she fell into the water by accident.”
Clara was also angry.
Did Grace think she was a pushover?
“Mom, I’ve said I won’t visit Nora. What she said at that time was clearly intentional. In that situation, saying it wasn’t on purpose and she fell into the water by accident-who would believe that?” Clara said, slightly angry and with a hint of irritation in her tone.
Grace became even angrier seeing Clara like this.
She thought that given Clara’s background, marrying into the Logan family under such circumstances, she should be trying hard to please her.
But Clara didn’t try to please her; instead, she dared to talk back and contradict her now.
Did Clara not respect her at all?
“You think everyone is like you,” Grace said coldly.
“Isn’t Nora exactly that kind of person?” Ethan finally spoke up after remaining silent.
Clara looked at Ethan, surprised that he hadn’t spoken up for her earlier.
Grace frowned at Ethan and said, “Ethan, you misunderstand Nora.”
Ethan asked indifferently, “What misunderstanding? About her character? Ha…”
He let out a cold laugh. “An unmarried woman professing love for a married man-that’s her character?”
Clara looked at Ethan. His words were harsh!
The married man Nora loved… was him.
Was it really okay for him to speak so harshly about his admirer?
But… she felt inexplicably happy inside.
Grace frowned and said, “Nora has loved you since she was a teenager. You can’t say that about her.”
“Why not?” Ethan said indifferently. “If she were truly a well-mannered woman with self-respect, she wouldn’t be pestering me after my marriage. Mom, why don’t you tell Nora that her behavior disgusts me?”
Grace looked at Ethan, too angry to speak.
At the same time, she understood.
Ethan really… had no feelings for Nora anymore.
He even said he found her behavior disgusting.
She should have given up long ago.
Ethan would rather get engaged to Iris than rekindle his relationship with Nora; he really didn’t like Nora anymore.
But she and Nora had refused to believe it.
They refused to accept it.
Clara lowered her head. Although Ethan’s words were harsh… she was very happy inside.
Ethan and Clara returned to their room.
Clara looked at Ethan and blushed as she said seriously, “Thank you for earlier.”
“What are you thanking me for?” Ethan raised an eyebrow and asked.
Clara looked at Ethan. Such a smart man must know what she meant.
Yet he still asked on purpose.
This man could be so mean sometimes.
Clara stopped talking.
Ethan looked at Clara in silence. “Is that it?”
Clara: “… Hmm?”
Ethan said, “You express your gratitude with just ‘thank you’?”
Then what else?
Ethan said, “That’s too perfunctory.”
It did seem a bit perfunctory.
“How about I treat you to dinner?” Clara asked. Most people express gratitude by treating someone to a meal.
Ethan asked indifferently, “Do you think I need your meal?”
Clara: “… Then I’ll buy you something?”
Giving gifts also shows gratitude.
Ethan continued to ask indifferently, “Do you think I need your gift?”
Clara pouted and looked at Ethan.
This man was doing it on purpose, wasn’t he?
He didn’t want a meal or a gift as thanks.
So what did he want?
“What do you want then?” Clara asked.
Ethan said indifferently, “It’s your gratitude; you figure it out.”
She looked at Ethan and felt he was deliberately teasing her.
After spending more time with Ethan, she understood him better. Sometimes he could be mean; he liked teasing her for fun… Men could have such bad tastes sometimes.
“I can’t think of anything,” Clara said.
Ethan looked at Clara. “Think harder.”
Clara said, “Actually… after thinking about it carefully, I don’t think I need to thank you.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Was this little girl trying to renege?
Clara looked at Ethan seriously and said, “You married me; you’re supposed to protect me. When two people get married, they become one; they should help and support each other… You protect me; I protect you. As a couple, protecting me is also protecting your own dignity. So… couples shouldn’t say thank you; it’s too formal.”
Ethan looked at Clara and said, “You mean… couples shouldn’t be formal?”
Clara nodded seriously. “Yes.”
Ethan said, “Then… if we shouldn’t be formal, we should be more intimate?”
Her face turned red.
Under Ethan’s gaze, she nodded resolutely. “Yes.”