Ethan said, “Then… later, let’s get intimate.”
Clara looked at Ethan in surprise, then suddenly realized what he meant.
Her face turned red.
After all this talk… it was still about that?
As a woman, Clara could never understand men’s enthusiasm for such matters.
It seemed as if not doing it would be the end of the world for them.
They always found ways to do it…
Seeing Clara’s hesitation, Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked at her, asking, “What? Don’t you think a married couple should be intimate?”
Clara blushed and whispered, “I don’t.”
“Then a married couple should be intimate?” Ethan pressed.
Clara glanced at Ethan with a red face and reluctantly nodded.
She thought Ethan was being too mischievous.
He was deliberately teasing her.
She couldn’t understand men’s wicked sense of humor.
Was it really that fun to tease her?
…
Later, Ethan got intimate with Clara again.
—
In the morning, Clara got up and rubbed her waist…
Now she finally understood why they say married women often have back pain.
Except for when she had her period, she hardly ever got a good night’s rest. Every night was a struggle; how could she not have back pain?
She went to the bathroom to freshen up, and by the time she was done, Ethan had returned from his morning exercise.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Ethan asked Clara, “Isn’t your school having final exams soon?”
Clara nodded, “Yes…”
The final exams were just a week away.
However, Clara wasn’t worried about the exams because she had good grades.
“After the exams, it’s vacation time. Do you have any plans?” Ethan asked.
Clara blinked and looked at Ethan in confusion, “…”
Do vacations need plans?
During vacations, wasn’t it just about sleeping in every day?
In the past, she spent almost every vacation like that.
Others might enjoy traveling, but Clara didn’t. She preferred staying at home, reading novels, watching TV shows, and playing games. She thought that was perfect.
Seeing Clara’s expression, Ethan knew she had no plans. He said, “During the vacation, come to Logan Group for a summer job.”
A summer job at Logan Group?
Clara was very resistant to the idea.
Really.
As a student, she just wanted to sleep in every day during the vacation… Going to work would mean getting up early every day again.
She felt that ever since marrying Ethan, she hadn’t been getting enough sleep.
She wanted to use this vacation to catch up on sleep.
“What… would I do there?” Clara asked. She didn’t dare refuse directly.
“I don’t know anything.”
Ethan looked at Clara. He was perceptive and could tell that she didn’t want to go.
The girl was actually quite lazy.
“Precisely because you don’t know anything, you need to go and learn,” Ethan said.
She looked at Ethan with resentment. Fine, you’re the boss; you call the shots.
Under someone else’s roof, what could she do?
She had no choice but to obey.
Sigh…
Clara sighed inwardly. She had been looking forward to the vacation, thinking she could finally sleep and play well… Unexpectedly, the vacation turned out to be more tiring than school.
Currently, she only had two classes a day-one big lecture and one small class. Only one day a week had two big lectures. Sometimes there were no classes in the afternoon. Compared to middle school and high school, college was much more relaxed.
But going to work… meant at least eight hours a day.
And working with Ethan… added a lot of psychological pressure. She felt it would be even more exhausting than school.
Seeing Clara’s dejected look, Ethan’s lips curled into a smile.
The girl needed some discipline.
Once she started working at the company during the vacation, he would discipline her properly.
—
In the morning, after finishing her classes, Clara returned to Sycamore Apartments.
Downstairs in the community area, she ran into Ella again.
But this time, Jason and Belle were not with her.
It was just Ella.
“Clara…” Ella smiled and ran over when she saw Clara.
“Yes.” Clara nodded.
Ella smiled and asked, “Clara, the vacation is coming up soon. Do you have any plans?”
Clara said, “No plans.”
Ella smiled and said, “Then how about this… Why don’t you come to Movieworld to watch us film?”
Clara was taken aback and looked at her. “Movieworld?”
Ella smiled and nodded. “Yes, Ava and I will be filming at Movieworld all summer. You can come for a trip and watch us. The scenery at Movieworld is beautiful, and there are always big stars filming there. You can see celebrities anytime.”
Clara shook her head. “No thanks. It’s too hot. I prefer staying at home during summer.”
Her relationship with Ella and Ava was just average… And now there was a rift because of Belle and Jason. Why would she go see them?
She didn’t want to make herself uncomfortable.
“Oh come on…” Ella smiled. “How can it be hot? If it’s hot, you can stay in the hotel.”
Clara shook her head. “I really don’t want to go.”
Ella looked at Clara and slowly restrained her smile. “Clara… are you mad at us?”
Clara looked at her in surprise. “Why would I be mad at you?”
Ella bit her lip and said, “Because we are close with Belle.”
She shook her head. “No.”
Ella looked at her seriously and said, “Clara, believe us. Ava and I never did anything to betray you. We didn’t sell you out. We just consider Belle a friend.”
Clara smiled and nodded. “I know… I’m not going because of anything like that. I don’t mind you being close with Belle. During the vacation… Ethan wants me to intern at his company.”
Ella was taken aback. “Intern at Logan Group?”
Clara nodded. “Yes.”
Ella sounded disappointed as she said “Oh.”
She sighed.
“It feels like we’re drifting apart even though we haven’t reached senior year yet,” Ella said sadly.
Clara smiled and said, “You’re overthinking it… We still see each other often now. It’s just that I’m married and you’re starting your acting career… We have different lives now; naturally our paths will diverge.”
Ella nodded.
“Alright then, I’ll go now,” Clara said.
Ella nodded. “Yes, goodbye.”
Clara left.
Ella immediately used WhatsApp to tell Belle about Clara interning at Ethan’s company during the summer vacation.
Nora had been in the hospital for a few days due to a cold but had recovered without Ethan visiting her even once.
Nora felt disappointed and was discharged from the hospital.
After being discharged, Nora suddenly realized…
During her hospital stay, not only did Ethan not visit her, but Benjamin also didn’t come to see her.
Nora found this very unusual.
Although Nora didn’t like Benjamin romantically, his pursuit and admiration satisfied her vanity to some extent. So… she always maintained an ambiguous attitude towards him-neither initiating nor rejecting-keeping him hooked for years…
She thought… if one day things didn’t work out with Ethan completely, she would give Benjamin a chance.
After all… Benjamin was an outstanding man too-someone many socialites pursued… Even June admired Benjamin.
For Benjamin not to visit or contact her during these days was unprecedented and made Nora uneasy.
Could something have happened to Benjamin?
She took the initiative to contact Benjamin on WhatsApp.
Benjamin had been deeply infatuated with Nora for years… partly due to Nora’s skillful manipulation of his feelings.
Nora: Benjamin, is something wrong?
Seeing Nora’s concern made Benjamin feel bitter inside.
See?
If he didn’t contact Nora first, she would reach out and show concern… But once he responded, she’d say it was just friendly concern-normal between friends.
And so… he had been Nora’s friend for all these years.