In a large conglomerate like the Logan Group, internal relationships were incredibly complex, with many relatives working there, drawing salaries while doing little.
Several of Grace’s family members were among them.
Grace had intended to argue back, but when she thought of her relatives, she instantly lost the courage to rebut.
Her family was wealthy too, but regardless of how wealthy a family might be, there were always a few poor relatives. The Kelley family also had quite a few poor relatives working at the Logan Group… earning substantial salaries while doing very little work.
“Besides… am I not allowed to support my wife?” Ethan calmly asked Grace. “Isn’t it completely natural for a husband to support his wife?”
Although Ethan’s expression and tone were calm, his words… were quite confrontational.
Grace was extremely displeased about this.
She felt that Ethan was a typical example of forgetting his mother after getting a wife.
Ethan was harsh with her because he was defending Clara… this was something she couldn’t tolerate.
In the past, Ethan had always been indifferent to other women, even to his first love Nora and his fiancee Iris, and she hadn’t particularly minded. She even… hoped that Ethan would be a little nicer to Nora.
But now… Ethan was being good to Clara, and she found that she couldn’t accept it, feeling that Ethan had forgotten his mother after marrying.
Her thinking was that Ethan could care about other women, could love other women, but Ethan’s care and love for other women should not exceed his love for her, his mother.
She had carried Ethan for ten months before giving birth to him. She had spent an enormous amount of energy raising Ethan to be so excellent. Ethan was flesh of her flesh… in this world, the woman Ethan should love most should be her, and could only be her.
Girlfriends, fiancees, wives could be replaced, but… a mother could not.
Grace was angry… Ethan had repeatedly confronted her for Clara’s sake, and she could feel that Ethan was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with her.
She just didn’t understand why Ethan would be dissatisfied with her.
She was Ethan’s mother. Everything she did was for Ethan’s benefit. How could she possibly harm Ethan?
Ethan was born from her, flesh of her flesh. In this world, they were the closest two people as mother and son. Even if she were to harm anyone else, she could never harm Ethan.
She disliked Clara only because she felt Clara was too ordinary and not good enough for Ethan. Ethan was so excellent and outstanding; he should find an equally excellent and outstanding woman… Just thinking about her excellent son having to spend his life with someone as ordinary and plain as Clara made her uncomfortable. She felt that Clara was tarnishing Ethan’s life.
Because of Clara, Ethan’s life no longer seemed so perfect.
If in the future, Clara gave birth to a child as plain and ordinary as herself… wouldn’t that make the latter half of Ethan’s life very difficult?
She understood very well that an ordinary, unremarkable child would bring many troubles to parents, causing them endless worry and frustration.
Clara secretly looked at Ethan with admiration, thinking he was incredibly impressive.
He could always stand up to Grace so righteously.
In fact, from her perspective, Grace’s treatment of Ethan… seemed acceptable, at least… better than how her own parents treated her. Even when her parents treated her that way, looking down on her… she could only silently endure it. Even if she was unhappy or dissatisfied in her heart, she never dared to talk back to her parents.
Ethan was so brave.
She wished she could be as brave as Ethan.
After leaving Grace speechless, Ethan took Clara and left.
In the car, Clara didn’t say anything because the driver was still there… what if she said something and the driver told the Logan family?
It wasn’t until they arrived at the company and entered the elevator that Clara said to Ethan, “Please don’t let Nora serve you tea and water.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow, looking at Clara, “Why? Afraid of losing your job?”
“No,” Clara said seriously. “I’m afraid Nora might tamper with your tea or water.”
Clara thought Ethan didn’t understand, so she explained, “Haven’t you seen those news stories? Someone puts colorless and tasteless pills in water, and after drinking it, you pass out and they can do whatever they want with you.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow, giving Clara an amused look, and asked, “Are you afraid that Nora will do whatever she wants with me?”
Clara paused, looking at Ethan, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Ethan shook his head and said, “I’m not afraid.”
Ethan said, “I’m a man. What do I have to fear? She can do whatever she wants with me… am I really the one who would be at a disadvantage?”
In such matters, women were always at more of a disadvantage than men.
This… left her speechless.
It seemed… he was right.
After all, in the public eye, when a man and woman did that… the woman was the one at a disadvantage.
Clara became despondent and didn’t want to talk anymore.
She couldn’t believe that Ethan had been thinking this way all along, while she had always thought that Ethan was so proper and concerned about his reputation and dignity… it seemed she had misunderstood.
He wasn’t so different from other men after all.
Ethan looked at Clara, who was hanging her head in silence, and raised an eyebrow… Really?
Just like that, one sentence had upset her?
She was… far too innocent.
Did she believe everything he said?
Couldn’t she tell he was joking?
If he were truly the kind of man who would lie there and let someone do whatever they wanted with him… would Nora and Belle still be pursuing him so persistently?
Nora and Belle’s feelings for him…
He admitted there were genuine emotions, but part of it was also a refusal to accept rejection.
Because… what you can’t have always seems the best.
If Nora and Belle could have him, they wouldn’t be so obsessed.
But… was he the kind of man who could be easily had by any woman? No, he was not!!
Therefore, apart from his wife, no other woman could have him.
However… there was no need to tell Clara this. She was already spoiled enough. If she knew that only she could have him… who knew how smug and proud she would become.
Clara arrived at the secretaries’ office.
Nora had been watching Clara since she entered.
She wanted to analyze Clara’s mood from her expression.
Clara seemed to be in low spirits.
Nora averted her gaze, feeling a bit smug. It seemed… Grace must have reprimanded Clara.
Perhaps… in the future, Clara wouldn’t be able to spend her days just making tea and brewing coffee for Ethan so easily.
Both of them were Ethan’s secretaries, but while she was busy and exhausted every day, Clara was so relaxed and carefree. It made her feel resentful… and besides, she also wanted to make tea and brew coffee for Ethan.
Making tea and brewing coffee for the man you love was a pleasurable thing.
“Clara, what’s wrong?” Nora asked with concern. “You don’t look well.”
Clara looked at Nora without speaking.
She was sure that Nora had told Grace about how relaxed she was, only making tea and brewing coffee for Ethan every day, and Nora had surely expressed her desire to make tea and brew coffee for Ethan as well…
That’s why Grace had mentioned things like Nora having good tea-making skills…
Nora’s tea skills were indeed good.
“Is that so?” Clara touched her face and said with a smile, “Maybe it’s because my mother-in-law scolded me.”
“What?” Nora feigned surprise while looking at Clara, asking, “Why would Mrs. Logan scold you?”
Inwardly, she was quite smug.
Grace certainly hadn’t disappointed her.
“My mother-in-law scolded me for only making tea and brewing coffee for my husband at the company, saying it was too easy… said I was taking a salary without doing work, being kept idle,” Clara said.
It seemed… that was indeed the case.
“Then…” Nora wanted to continue asking.
But before she could finish, Clara said, “But my husband said he wanted to keep me idle, and that a husband supporting his wife is perfectly natural and proper.”
Nora’s earlier smugness instantly vanished, replaced by disappointment and jealousy.
Intense jealousy!
Jealousy that Ethan would protect Clara so much.
She truly, for the ten thousandth time, couldn’t understand what was so good about Clara. What charm did she possess?