Chapter 2

That was when someone knocked on the door. Clara's hand jolted, but she quickly composed herself and went to open the door. When she did, she came face to face with Wren's darkened gaze. Her hands instinctively balled into fists. "You're back, Wren…" Wren didn't meet her eyes. Instead, his gaze swept past the smoke inside her room, and his brows furrowed. "What are you burning in there?" Clara was about to speak, but Ivy stepped forward to intimately link arms with Wren. Ivy's lips curled into a smug grin at Clara. In that instance, Clara suddenly understood a saying she had once heard—some people could take everything from another person just by existing. Clara forced the words she wanted to say down her throat. Then, her dull tone rang out as she lied, "I was burning some useless sketches." Surprisingly, Wren believed her and didn't bother looking into it more. He held Ivy and turned around, wanting to return to his room. "Wait," Clara instinctively called out. "There's something I want to tell you, Wren." She wanted to give him a proper goodbye. Alas, Wren immediately frowned. Before he could say anything, Ivy beat him to lecturing Clara. "Wren only sees you as his little sister, Clara! Don't tell me you're still stubbornly hanging onto your hopes and planning to latch onto him." "No, that's not it—" "Enough! Don't ever bother me from now on unless it's important," Wren interrupted Clara, not giving her a chance to explain. Clara couldn't ignore the burning sensation in her nostrils and the stinging of her eyes. Wren would never say such things to her in the past. He knew she never felt secure, so he always comforted her and put her first. Wren once said everything about Clara was important to him. Yet, he was now giving his total attention to Ivy. He could never bear seeing her cry even a tear and would always be helpless in that situation before. Now, he couldn't care less when he saw her cry. Clara couldn't hold it back anymore. She spun on her heel miserably and shut her bedroom door like she was running away. … That night, Clara didn't sleep well. She dreamt all night long of her and Wren's past. Since Clara's parents died, Katrina had taken over the family company. Katrina would always work until late at night. Because of that, Wren learned to care for Clara. He never had to do anything for himself, but for Clara's sake, he learned to do the laundry and cook. When Clara had cramps because of her period, he learned to prepare soothing teas for her. Clara was also afraid of thunderstorms. So, he stayed by her bedside all night and soothed her until she slept. Once, Clara's classmates mocked her for being an orphan. That was the first time Wren got into a physical fight. He told everyone Clara was his family's one and only princess. Clara dreamt of his gentle expression and fell deeper in love with him. In the next second, his expression turned into utter contempt and shock as he said, "You disgust me, Clara." That jolted Clara out of her dreams. She still had tears on her face, and they even stained her pillow. Her eyes were incredibly swollen. She barely concealed how haggard she looked after washing up and putting on some makeup. She got changed before heading downstairs, wanting to run errands at her university. That was when she happened upon Ivy, who seemed busy in the kitchen. "Oh, Clara, you're up." Ivy held a bowl of warm oatmeal porridge. With a smile, she waved Clara over. "I cooked up your favorite oatmeal porridge. Try some!" Clara refused to interact with Ivy, who pretended nothing had happened. "No, it's fine. I—" "Are you still blaming me for taking your gift at Wren's birthday party? I didn't mean to. Can you please not be angry at me, your sister-in-law?" Ivy's eyes reddened, and she bit her lip nervously like she was the victim. Clara struggled to accept the words "sister-in-law". She suppressed her emotions and tried to walk around Ivy to leave. Little did she expect Ivy to step forward at that moment. The two collided. The boiling oatmeal splashed onto Ivy while the bowl shattered on the ground. "What are you doing, Clara?" Wren's livid roar filled the air as he charged forward to rip Clara away from Ivy. Concern filled his face as he picked up Ivy's hand, which the oatmeal porridge had scalded. "You can take it out on me if you're upset, Clara—but don't do anything to Ivy. I want you to apologize to her now!" he bellowed. Wren hadn't bothered to ask what had happened before blaming Clara for the incident. That left Clara frozen. The oatmeal had also burned her, so the back of her hand was red and in pain. Yet, it was nothing compared to how hurt she felt. Back then, Wren would always realize it first whenever she got hurt. It didn't matter if her skin had only reddened slightly. However, he only noticed Ivy now. "Wren, Clara's just still upset at me. I doubt she intentionally set out to harm me. Please don't be mad at her." "Is this how I raised you, Clara? To be someone who doesn't apologize when they've done something wrong? How did you turn out like this? "I'm so disappointed in you. Apologize to Ivy at once! Do you hear me?" Clara looked up in disbelief at Wren. She remembered how someone had spread the word about her being an orphan when she was in high school. Everyone soon found out. During a gym class, the funds her class had gathered went missing. Clara had briefly returned to the classroom because she was on her period. Because of that, her classmates viewed her as the biggest suspect. Everyone called her a thief, saying an orphan like her likely had a nasty habit of stealing. Wren was already interning at the family company. He was their representative in negotiating a large business order worth tens of millions of dollars. Upon learning of the incident, Wren rushed home on an overnight flight to defend her honor. He insisted that the school investigate the truth and clear her name. Wren said he would always believe Clara at the time. Only a few years had passed since, yet Wren trusted another person wholeheartedly. Clara forced a bitter smile as she took in Wren's face. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't do it?" Wren pursed his lips, his gaze sinking deep into her while he remained silent. Clara's heart turned colder by the second. Footsteps rang out from behind as Carlisle descended the stairs. He looked at the scene before him with displeasure. "I heard you guys arguing from upstairs! What's going on?" Ivy instantly recounted the incident before shooting a helpless look at Clara. "Clara, I know you can't accept that I'm your brother's girlfriend. However, Wren eventually has to get married. You can't throw this temper tantrum forever." Carlisle's stern glare snapped toward Clara at once. "You're being inconsiderate, Clara! Hurry up and apologize to Ivy!" "I swear I didn't do it," said Clara. Nobody believed Clara's weak explanation. They just stared at her with accusatory and judging looks. That was when Katrina and Shirley Jimenez, Ivy's mother, came downstairs. Shirley pushed Katrina aside and ran over to hold Ivy's hand when she saw Ivy injured. Feeling worried, she voiced, "Ivy has another piano competition next month! It's important to her, and she can't risk any harm to her hands! You've gone too far, Clara!" "I didn't do it…" Clara truly understood what it was like to be unable to fight back. Katrina felt distressed for Clara. She then rushed forward to shield the latter behind her. That garnered a disapproving look from Carlisle right away. "You're always busy with running that worthless business. Look at how your niece turned out! She attacks someone, lets her jealousy get the best of her, and refuses to admit her faults! "You'll take her place since she won't apologize. Go and apologize to Shirley and Ivy at once!" "It has nothing to do with Aunt Katrina, Uncle Carlisle!" exclaimed Clara. She knew Katrina had suffered many grievances because of Shirley these past few years. Shirley was Carlisle's old flame when he was younger. Carlisle had brought her and Ivy to the Zachman residence a few years ago after her divorce. He then openly allowed the two to live with his family. Carlisle's bias toward Shirley made her seem more like his wife than Katrina was. Katrina had also avoided interacting with Shirley and Ivy the entire time. Little did she expect Ivy to end up dating Wren. Clara could never allow Katrina to endure such injustice on her behalf. So, she tolerated her bitterness and unwillingness while lowering her head. "It was my fault. I'm sorry, Ivy." It had taken her a great deal of effort to muster that apology. Aggrievement suffocated her from the inside until, ultimately, all she felt was disappointment.