CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: HER NAME IS CLARA STERLING, SHE’S MY WIFE

Clara spoke with an unclear tone, "We’re at the airport, why not join her?"

Silas glanced sideways, "You want to join her?"

"Not really, just curious why you said that."

The man beside her seemed to chuckle softly.

"Really don’t know?"

Clara pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

"I’m with my wife, why call another woman?"

Silas gave Clara an almost teasing look, "Or do you want to flaunt our love in front of her?"

Clara glared at him, "I didn’t mean that."

"Okay, stop thinking about her, just someone irrelevant." Silas coaxed gently.

Someone irrelevant.

Clara savored these words silently.

Her mood started to lift.

Silas had made a reservation at a long-established Chinese restaurant in Crestwood, known for its reputation.

After the meal, Silas went to the restroom.

The phone was left on the table.

The screen suddenly lit up.

Clara instinctively glanced over.

Thea: [Silas, are you done? I want to see you.]

Clara’s gaze lingered on the message, her feelings heavy like a sponge soaked with water, unbearably stifling.

A moment later, the phone screen dimmed.

Silas returned from the restroom, picking up the suit jacket on the chair, "Let’s go back to The Ripplewood Estate."

Speaking of which, the house at The Ripplewood Estate was the one Silas gave Clara when they got their marriage certificate, calling it a wedding home.

All this time, Clara had never visited.

She had been staying in the dorm; right after her exams last semester, she packed up and went to Veridian.

She didn’t even know what their wedding home looked like.

Just then, a call came in on the phone.

Silas answered quickly, Clara didn’t catch the caller ID.

The man took the call while walking out.

Clara followed slowly behind, head down, her chest stuffy.

It should be Thea calling.

Clara felt a pang of bitterness.

Standing at a distance, she couldn’t hear what Thea was saying over the phone.

By the time she reached the restaurant entrance, Silas had already finished the call.

"Clara, I have something to do. I’ll have the driver take you back first."

Clara opened her mouth.

She wanted to ask if he was going to see Thea.

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

She just dryly replied, "Oh."

Silas reached out and ruffled Clara’s fluffy head, "I’ll be home as soon as I can."

"Mm." Still dryly.

A black Maybach stopped slowly.

It was there to pick up Silas.

Silas didn’t get in first; instead, he said to Clara, "Clara, you get in the car first."

"Oh." Clara got into the Cullinan they had just been sitting in.

Silas instructed the driver, "Drive slowly, be careful, call me after you drop my wife off at The Ripplewood Estate."

Clara heard it clearly from the back seat.

She pouted.

If he’s so worried, why not go home with me?

You just have to go because Thea wants to see you?

She really wanted to ask Silas if the return of his first love meant she had to step aside.

But she couldn’t ask.

After instructing the driver, Silas said to Clara again, "Clara, call me when you get home. If you’re sleepy, just sleep. No need to wait for me."

Clara was feeling down.

Does this mean he’ll be back very late tonight?

She replied, "Oh."

Silas’s gaze was gentle, "Be good, I’ll bring you a little cake."

Clara didn’t respond to that.

She didn’t want a little cake; she wanted Silas to go home with her.

She didn’t want him to see Thea.

After the driver took Clara away, Silas got into the car.

The call was from Silas’s grandmother, Susan Saxon.

The old lady said she wasn’t feeling well and, upon hearing he was back in Crestwood, asked him to come to the old house to see her.

The reason Silas didn’t take Clara was that he wanted to officially introduce Clara to his grandmother on another occasion.

They returned for a class reunion, and the time was too tight.

Taking Clara to meet his grandmother could be disrespectful without a formal occasion, Silas thought.

Moreover, he hadn’t intended to bring Clara back this time; she wasn’t mentally prepared, and bringing her back hastily might make her nervous and uneasy.

The Sheffield family old house was a mountainside villa, with a view of the mountain and water, broad vistas, pleasant scenery, and very suitable for elderly retirement.

Silas arrived at the old house just past eight in the evening.

The first person he saw upon entering was not his grandmother but Thea.

"Silas, you’re back."

Thea wore light makeup, donned a light purple new-style cheongsam paired with a pearl necklace, her hair half-bunned and half-draped at her back, looking elegant and dignified, like a lady from a well-bred family.

Silas frowned, "Why are you here?"

"I asked her to come," Susan Saxon walked out.

The old lady was already eighty, but she looked great—radiant and plump.

Seeing the vigor in her, Silas suspected she wasn’t unwell at all.

He immediately understood the real intent; she wanted to matchmake him with Thea.

Susan Saxon came over, holding Thea’s hand with a benevolent smile.

"Thea just returned from Freedonia. I haven’t seen her for years and missed her, so I asked her to come see me."

With that, Susan Saxon glanced warmly at Silas, "You two seem to share a bond, coincidentally returning to Crestwood on the same day."

Thea’s smile faltered, "Silas just got back today too?"

Susan Saxon: "Yes, he arrived at the airport around five-thirty. Coincidentally, you probably just landed around then too, right? Why didn’t you return together?"

Thea’s smile turned forced, "Silas said he was busy at that time..."

Silas’s face turned stern, "Grandma, I came back with Clara."

Hearing this, Susan Saxon’s smile turned cold, "I don’t know who this mumbling person is."

Hearing his grandmother’s disrespect towards Clara, Silas’s dark eyes glinted coldly.

Even though she was his elder, his tone carried gravity: "Grandma, as I’ve told you before, her name is Clara Sterling. She’s my wife; we’ve already registered."

In front of Thea, Silas didn’t avoid the subject, openly admitting they were already married.

Thea’s face turned pale, pupils shrinking, her body swayed nearly losing balance, "Silas, you... you’re married?"

Silas replied coldly, "Yes."

Hearing Silas’s words, Susan Saxon was suddenly furious, "Silas Sheffield!"

Silas’s expression was cold, "Grandma, since you’re fine, I’m going home. Clara’s waiting for me."

With that, he turned and strode out.

His footsteps didn’t pause for a moment.

"Silas, Silas wait..." Thea chased after him.

Silas reached the car, and Thea caught up.

"Grandma said it’s been a long time since you’ve seen her. She’s very happy you came today and prepared a feast of your favorite dishes. Leaving now will make her sad."

Silas’s gaze was cold as frost, voice devoid of warmth: "I’ll come when you’re not here."

Thea didn’t expect his bluntness, leaving no room for her.

Startled, she stood there, momentarily at a loss for words.

In the blink of an eye, Silas had opened the car door and sat in.

The Maybach sped away.

Thea stood at the door, watching Silas’s departing direction, feeling a pang in her heart.

Silas Sheffield, married...

How could this happen?

The unattainable bloom uninterested in love, unexpectedly married just like that?

Clara Sterling.

Thea recited this name in her heart, her gaze gradually turning cold.