Chapter 4 Wanting To Break Off The Engagement

Eric froze, completely thrown by Clara. For a moment, he just stood there, dazed and motionless.

Emily, equally shocked, rushed to pull Eric behind her, her voice rising with outrage. "How could you treat Eric like that?"

Before Emily could finish, Clara shoved her.

The bustling entrance of Jones Manor instantly fell into a heavy silence.

Every servant who had been watching from the sidelines was now gripped by fear.

Emily completely cast aside her usual poise and shouted in fury, "Are you crazy?!"

Clara's eyes stayed cold. "As the eldest sibling, it's my job to set you straight. If you show me disrespect, is there anything wrong with me correcting you?"

Clara understood that Eric was at an age where pride came easily and rebellion was to be expected.

But that was exactly why he needed someone firm to keep him on track.

Otherwise, he would fall into the same traps as before, thinking he could do anything he wanted, racing recklessly, crashing, and ending up with an injury that left him mentally impaired.

Now that Clara had a second shot at life, she was determined to keep Eric from repeating that fate.

And as for Emily, putting her in her place was just something she wanted to do.

Emily was shocked, unable to move.

In the past, whenever Eric and Emily went out without Clara, she would feel hurt and distant from the Jones family, but she kept those feelings to herself.

Today, however, Clara refused to stay silent.

"You-" Emily said, her body trembling with anger.

At that moment, Clara's father, Brad Jones, and her stepmother, Ramona, pulled up and stepped out of the car.

They froze, shocked by the strange scene unfolding at the entrance.

"Mom! Clara's lost her mind!" Emily ran into Ramona's arms, sobbing and looking pitiful.

Ramona could hardly believe it. "What? There must be some mistake."

Ramona remembered how Clara had always tried to fit in with the Joneses, continually making efforts to please both Eric and Emily.

"I'm not lying!" Emily sobbed.

Eric turned to Brad and complained, "Dad! Can you discipline Clara? She shouldn't act so rudely..."

At first, Brad felt angry, convinced Clara had overreacted.

But when he glanced up and saw Clara's eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, his heart softened.

Hearing Eric's words, Brad scolded him, "How dare you speak of your sister that way! Apologize to her right now! If you make her cry again, I'll deal with you!"

Seeing Brad's reaction, Clara could no longer hold back her tears.

She rushed into his arms and cried out, "Dad..."

She wanted to apologize to him.

In her previous life, she had been far too trusting, letting Emily manipulate her and constantly fighting with Brad over Robert, that worthless man.

Things only got worse after Brad bailed her out of jail. Emily tricked her into signing a confession, and Clara ended up turning herself in, which made Brad so furious that it affected his health.

In the end, Ramona and Emily's plotting left Brad in a coma.

Clara couldn't shake the feeling that she had let him down as a daughter.

"What happened? Were you really bullied?" Brad wrapped his arms around her, startled and worried.

Ever since Clara came back into the family, she'd always kept her distance from him, rarely speaking unless it was to blame him for losing her and failing to find her back for so long.

But now, she was clinging to him, openly crying.

There was no doubt she was hurting.

Brad turned a stern gaze on Eric. "Eric! Did you upset your sister again?"

Eric tried to defend himself, but being blamed made him even more frustrated. "Dad! You're always siding with her! She's the one who..."

Brad cut him off. "Your sister was setting you straight for your own good! And Clara is my one and only precious daughter. If you think that's unfair, too bad!"

Eric had nothing to say.

To Brad, his daughter meant the world!

And he, as the son, was simply unwanted.

Meanwhile, Ramona and Emily stood nearby, their faces turning sour.

His only precious daughter?

Where did that leave Emily?

Clara quickly pulled back from Brad and wiped her tears. "Dad, this isn't about Eric," she said softly. "Eric spoke to me disrespectfully, so I put him in his place right away."

Taking a steady breath, Clara looked Brad in the eyes. "Dad, I want to break off my engagement with Robert."