Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Clarence shook his head with a wry smile. âCecilia, stop making fun of me.â
Cecilia looked serious. âMaking fun of you? Iâm serious.
âYou have no wife, and I have no husband. Why canât we be together?â
The womanâs voice was slightly worked up as her fragrant breath wafted onto Clarenceâs face.
âDo you think Iâm not good enough for you?â
Clarence leaned against the passenger seat and looked at the window of Mirandaâs ward on the third floor.
âLetâs talk about it later. I just want to sleep.â
His eyelids flickered for a moment before he closed them.
Ceciliaâs face approached his, their faces almost touching, but Clarence still did not open his eyes.
âAlright, Iâll stop discussing it, then.
âYou just have to know that Iâm here for you. Miranda gave up on you, but I wonât.
âLet me get you home to bed.â Cecilia had initially wanted Clarence to go back to the hospital for a checkup, but seeing Clarence alive and kicking now, she figured that he was probably fine.
After returning to Thirteen Hall, Clarence quietly went to his room and locked the door behind him.
He did not care that he was stained with blood. He just fell asleep.
For three days, Clarence did not leave his room.
He had not eaten a single thing nor drunk a single drop of water. He just slept.
Cecilia, Julian, Jeremy, Gunther, Johnson, and even Master Williams came knocking, but Clarence still did not leave the room.
Cecilia stood in front of the door. âClarence, how can you call yourself a man?
âSheâs just a woman.
âSo you had a divorce. Whatâs the big deal?
âIâll get you any woman you want. No matter what age or type you want, Iâll get one for you!
âHurry up and come out. Itâs been three days. How can you go without eating anything?
âDo you want everybody to worry about you?â
The room remained silent.
Cecilia pressed her ear against the door, only hearing Clarenceâs heavy breathing.
Over the past three days, people had worried that Clarence had done something stupid. If not for hearing Clarenceâs breathing, they would have already been ready to break in.
Jeremy and Johnson had gone over to give Clarence some advice, but Clarence had remained unmoved.
Julian sighed. âForget it. Itâs hit him hard. Let him calm down.
âI gotta go, Iâve got some stuff going on with the Martial Arts Association. Let me know if there are any updates regarding him.â
Julian left in a hurry.
As the vice president of the Martial Arts Association, he had many things to deal with since recovering from his internal energy.
However, he still took time out of his busy schedule to see Clarence every day. Julian really cared about Clarence.
Jeremy and Johnson had chosen to stay. Something seemed to be wrong with Ceciliaâshe had stayed in Thirteen Hall and was practicing her cooking.
She treated Jeremy and Johnson like lab rats, stuffing the two with the food she made.
Master Williams would have suffered too if he had not been too old for her antics.
At noon, Cecilia had just made a meal, and everyone was about to dig in.
Creak. Clarenceâs room door was being pushed open.
Everyone in the dining room got up and rushed to Clarence.
Clarence smiled and greeted them. âCecilia.
âJeremy.
âOld Golding.
âMaster Williams.
âGunther.â
Cecilia grabbed Clarenceâs arm. âAre you okay?â
âWhy wouldnât I be okay? All I did was sleep.â Clarence wore a casual smile.
Cecilia rolled her eyes. âYou call that sleep? It was really scary.
âI thought you committed suicide.â
Clarence laughed and shook his head. âHow would that be possible? Does it look like I would kill myself over a woman?
âIs there anything to eat? Iâm so hungry. Iâm starving.â
âYes, yes, yes. I just made pumpkin soup. Do you want some?â Cecilia dragged Clarence to the living room at the back of Thirteen Hall, sat him down, and gave him a big bowl of pumpkin soup.
The others sat around Clarence, ready for lunch.
Everyone stopped at their first gulps except for Clarence, who continued drinking.
They all looked at Clarence.
Clarence froze and asked in confusion, âWhy arenât you all drinking? Go on.â
Cecilia spat out the pumpkin soup in her mouth, silently wiping a handful of tears from her eyes. âStop drinking. The soup is too salty.â
The living room was silent.
Everyone knew that the divorce had hit Clarence hard. The pumpkin soup was so salty, but Clarence could not taste it.
Clarence put his bowl down. âIâm sorry I made you worry.â
âYou...â
Cecilia wanted to comfort Clarence, but he shook his head and continued saying, âI was an orphan, and I grew up in an orphanage.
âI didnât know who my parents were or where I came from.
âThen, I married Miranda. This orphan now had a family and a wife. No matter how much the Murphy family bullied me, I put up with it.
âIt was because I wanted to take good care of this family. I also wanted to have a family, so I wouldnât be so alone.
âEven if Miranda and I were only married by contract, I always thought she would accept me one day, even if her heart was made of stone.
âIt seems I was too naive.
âMaybe I had an obsession with Miranda. But I have a wider perspective now that Iâm divorced. I have you and everyone else, and I donât need Miranda anymore.
âThere are also people who care about me. Donât worry. From now on, Iâll live a good life and not do anything stupid. Donât worry.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Clarence looked at everyone as he spoke with great sincerity.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed like Clarence had really gotten over the divorce, since he could say such things.
Smiling, Clarence got up and spat the pumpkin soup out of his mouth. âBah! Cecilia, this soup is really salty. I didnât notice because I was thinking about something else.
âSince everyoneâs here, Iâll cook. You havenât tried my cooking yet, have you?â
Ceciliaâs eyes lit up, and she followed Clarence like a demure little lady. âIâll help you and learn a thing or two!â
âWhereâs Clarence Howard? Come out. I want to see you!â Suddenly, a menacing voice came from Thirteen Hallâs front lobby. There was a storm of footsteps, sounding as if there were many people present.
âWhatâs happened?â
âCome on, letâs check it out.â
Gloom flickered across Clarence and the othersâ faces as they went to Thirteen Hallâs front lobby.
They saw a dozen men and women in suits standing in the lobby. They were led by a woman who seemed to be in her late twenties. She was wearing delicate makeup, and there was thick pride on her face.
Clarence knew the woman. Leanne had introduced Clarence to her the last time they had been in Tomlake Heights.
Unfortunately, Selina had been arrogant at the time. She had written a check for one hundred million, but she had thrown it on the floor for Clarence to pick up.
Clarence left Tomlake Heights right away, and that had been the end of that incident.
He could not believe that Selina had actually come to Thirteen Hall.
When Selina saw Clarence, she looked as impatient as she had been the last time.
She pulled out a check and threw it at Clarence. âClarence, hereâs one hundred million. Come with me to see my dad right now.
âIâll give you another billion dollars if you can save my dad!â