An hour later.
The housekeeper announced with excitent, "Master, Madam, he is back."
"Finally, the rascal decided to co back." Louisa rose from the sofa, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
"No wonder I saw smoke rising from the house all the way ho," Clark Collins said as he slipped off his shoes and sauntered in, a mischievous smile on his face. "Turns out it’s Mom steaming with rage."
"You little rascal!" As soon as Louisa saw him, she couldn’t resist landing a few blows on him. "Finally decided to co ho? Your sister’s been back for months. Don’t you think as her elder brother, you should care a bit more? Hunter managed to find ti despite his busy schedule to co back, Chasel rushed ho right after his secret mission, and even David has been keeping your sister company for days. But you and your brother—not answering ssages or calls, spending all day dealing with dead people."
"Mom, that’s my job."
"What job? Hurry up and go upstairs to take a bath. Don’t stink up your sister!" Seeing him head upstairs, Louisa couldn’t help but ask with a touch of curiosity, "Wait, why are your hands empty? Where’s the gift for your sister?"
Clark, halfway up the stairs, answered a bit awkwardly, "Isn’t my coming ho the best gift for my sister?"
Louisa couldn’t help but give him a few more smacks. "Who cares about you? Girls want perfus, jewelry, clothes, or at least a doll. You, on the other hand, can’t be eaten, played with, or worn."
"I can be a decoration," Clark replied seriously. "Even if you bring a doll ho, it’s just a decoration. And I’m better than a doll—I can move. What’s more, how can a doll be more pleasing to the eye than ?"
Seeing her handso son’s serious face, Louisa clutched her heart. "You’re going to be the death of ."
Seeing his mother truly upset, Clark finally produced a small box and handed it over with a charming smile. "I didn’t forget anyone. This is for my beloved mother."
"Really?" Louisa asked, half doubting, half hopeful, her anger subsiding a bit.
"The gift for my sister is still in the car. If you don’t believe , go check."
"At least you have so conscience!" Louisa opened the small box to find a dazzling gem inside. Knowing her son cared for both Rose and herself, Louisa finally felt a bit better.
"Where’s mine?" Kenneth inquired as he rushed in from the kitchen.
Clark tossed him a small box. "I’m going upstairs."
Kenneth was sowhat excited. "He still has so sha, running off so quickly. Honey, our boxes are identical. Do you think the contents will be the sa?"
"Open it and see."
Kenneth opened the box, only to find a note inside that read: IOU.
Kenneth was dumbfounded.
What a great son.
After Clark had taken a shower and sat on the sofa for quite a while, his sister still hadn’t shown up. Instead, Serena, hearing of his return, rushed to his side as quickly as she could, beaming, "Clark, you’re finally back!"
"Serena." Clark leaned back on the sofa, his body radiating an untad aura, his handso smile in place. "It’s been a while. You’ve grown into a young lady."
"Clark, it’s been so long since you ca back." Serena’s voice wavered—she had truly missed Clark.
"Clark, it’s about ti you ca ho. Serena has been talking about you non-stop; my ears are about to form calluses!" Martha, standing nearby, laughed. "Sotis Serena would flip through your old photo albums and start crying."
"What’s there to cry about?"
"She misses you, of course!"
Clark’s gaze softened. "Co here, sit next to ."
Serena eagerly took the spot next to him.
"Why didn’t you just give a call?"
"I thought you might be busy, and I didn’t want to bother you."
Clark looked even more handso than before. His face still held that trace of defiant charm.
"Clark, can I take a few photos with you? That way, I can look at them when I miss you."
After getting his permission, Serena hurriedly took out her cell phone and took a lot of photos with Clark, even posting so on Facebook.
"How have you been doing lately?" Clark asked with concern.
Serena didn’t know how to summarize her recent life. If she had to describe it in one sentence, it would be "absolutely miserable."
"Clark, isn’t this like stabbing Serena in the heart? Ever since Ms. Rose ca back to this house, how good can Serena’s status and situation be?"
Rosemary was about to go downstairs but stopped when she heard this. Was Martha talking bad about her in front of Clark?
There truly was no mont of peace.
Clark picked up on the undertone, raising his gaze to ask lightly, "Is the young lady difficult to get along with?"
Martha made a face that said it all—as if she was saying "extrely difficult."
"And what about my parents? They don’t care about it?"
Martha’s expression said it all once again.
"What about Hunter and the others?"
Martha sighed. "Now everyone revolves around her. Only Clark—you’re the first to care about Serena’s situation."
Clark glanced at the girl next to him. She seed a bit hurt, her head lowered like a discarded doll, but then she swept away the gloom in her eyes. "Clark, are you hungry? I can get you sothing to eat."
"I am a bit hungry." Clark smiled at her. "Get a few things."
"Alright." Serena was about to go get it.
"Serena, let go. You stay and chat with Clark a bit more."
What a great opportunity! She shouldn’t miss it!
"Martha, you stay." Clark’s smile was unreadable. "Serena, you go."
"Oh, okay." Serena glanced at Martha, a bit confused, as she headed to the kitchen.
"Martha."
Once Serena left, Clark’s gaze returned to Martha. "You seem to have a lot of complaints about Rose."
"Clark, you’re mistaken. I’m just upset seeing Serena being neglected in this house, especially since no matter how hard she tries to please Ms. Rose, it’s useless. Ms. Rose is always giving her the cold shoulder, so I just feel it’s unfair for Serena."
Rosemary stood upstairs, speechless.
"Martha, you’ve been in this house for too long. Have you forgotten that Serena’s place originally belonged to Rose?"
With one sentence, Clark completely silenced Martha.
"Rose has suffered for eighteen years outside, and she finally returned to this house. You say everyone revolves around her—that was because they wanted to make it up to her, be good to her, and care for her. Isn’t this normal?"
Martha lowered her head in embarrassnt, whispering, "Yes."
"Serena has been living the life that Rose should have had for the past eighteen years. Rose didn’t ask her to give it back and even agreed to let her stay. That shows Rose is a generous person who doesn’t hold grudges."
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