Chapter 5 Back to the Chandlers
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“You let another man drive you to this? Clarissa, you’re not just cheapening yourself… you’re dragging me down with you.”
Clarissa was still flustered when his words hit her like ice water. Her eyes shot open. She stared at him, furious and stunned.
Was this guy made of stone?
She had just kissed him. And he still thought it was about Gregory?
“I’m not some loser who needs to trap a woman,” Jonathan said. The cold pride in his voice had faded into something rough and hollow. “Once we get back. I’ll call off the engagement.” His voice dropped, heavy and strained. “After that, whatever happens to you is none of my business.”
He didn’t even look at her again. He opened the door and got out.
“Jonathan!” Clarissa panicked.
She lunged for the door, but it had already locked. She watched helplessly as he stepped into another car without a single glance back.
The door beside her opened again. Zack Jefferson climbed in.
He was Jonathan’s most loyal man. And the one who’d glared at her the hardest.
“Save your breath, Miss Chandler,” he snapped, settling into the driver’s seat. “You were going to elope with someone else. Don’t try to pull another fast one.” His voice was sharp, his face even sharper.
“If it were anybody else, you and that trash would’ve been buried tonight. You’re lucky Mr. Jefferson still cares about you.”
Clarissa didn’t speak. Her lips pressed tight.
She had hurt Jonathan badly. She knew that. And she had just returned. Of course they hated her. Of course they thought the worst. She’d take it–all of it and fix it in time.
Zack saw her silence and sneered harder. His knuckles went white on the wheel as he started the car and took her home.
Clarissa didn’t fight it. Jonathan clearly didn’t want her around. He sent someone else to deal with her. Maybe he just needed space. Maybe she did, too.
She leaned against the door and stared out the window. Far off, she spotted Jonathan standing in front of Gregory. She couldn’t see what he was doing, only his tall frame and Gregory’s terrified face. The car kept moving.
Even from that distance, she still heard Gregory’s low, broken screams.
He deserved every second of it.
41
The car rolled to a stop at the Chandlers‘ front gate.
Clarissa was pushed out before she could even speak.
She barely caught her balance before Zack pulled away, tires squealing as he disappeared down the road.
She stood there alone, staring at the towering gates. Her chest tightened, and her eyes burned.
In her last life, she had destroyed everything. Because of her, the Chandlers went under. Her father, her mother, George, Albert, Samuel–none of them had a good ending.
She stayed rooted on the path. Her body wouldn’t move.
“Clarissa!”
1/2
Chapter 5 Back to the Chandlers
The scream came sharp and fast.
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Penelope Winters, Clarissa’s mother, stormed out of the house, her steps loud and fast. Her eyes found Clarissa in an instant. Worry flickered, but it was gone in a heartbeat, buried beneath boiling anger.
“How. Dare. You! You went eloping just like that? No note, bed empty! You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”
“Honey, please, calm down.” Frederick Chandler, Clarissa’s father, hurried after her and caught her arm. “She just got home. She’s probably scared out of her mind. Let’s not come down on her too hard.”
He glanced back at Clarissa and gave a quick signal, urging her to speak up. He nodded at her, silently begging her to just say
sorry.
However, Clarissa didn’t move. Her eyes were red, and her lips stayed shut.
Frederick’s nerves spiked. The girl was being so d’mn stubborn.
She’d refuse to say sorry even now.
“Mom, don’t get mad,” Selina chimed in sweetly as she stepped outside. She gently linked arms with Penelope. “Clare just really likes Gregory. Maybe we should let them be together. It’s what she wants.”
Gregory’s name was like gasoline on fire. Penelope’s expression darkened, and she snapped at Clarissa, “Get on your knees!”
Selina’s smile twitched. She knew Clarissa too well. There was no way she would kneel. A fight was coming, and she could already see Frederick tensing, ready to pull them apart again.
They weren’t wrong. In her last life, Clarissa had screamed back until Penelope passed out. That fight dragged into weeks of sickness that never fully healed, but today, something had changed.
“Mom! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have gone away!”
Without a second of hesitation, Clarissa dropped to her knees. Her legs hit the stone hard. The sound echoed loudly through the open yard.
Penelope froze. Her face stiffened.
For a long second, she didn’t even look angry.
She looked stunned.
This was the same girl who used to avoid calling her ‘Mom‘. The girl who never said sorry, no matter what.
was.
Now here she was. On her knees. Crying.
Selina’s smile disappeared. Her face twisted like she had seen something she couldn’t explain.
