Chapter 5 We Got Divorced, We Need to Keep Our Distance

"Why do you look so pale?"

Grandpa Harper lifted his eyelids and glanced at his eldest grandson not far away, "You come here too."

The two were led into the study by Grandpa Harper.

"What happened to your arm?"

The old man's sharp eyes caught sight of the scratch on Clara's arm, which was injured when those two thugs threw her to the ground yesterday.

Clara smiled obediently and answered lightly,

"Grandpa, it doesn't hurt."

The old man lifted his eyelids and questioned Edward beside him,

"You tell me, how did Clara's arm get hurt?"

Edward only then noticed the shocking scratch on Clara's pale right arm, looking painful, and he couldn't immediately answer his grandfather's question.

His thoughts drifted back to last night, when he was holding her down, bullying her, tightly gripping her arm. She hadn't made a sound, truly able to endure.

The old man scolded him head-on,

"How do you not know your wife is hurt? Are you waiting around for someone else to care for her?"

Clara helped explain,

"Grandpa, it really doesn't hurt, and I didn't tell him."

The old man snorted,

"When are you two going to give me a great-grandchild?"

The air stilled for a moment.

Edward's phone rang; he took his cell phone out of the study.

It was Liam Johnson calling,

"Director Harper, there's news about what you asked to be investigated. Recently, Mrs. Harper hasn't been in contact with anyone special, except for a two-minute call with someone named Elijah Parker, and last night she went to a bar to drop something off for Miss Bella Harper. On her way back, she made a trip to the police station and later returned to Brocade Garden in a police officer's private car."

Liam Johnson finished saying all this in one breath and added, "Oh, that Elijah Parker is a middle school student. After confirming Mrs. Harper didn't find the person herself, she didn't contact him again."

Edward was puzzled, "What did she go to the police station for?"

Liam held his breath, a bit hesitant to say, gathering himself before speaking,

"Mrs. Harper was almost... sexually assaulted last night."

A thunderclap exploded in Edward's mind as he recalled her unusual demeanor upon returning yesterday and the strange outfit from who-knows-where she was wearing. His insides churned.

Why did this woman not tell him anything? This kind of situation should lead her to seek him out for help immediately. Did she think of her husband as a decoration?

Who dared to mess with his wife, Edward Harper? They must be tired of living.

"I want the detailed events."

Liam felt the president's overwhelming anger seep through the phone,

"Director Harper, those two thugs have been arrested, and the matter even made it to the news. I'll send the link to your WeChat."

After hanging up, Secretary Johnson sent a link.

When Clara came out of the study, Edward was sitting on one end of the sofa, gazing at his phone, the air around him icy.

A few more people had appeared in the living room,

"Dad, Mom, Uncle."

She called out to the elders one by one, obediently sat beside Edward, and held a pillow in her arms.

After throwing up all the way here and chatting with Grandpa in the study, she was now forcing herself to stay alert and act with him.

Her mother-in-law, Chloe Thompson, noticed Clara wasn't in good spirits and saw the red mark under her neck, smiling as she asked,

"Clara, could it be that our Harper Family is expecting an addition? You have to take it easy in the first three months."

Once said, the housekeepers all paused in their work, and a dozen eyes turned to her simultaneously.

Edward put away his phone and stared fixedly at her.

She had been throwing up all the way, making it hard not to raise suspicions.

Suddenly becoming the center of conversation, Clara awkwardly curled her lips, blushing as she explained,

"Mom, that's not the case. I just got a bit carsick today, I'll be fine after some rest."

Chloe, not hearing the expected answer, felt a bit disappointed, but she still comforted her,

"It's alright, you two are still young. Don't worry about not having children. If you're unwell, go rest in the room, and have Edward call you downstairs for dinner."

Clara shook her head,

"It's nothing; I'll be fine sitting here for a bit."

Edward couldn't help but ask, seeing her cautious look, "Are you sure you don't need to rest upstairs?"

"No need."

Bella Harper came down from upstairs, just in time to hear the conversation in the living room, and couldn't resist sneering,

"She's just a hen that doesn't lay eggs. It's been three years, and she still hasn't given birth; it'd be surprising if she could now."

Chloe shot a glance at the staircase and reprimanded,

"Watch your mouth, you rude little one. Hurry and apologize to your sister-in-law."

Clara paid no attention to Bella's words.

Bella and Aria Knight were best friends; since she married Edward, there hadn't been anything nice coming from this sister-in-law's mouth.

She occasionally spoke up for her friend, picking out ugly words, even more carefree when no one was around.

Clara was long used to it.

Thankfully, her mother-in-law was on her side. In deference to Chloe Thompson, she didn't argue with Bella.

Bella was dragged over to apologize, stuck her nose up, and said a perfunctory sorry.

Before Clara could respond, Edward questioned,

"Is this how you apologize after studying etiquette all these years?"

Clara felt somewhat surprised. Bella had been disrespectful to her for many days, and he always ignored it; today, he stood by her side, speaking up for her. Something seemed off.

Bella wasn't afraid of much but was afraid of her brother.

Seeing Edward's stern poker face, she finally respectfully said sorry to Clara.

Afterward, Edward grabbed her by the collar and dragged her to the storage room as if she were a little chick.

Bella, frightened and panicked, cried loudly for help,

"Mom, Mom, Mom, he's going to hit me again..."

Chloe politely smiled at Clara, "That child does need some discipline, only Edward can handle her."

As they spoke, a few screams from Bella were heard from the storage room.

A hint of worry flashed in Chloe's eyes as she tentatively asked,

"Clara, maybe you should go check on them?"

Clara didn't want to interfere in the sibling's affairs. When her mother-in-law spoke, she had to go take a look. She thought to go and pretend to say a few words for show; surely, Edward wouldn't really hit his sister, would he?

As she reached the storage room door to knock, she heard the conversation inside, and her raised hand slowly lowered again.

Edward: "Is she your maid, that you had her deliver things to you late at night?"

Bella: "Isn't it because you gifted her so much jewelry? How is it wrong for me to borrow one to look good? If you gave those things to Aria, she'd gladly give me any of them, and I wouldn't need to use her to deliver anything."

The conversation went silent for a few seconds before Edward spoke again,

"Were you at the bar with Aria last night?"

Bella, under pressure, became a bit nervous, "No, no, wasn't she with you last night?"

Edward responded with a nasal tone, then warned, "Don't give her orders again, understood?"

The door was opened from the inside, and Edward saw Clara standing stunned outside, her face looking even paler than before.

"You really don't need to rest upstairs?"

He asked again.

Clara didn't answer him but said faintly, "Time to eat."

Bella emerged from the storage room, fuming, with a large patch of red skin on her forehead, likely from being snapped on the forehead. As she passed Clara, she intentionally bumped into her.

Clara stumbled and was about to fall backward when a hand suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. She steadied herself and distanced herself from him as if avoiding suspicion.

Edward irritably pulled her back into his arms,

"Why are you avoiding me?"

To remind him, Clara said, "Director Harper, we're divorced; we should keep our distance."