#Chapter 30 A Good Wife
#Chapter 30 – A Good Wife
Third Person POV
Clara lounges on the couch inside her parents‘ home, aimlessly scrolling throughout her social media profiles. They have been carefully sculpted to fit the image of a perfect wife for Adrian, never showing too much skin or too much of her life to her followers while also being just extraverted enough to draw people in.
She lifts her phone into the air, the camera on, and puts her fingers into a peace sign, winking at the camera. Just as she is about to take the picture, her mother walks by and snatches the phone from her hand.
“What was that for?” Clara immediately sits up and reaches for her phone but her mother keeps it away and at a distance.
“How is Adrian doing, Clara?” her mother asks. She moves to place her hands on her hips, looking down at her daughter, who rolls her eyes and falls back into the couch.
“He is fine, I guess,” Clara responds, picking at the dirt underneath her fingernails, “he has been really busy with work and the divorce so we have not been able to see each other as much as we want to.”
“Oh? Is that so?” her mother ponders aloud. She tosses Clara back her phone, eyes moving to her husband, Clara’s father, who enters the room. “Call him and see if he needs anything.”
“Why? He’s already annoyed with me as is-”
“Because showing him that you care will help show him that you’re a better wife than Stella,” her father interjects and steps in for his wife. He looks down at Clara with a stern expression.
“You are so close to the finish line, Clara, and with a little bit more work, you can take Stella’s place as his wife and live the life that you deserve,” her mother adds.
Clara sits up on the couch and stares at the phone in her hands. She pushes her lips to the side and nods, sliding off of the couch.
“Yeah,” she looks at her parents, “you are right…I need to show him just how much I care about him!”
Clara speeds out of the shared living room, furiously typing away on her phone. Her mother sighs and circles the couch, sitting down with her husband following suit.
They sit in silence, the weight of their financial stresses slowly being lifted off of their shoulders. It is only when Clara’s mother looks to the side and sees a family photo with Stella in it that her heart twists inside her chest.
She takes the framed photo off of the side table, bringing it front of her face. Her husband looks over and sighs. The two of them share an unspoken and shared remorse about the way they have treated their adopted daughter while she grew up.
Things were great in the beginning. Stella was an exemplary child, always doing her chores on time and going to bed when it was her bedtime. When she turned ten, though, she began to clash with Clara and became a troublemaker.
When Clara and Stella’s grandmother fell ill, it was Clara who informed their parents that Stella maxed out all of their credit cards to buy useless things so they could not pay for the surgery. After that, they both harnessed a deep resentment towards Stella.
The resentment they held towards Stella remained for the later years of their time together, but when Clara fell into her coma, Stella turned out to be a big help and was there when they needed her the most. The father, though, had to remind them to forgive but never forget Stella’s previous actions.
#Chapter 30 A Good Wife
+25 BONUS
In time, they began to hold the idea that it should have been Stella in the coma instead of their darling Clara. “It’s for the best that Clara is taking her place,” the father sighs, a hidden sadness behind his words despite how cruel they are. “It has to be done.”
Clara’s mother groans and takes the photograph out of from behind the glass, folding it away so they don’t have to see Stella smiling face.
Adrian
I sit at a table inside Clara’s favorite restaurant. Looking between my watch and around the room, I begin to feel impatient as time ticks away. Just as I’m about to get up and leave, Clara rushes inside the dining hall in my direction.
“Adrian! I am so sorry I’m late. Traffic was so slow,” she exclaims, out of breath and opens her arms, enveloping me in a tight hug. She pulls away just as I’m about to hug her back and sits down.
I watch her closely, clearing my throat as I wave the waiter over. He places two menus on the table, which I pick up mine but Clara doesn’t. I raise an eyebrow and watch as she turns to the waiter.
“I will have whatever is the most expensive,” she beams, turning her attention back to me. Her makeup is perfectly done, her nails freshly painted. She looks beautiful but something inside of me stirs, making me feel on edge.
“And for you?” the waiter turns to me, pen at the ready.
“The filet mignon, rare. Thank you,” I hand the waiters the menu before he disappears. My attention goes back to Clara, who sits on her phone with a big frown on her face.
It’s silent and uncomfortable. She swipes through her apps barely even looking at me. Her frown only grows.
“So,” I clear my throat and sit up in my seat, straightening my posture, “is everything okay? It sounded urgent over the phone.”
“What?” Clara blinks at me, setting her phone down. “Oh, right, that,” she dramatically sighs and tosses her golden locks over her shoulder. “My friend keeps showing off all of her new items from a shopping haul she went on with the rest of the friend group.”
Clara avoids eye contact with me but I can tell that her eyes are glossy from across the table. I lean forward and extend my hand, which she immediately takes.
“They keep bragging and posting about it. It is making me really sad because, well, I was in that group before the coma and now it feels like I am nothing but an outsider,” Clara’s eyes meet mine.
“I’m sorry, Clara,” I sigh, automatically feeling sad that her friends have left her out of their plans. “Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?”
“Well,” Clara leans forward, stroking the top of my hand with her acrylic finger nails that are painted a baby blue, my favorite shade. She draws away, though, and looks to the side, “never mind. I can figure it out on my own.”
I blink at her, feeling slight whiplash from her sudden change. I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet, plan forming in my head. Without thinking, I grab my black credit card, one that has no limit, and set it in the empty space in front of her.
“Take this and go buy yourself better clothes than what they got,” I breathe out, immediately relaxing back into my chair after casually showing off my wealth.
“Really?” Clara’s face brightens and she swoops the credit card up into her hands. “That is so kind of you, Adrian!
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hapter 30. A Good Wife
Thank you! I’ll go right now!”
“1“1 stammer, standing up and watching as she gathers Ber belongings, rushing out of the restaurant. I sit back down, unable to comprehend what just happened.
My face and chest grow hot from anger and annoyance. I scoff, looking round the large dining room to see if anyone witnessed what just happened.
Did Clara just take my money and run? This is a move that would expect Stella to pull on me, not her.
Oh, well, she probably got really excited and didn’t realize what she’s done. She’ll say she’s sorry when she returns the card, I know she will!
