"Don't hold me back, I must have someone stop the shares in the Meng family. That jerk doesn't deserve them!"

Chapter 16

Clara was moved to tears by her mother's protective actions.

Her heart felt filled with warm energy, overflowing with warmth and gratitude.

She had intended to have her father persuade her mother, but unexpectedly, her father was holding his single-lens monocle, clumsily deleting something on his phone, seemingly also tracing the wrongdoings of the Meng family.

Clara shook her head helplessly and stood up to pour them some tea.

She knew her parents chose to help her seek revenge in this way, and she would not stop them.

In her heart, she felt not a shred of heartache for the losses Marcus was about to suffer; instead, she felt it was the punishment he deserved.

Anyway, he had loved Chloe so much; if it wasn't enough, he could let the Jiang family help him fill those gaps.

Let's see how much the Jiang family could help him.

It was also possible that because Marcus loved Chloe so much, he wouldn't let the Jiang family help him fill those gaps.

Regardless, Clara would no longer put his affairs first.

She would only forget Marcus more and more and would never go back.

Seeing her parents busy, they had inadvertently left Clara aside, so she sat quietly and waited.

Clara had always been accustomed to sitting aside and waiting.

Seeing that she had nothing to do, her mother casually pulled out a handful of Australian dollars and told her to go out and buy some new clothes.

Clara nodded obediently; she knew this was her mother's way of showing her love.

After a long separation, they had never been an overly sentimental family.

They were always casual and free.

"Buy a few new outfits; if you get too many, just mail them home. Your dad will be discharged tonight, and we will go home together."

Her mother said gently, and Clara gave her a hug.

After promising repeatedly, Clara went out.

She was very close to the city center and quickly found a clothing store.

She walked into the shop and was attracted by the dazzling array of clothing, feeling a bit hesitant.

The store owner was very kind and enthusiastically found many styles for her, all of which fit perfectly.

Clara tried on a few sets and eventually selected a casual trench coat.

Over the past few years, she had saved a lot of money through competitions and teaching, while her spending had been minimal.

Firstly, there was a cooking lady at Evergreen Manor, and secondly, her hobbies were all flowers, plants, and parks.

As for those clothes and jewelry, they were all gifts from Marcus, which she hadn't worn once since the wedding day.

The only thing she had worn for the longest time was the red string that symbolized the two of them.

After it broke, she hadn't worn anything else.

Thinking of the red string, Clara felt a momentary stab of pain in her heart; it was the thing she had once cherished most.

She gently touched her empty lower abdomen, sighed softly, and walked along the coastline, quietly watching the deep blue sea and the white waves. The scenery here was beautiful, allowing her to temporarily forget the worries in her heart.

Although it was winter in Sydney, the slightly cold sea breeze dispelled the stifling emotions in Clara's heart.

She let her gaze drift toward the distant horizon, feeling the oncoming sea breeze, and a smile appeared on her lips unconsciously.

Suddenly, a white figure landed on her shoulder.

Clara was startled and froze, not daring to move. Her heart raced as she nervously observed this uninvited guest.

The seagull shook its little head, tilted it to look at her, and gave a light peck at her collar.

Only then did Clara calm her frightened heart and let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be just a little bird.

It was a pity she didn't have anything to feed it.

Clara hesitated and made a gesture of reaching into her pocket; she hoped the seagull would leave, but she didn't want to hurt it.

"Little seagull, I don't have any food on me."

She said softly to the seagull, foolishly hoping it could understand.

The seagull didn't understand any of that.

It tilted its head, crouched down, and rested on her shoulder without moving.

Clara suppressed the urge to reach out and touch its feathers, waiting for a long time without seeing it fly away.

Confirming that it wasn't sick, it kept poking its head to look at the passersby.

She then curled her lips into a smile and continued strolling along the coastline.

With a little creature accompanying her this time, her mood was much better.

It was just that the combination of one person and one bird was quite eye-catching; fortunately, Clara, who had been attending classes and being ridiculed by people in those circles for years, was already accustomed to it and quietly enjoyed the feeling of merging with nature.

For some unknown reason, another seagull landed on her head and stayed there.

Clara felt a bit surprised, but she didn't feel unhappy about it.

A local middle-aged man saw this and revealed a friendly smile.

"Popular little lady, be careful that these little rascals don't dirty your clothes and hair!"

Clara smiled and answered him loudly.

"It's okay, no worries."

She didn't mind the seagull's closeness; instead, she felt it was a rare experience.

A traveler from back home saw the seagull on her and chased after her to ask what program it was, saying he also wanted a photo with the seagull.

Clara chuckled and shook her head.

"They came over on their own; perhaps you can try using French fries to attract the seagulls."

She suggested, hoping he could also have such a lucky experience.

The boy blushed, stammered a couple of times, and then spoke.

"Besides that, beautiful, can I exchange contact information with you?"

He suddenly made a request that caught Clara off guard.

Clara paused, waved her hand apologetically: "Sorry..."

She didn't want to disturb her peaceful life because of such a small matter, nor did she want to do it again.

Sunset.

The coastline was gradually dyed a golden-orange by the setting sun, which was extremely magnificent.

Even the sea turned into a huge mirror, reflecting the colors of the sky, beautiful beyond words.

With a flutter of wings, the two seagulls flew away one after another.

Clara waved at them: "Thank you for your company, goodbye!"

She was filled with gratitude for these little creatures.

The phone in her pocket rang, and she hurriedly answered her mother's call to tell them where she was.

"Mom, I'm coming."

She responded gently, ready to end this encounter by the seaside and return to her parents.

Chapter 17

"Look at your clothes; you're just like your father, bringing back all sorts of things the moment you step outside."

After sitting in the car, Clara's mother shook her head, unable to bear looking at the bird droppings on her daughter's coat. The sight left her feeling somewhat helpless.

Clara was caught between laughter and tears. Just as she was about to grab a wet wipe to clean it, the coat was taken by her father.

"Doing it that way will leave marks. Let me handle it for you."

"This contains uric acid; Dad will teach you some interesting little tips..."

Her father first used a small knife to gently scrape off the side of the stain, then dabbed on a tiny bit of fruit vinegar, carefully wiping away the white mark on the coat.

Clara sat on the side, watching her father with eyes full of admiration. Every one of his movements made her feel incredibly proud.

Her mother chuckled softly, noticing her phone vibrating on the side. She glanced at it coldly, then casually swiped to decline the call from Marcus and blocked the number.

...

"Marcus, when did you start liking me?"

A gust of wind blew by, blurring Marcus's vision. He was dazed for a long time before staring blankly at Clara, whose face now looked hazy.

A strand of hair swayed gently on her face, firmly capturing his gaze.

He was stunned for a moment before remembering that this was something from seven years ago.

He walked onto the stage, took the hand of that lonely bride, and ran out of the venue with her.

Clara asked him with reddened eyes, her gaze filled with confusion.

"And why did you choose me?"

Coming back to reality, Marcus didn't know how to speak, yet he heard himself say: "It was love at first sight, Weiwei."

Clara lowered her eyelids and smiled gently.

"Thank you."

In the same scene, Marcus’s heart no longer held its former joy; instead, he felt helpless.

"Look, Marcus, there's an old man over there."

Clara walked toward him in surprise. Marcus hurried to follow, but discovered that no matter what, he couldn't catch up to her; her figure was drifting further and further away.