Free Web NovelChapter 221: Let Clara have it.
Charlotte hummed softly from the other end.
"I just heard from Aunt Matilda that you aren’t home," Clara said, her voice carrying a hint of caution. "Where ... did you go?"
There was a brief pause on the other end of the call.
Charlotte didn’t respond immediately. She took a moment before finally replying, "Yes ... I stepped out for a bit. I’ll be back in some time."
That wasn’t what Clara wanted to know.
She wanted something more —something that could give her a clue ... a hint of what she had been suspecting.
But hearing Charlotte keep her words so vague, she understood that she wouldn’t get anything unless she asked directly.
"Mom ..." Clara spoke again, her tone lowering, laced with a subtle but unmistakable suspicion, "did you go to find Adelyn?"
Charlotte didn’t respond.
And her silence alone was enough.
Clara’s eyes lit up instantly, and her lips curved upward in quiet satisfaction. However, in the very next second, she restrained her true emotions, carefully masking them as she spoke again—
"Mom, you can’t go and find Adelyn like that. I was being reckless and selfish last night ... but today I realized I shouldn’t be that way. Not to my own family... not to my own sister."
Her voice trembled faintly, as if burdened by guilt.
"Please ... please don’t ask her anything that would make her misunderstand us even more."
She paused briefly before continuing, her words flowing in a soft yet deliberate rhythm—
"I ... I don’t need this role. So what if I prepared for it? So what if I worked hard for it? Adelyn must have done the same. Her efforts cannot be considered any less than mine."
There was a fragile earnestness in her tone.
"Please ... don’t ask her to give up her role for me. I won’t be able to accept it if it comes at the cost of damaging our relationship further."
Every word sounded selfless.
Every sentence painted her as someone willing to step back for the sake of family.
And yet —beneath that surface —each word also laid out reasons compelling enough for Charlotte to do the opposite.
"Clara, that’s enough," Charlotte said firmly, clearly disapproving of her daughter’s attempt to sacrifice her own desires.
Why should Clara be the only one compromising?
They were family.
And if something needed to be done, then everyone should bear responsibility —not just her.
"Don’t ask for things I cannot possibly agree to," Charlotte continued, her voice steady yet filled with conviction. "I have seen how hard you prepared for this role. I know how much you wanted it. You even pushed yourself to the point of ending up in the hospital for it."
Her tone softened, but her stance remained unyielding.
"When you want something so much, giving it up like this ... isn’t right. Your mother supports you. And I am willing to talk to Adelyn."
She paused briefly before adding—
"And don’t think of Adelyn as petty. She has always been sensible. I raised her —I know her better than anyone. If I ask her, she won’t refuse."
Her voice carried quiet confidence.
"It’s just a role in a movie. How can it be more important than family? More important than you?"
"Mom ..." Clara tried to interrupt.
"That’s enough," Charlotte cut her off, leaving no room for argument. "Stay at home and rest. I know what I’m doing. Don’t try to act like the elder all the time —you are my daughter, and nothing will change that."
As she spoke, Charlotte suddenly heard faint footsteps approaching from outside.
Her gaze instinctively shifted toward the door of the private room, anticipation flickering in her eyes —as though she expected Adelyn to walk in at any moment.
But the footsteps passed.
They faded.
No one entered.
A slight frown formed on her face, but she quickly suppressed it and returned her attention to the call.
"Well ... it’s almost lunchtime," she said more gently. "Have you eaten?"
Clara hummed softly from the other end, her tone still carrying traces of unease. "I’ll eat in a while, Mom."
"Alright. Make sure you eat on time," Charlotte replied. "Don’t think too much. And don’t blame yourself either. This isn’t your fault. You’ve always been sensible, and Adelyn—"
Just as she uttered Adelyn’s name—
The door slid open.
And Adelyn walked in.
Calm.
Composed.
Charlotte’s voice faltered mid-sentence.
Her eyes lifted to meet Adelyn’s, and for a moment, something stirred within them—something soft, something emotional ... something she couldn’t quite conceal.
On the other end, Clara sensed the sudden silence.
"Mom ... you’re—"
Before she could finish, Charlotte quickly cleared her throat.
"Clara, get some rest first," she said, regaining her composure. "I’ll talk to you once I’m back."
And before Clara could say anything further—
She ended the call.
Setting her phone aside, Charlotte looked at Adelyn again.
"You’re here?" she said, her voice gentler now.
Adelyn nodded.
Without hesitation, she pulled a chair for herself and sat down across from Charlotte, her movements composed and unhurried.
"Madam Scott," she said calmly, "how may I help you?"
There was no hostility in her tone.
But there was no warmth either.
Getting straight to the point wasn’t intentional —it was simply that Adelyn saw no reason to engage in unnecessary conversation.
Charlotte, however, didn’t like it.
She looked at Adelyn, her brows knitting slightly, unable to understand why she was still behaving this way.
Hadn’t she already vented enough the last time they met?
"Do you have to behave like this?" Charlotte asked, unable to hide her dissatisfaction.
Adelyn raised a brow slightly, her expression composed yet faintly puzzled.
"Behave like what, Madam Scott?" she asked politely.
But the more polite her words were, the more distant they felt.
More indifferent.
"You asked me to meet you to discuss something important," Adelyn continued evenly. "Now that I’m here, we should begin."
Charlotte frowned, though she tried to restrain herself.
Adelyn was her daughter. freēwebnovel.com
If she showed a bit of temper, a bit of distance —it was only natural. As her mother, Charlotte told herself she shouldn’t take it to heart. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"Fine," she said after a moment, exhaling softly. "I’ll get straight to the point."
Her voice softened.
Almost too soft —especially for what she was about to say.
"I want you to give up the role in that movie. Let Clara have it."
