Flash Marriage: Slow Down Mister novel Chapter 44

"Mom!" Clara shot Helena an angry glance as if blaming her mom for asking the question.

"Come on, Clara. I am just worried about you. Marriage is a big thing for you, but you have decided without my opinion." Helena mumbled.

"It's okay, Clara." Compared to Clara's embarrassment, Horace seemed quite calm. "This is my name card."

Helena took the name card and when she saw Horace was a "chief executive officer" and "shareholder", she was quite surprised. "Solrace… I haven't heard of this company," Helena hesitated, then continued, "What about your parents? What are their jobs?"

This time, Clara was stunned at her mom's question and was even more anxious to stop her mom from asking anymore. But it was too late. Horace answered plainly, "My parents have passed away. But my grandfather is Russell."

"Russell?" Helena paused. "Russell Kirkland?" She didn't know about Solrace since it was a new company founded two years ago, but certainly, she knew Russell Kirkland, who was known to nearly everyone in Stratmont.

"Yes," Horace admitted.

"Russell is your grandfather," Helena thought aloud, "So you are also a Kirkland, and also Russell's second grandson."

Horace nodded while Helena's face blenched at his admission and couldn't even speak a word.

"Horace…" Clara knew what Helena was thinking about, so she called on Horace to distract him. "Horace, I want to go home to take a shower. Could you drive me home? You can wait for me in the car."

Horace nodded and turned to Helena, saying, "I'll come to visit you tomorrow then. Please take care."

Helena said nothing but watched as Horace went, her face still ghastly white.

Once Horace left, Helena turned to Clara immediately and said to Clara weakly but firmly, "Clara, you can't stick with this man. Divorce him as soon as possible."

Clara felt a shiver running through her spine and she exclaimed, "What are you talking about, mom?"

Helena grabbed Clara's hand and said, "I said, divorce him! Don't you know what will happen if you marry a rich man? Just look at me! A poor woman jilted by her husband. How can you know whether he truly loves you or not? Maybe he just wants to play with your affections."

Hearing Helena's words, Clara also turned pale but she still tried to disprove her mom, "No, mom, it can't be! We have already married."

"So what? Maybe he just needs a nominal wife." Though Helena had been unconscious for two years, her mind was still clear. "Or how to explain why he, a noble Kirkland, will marry a common girl."

Clara was rendered speechless. Deep in her heart, she knew what Helena said was true. On the very first day of their marriage, Clara knew the only reason why Horace married her was that he needed a wife. But what she didn't tell Helena was that she was willing to marry Horace because she needed the citizenship in Stratmont. Since both of them had their own purposes, she felt it untenable to blame Horace.

Clara tried to ignore the point but explained to her mom, "Mom, I think Horace is a good man." And she said what she meant. Though she and Horace hadn't known each other much, Horace always showed up when she was in need, just like this time, saving her mom from the emergency.

"Clara! Don't you understand all his kindness is just the disguise? Just look at me and you will know how a man can destroy your whole life. I just want you to live in happiness." Helena exclaimed, and she was so worried about her daughter that she even burst into tears at the end.

This was too painful for Clara to watch, so she came forward and hug Helena tightly, saying, "Mom, don't be so sad. It's not good for your recovery. To tell you the truth, I marry him because I need to secure the citizenship and the medical insurance for you. I have never been in love with him."

What Clara said stopped Helena from crying. Raising her head up, Helena looked at Clara surprisingly and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Clara looked into Helena's eyes and said, "You are my mom. Can't you tell whether I love him or not?" It was true that Helena knew Clara well and could even tell if her daughter was really infatuated with the man or not, just like Helena could tell years ago, Clara had been deep in love with Darren. After all, Helena was Clara's mom and had raised Clara up on her own.

Helena was reassured by Clara's words, but she didn't forget to remind Clara, "Fine. But promise me, Clara, divorce him once you have the chance."

However, it never occurred to Clara that she would divorce Horace. Despite of the reasons why she married him and his noble identity, Clara never intended to end the relationship. But seeing her mom's pale face, Clara had to lie, "Okay, mom, I promise you."

Helena breathed a sigh of relief but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt, so she said, "Clara, blame me if you want to. It will be more difficult to find a good man if you divorce."

Clara hugged her mom more tightly, tears glistening in her eyes, and she said, "Mom, it's okay. I am the happiest person in the world only if you are by my side." She then tucked her mom in bed and when she was about to leave, she saw a folder on the bedside table, which was probably forgotten by Horace. So, she put the folder into her bag and left the ward.

As for Horace, he just wheeled into the car when Isaac asked surprisingly, "Mr. Horace, what takes you so long? I think you are just going to pick up the folder left in the ward?"

But Horace didn't answer. Isaac turned around bewilderedly and only found himself facing Horace's dark and angry face directly, which gave Isaac quite a shock. Isaac thought to himself, "What the hell happened? Mr. Horace has been quite amiable all the way but he now becomes so sulky. God, please don't let Mr. Horace be mad at me."

Ten minutes later, Clara joined Horace in the car, with the folder in her hand. "Horace? Is this your folder? You left it in the ward."

Horace didn't reach out to get the folder in Clara's hand but only tilted his head to stare at Clara, his eyes dark, without any emotion in them, which made Clara feel ill at ease, and she said timidly, "Horace?"

The cautious expression on Clara's face reminded Horace of what he had accidentally heard when he was about to pick up the folder in the ward— "To tell you the truth, I marry him because I need to secure the citizenship and the medical insurance for you. I have never been in love with him." Though he knew this long ago, it still rendered him sulky when he heard Clara confessing it. Horace couldn't help but get lost in his thoughts, "Of course, she will tell her mom everything. How can you be affected by Clara? Stay tough, Horace!"

Finally, Horace ignored the folder and spoke in a cold voice, "Clara, you want to divorce me?"