Chapter 17
Cassandra sensed the pressure when she arrived at the Callum residence.
Jack perched on the couch in the living room with a sullen expression on his face. Clad in a luxurious dress, Sophia stood beside him with a complicated expression and kept her silence.
Clara sat on the other couch. She kept her head low, and her face was pale.
Clearly, she had been berated by her parents before this. She knew she was in huge trouble because the pool incident had trended online.
“You brat. You’re finally home,” Jack addressed Cassandra icily with a glare.
She calmly looked at him and asked coolly, “What’s the matter?”
She seemed to be talking to a stranger. In truth, he was less important than a stranger to her. She still felt resentful toward them for killing her mom.
“I’m your dad! What’s with that attitude?” Jack’s authoritative voice boomed in the air.
“We’ve cut ties, haven’t we? Just spit it out, or I’m leaving,” she retorted coldly.
“You little wretch! How dare you ask me what’s the matter? Just look at what you’ve done! You’ve put our family to shame!” He slapped the coffee table and yelled at the top of his lungs. The living room seemed to shake from the sheer loudness of his voice alone.
Cassandra saw this coming. Snickering, she stared straight at him. “Oh, is it my fault now? Dad, you’re confused. The footage clearly shows Clara dragging me into the pool. How is it my fault?”
Jack was rendered speechless. His expression fell even more.
He saw the footage, but he didn’t care about the truth. All that mattered was the family’s reputation.
Cassandra must have pushed for the incident to trend online. How ridiculous!
He regretted giving Cassandra life in the first place.
Clara’s actions had mired the Callums in scandal. Cassandra, as one of the subjects, did not put out the fire. Instead, she made it worse.
Jack grew even more incensed when he spotted the curious, unbothered look on Cassandra’s face.
“Cassandra, stop arguing!” he bellowed. “Clara is your younger sister. Even if she made a mistake, you should be understanding! You shouldn’t create a bigger fuss! Do you know what people are saying about us behind our backs?”
Cassandra quietly snorted at Jack, her selfish father.
She began, “Dad, I’m my mom’s only daughter. Besides, Clara is not a child anymore. She needs to take responsibility for her actions.
“If you feel embarrassed and worry about our family’s reputation, you should ask Clara to explain the reason she made such a stupid move.”
“You-“Jack was ashen–faced. He pointed a trembling finger at Clara.
Seeing that, Sophia hurriedly came over to smooth things over. “Jack, calm down. It’s not like Cassandra did this on purpose. Let’s take our time and talk things out. We’ll find a solution.”
“Find a solution, how?” he yelled at Sophia. Everyone online is attacking Clara, and it’s hurting our family reputation! How are we ever going to solve this?”
Clara tinally burst into tears. “Dad, I was wrong… I made a rash decision. I never thought it’d blow up…”
Inside, she blamed Cassandra for pushing her to make such a silly mistake.
Cassandra watched the debacle without any feelings. She knew that Clara was shedding crocodile tears.
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