Chapter 360 High Standards
"What's happening with us?" Clara gazed down from the balcony.
The Anderson Villa was massive, and she adored it.
She couldn't wait to marry Ethan.
Even though she didn't feel Ethan's love, she knew he'd take responsibility for what had happened before, and that was enough for her.
As long as she married Ethan, she wouldn't have to lift a finger; there'd be plenty of people to handle Katniss for her.
Desmond had no clue what Clara was thinking.
After hesitating for a while, he finally said, "Clara, the Anderson family won't let Ethan marry you. Why don't you come back to me?"
Clara was stunned.
Desmond's words reminded her of how much Calliope disliked her.
She was about to respond when she saw a car pull into the Anderson Villa.
Thinking it might be Donovan returning, she lost interest in continuing the conversation with Desmond.
Calliope didn't like her, but Calliope wasn't the only one calling the shots in the Anderson family.
Maybe she could win Donovan over.
"Let's not talk about this now. I have something to do, so I'll hang up." With that, Clara ended the call.
On the other end, Desmond stared at his phone, feeling lost.
He smiled bitterly as he walked back to school, only to get a call from Gabriel.
"How did it go today? The Dione family might not be super rich, but they're pretty reputable in Starhaven," Gabriel said, assuming the date was over.
Desmond replied flatly, "No luck."
"No luck again?" Gabriel was almost pulling his hair out in frustration.
But knowing Desmond must be feeling down about the failed date, he said, "I'll find someone else for you. You can meet another girl tomorrow."
"No, I'm done with this," Desmond said.
Over the past few days, he'd met several girls, but the women in Starhaven all had their noses in the air and were very picky about him.
Dione, whom he met today, was relatively mild compared to another girl who had outright dismissed him.
"Why don't you want to?" Gabriel's tone turned serious. "Do you know the state of the family business right now?"
He was counting on Desmond to find a mutually beneficial partner in Starhaven while laying low. How could Desmond give up?
Desmond was at a loss for words but stubbornly said, "Dad, I'll figure something out. I just don't want to meet anyone else for the next few days."
He knew that his situation with Brynn had caused the Boleyn family's reputation in Luminous City to plummet and that the family's situation was more urgent than ever.
"Don't want to meet anyone else?" Gabriel suddenly thought of something. "There's another way. Do you want to give it a try?"
Desmond asked him to explain.
Gabriel paused before saying, "Brynn is in Starhaven."
Desmond asked, puzzled, "What does Brynn being in Starhaven have to do with me?"
Hearing this, Gabriel reminded him sternly, "Of course it has to do with you! Even though the Elise family had a falling out with us, Brynn still has feelings for you. If you don't want to meet anyone else, you could try to win Brynn back!"
One of the reasons Gabriel initially encouraged Desmond to get close to Brynn was that she was the only daughter of the Elise family.
Winning Brynn over would mean gaining control of the Elise family's assets; a win-win situation.
Desmond fell silent.
Gabriel didn't push him but continued, "Think about it. Either try to win Brynn back or keep meeting women until you succeed!"
At the Anderson Villa, a car slowly drove in.
Katniss sat next to Sophia, listening to her chatter, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.
Sophia had informed Calliope in advance, so the butler was already waiting at the entrance of the Anderson Villa.
Knowing Brynn was coming, he had arranged for someone to pick her up.
As soon as they arrived, the butler respectfully greeted Katniss and Sophia, saying, "Ms. Anderson, the person picking up Brynn is on their way. They should be here soon."
Sophia nodded, taking Katniss's hand and asking the butler, "Where's my mom?"
The butler quickly led the way. "Mr. Ethan Anderson came back earlier with someone. Mrs. Calliope Anderson is quite upset right now. Your presence will surely cheer her up."
"Ethan brought someone back? A friend?" Sophia was puzzled.
Ethan rarely brought people home, whether it was close friends like Tyler or anyone else.
Why had Ethan suddenly changed?
The butler didn't know how to explain.
Ethan and Calliope had been arguing about Clara's status, and he wasn't sure whether to refer to Clara as Ethan's friend or girlfriend.
Sophia didn't pay attention to the butler's hesitation and pulled Katniss towards the front door.
"Katniss, it's perfect that Ethan is home. With someone you know here, you don't have to be nervous," Sophia said as they walked.
Katniss smiled.
She was used to being led by Sophia.
During their shopping trips, Sophia had always linked arms with her, and they had grown quite familiar with each other.
The butler followed them, and Sophia remembered to ask him to unload the things they had bought from the car.
The items for Katniss had already been sent to her place by Conrad.
Clara, who had just hung up the phone, saw Katniss getting out of the car, and her expression changed.
She stayed on the balcony for a while longer until her face returned to normal before going back inside.
Downstairs.
As soon as Sophia and Katniss entered, Calliope came to greet them.
"You must be Katniss, Sophia's lifesaver," Calliope said with a welcoming smile, the lines on her face visible.
Katniss smiled back. "Hello, Mrs. Anderson."
Sophia introduced them. "Mom, Katniss and Ethan went to the same university. They're both here in Starhaven for training."
Hearing this, Calliope praised Katniss and led them to the living room. "Ethan is home too, and he brought someone with him. I'll have someone call him down."
Katniss nodded, but when she saw Clara following Ethan, she couldn't help but twitch her mouth.
No wonder she had a feeling something was going to happen.
Clara and Brynn were about to meet.
Ethan nodded at Katniss, but before he could speak, the butler led Brynn in.
"It's you!" Brynn's expression changed as soon as she saw Clara. "Clara, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Clara, who was supposed to be a mistress, standing in Sophia's house next to Ethan was a huge shock for Brynn.
Clara was also taken aback when she saw Brynn.
The mental preparation she had made because of Katniss's presence crumbled in an instant. "Brynn, there were some misunderstandings before. Can we talk privately later?"
If she could, she would have pretended not to know Brynn.
But in this situation, she didn't dare.
She could only try to calm Brynn down, hoping she wouldn't bring up what happened in Luminous City.
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