Chapter 132: Adorably miserable
The night had been nothing short of torture for Clara.
She had genuinely believed that after discovering a new purpose in life, her restless mind would finally settle down and allow her to get a good night’s sleep.
Instead, the exact opposite happened.
The moment she lay in bed, all she could think about was Dominic.
She tossed from one side to the other, hugged his pillow, buried her face in it, and even tried counting sheep.
Nothing worked.
Every few minutes, she unlocked her phone to check if he had replied.
No messages.
No calls.
Not even a single emoji.
By morning, Clara had barely managed an hour of sleep.
Now she sat lifelessly at the breakfast table, her chin resting on one hand while her thumb refreshed her chat with Dominic for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Why hasn’t he replied to any of my messages?" she muttered pitifully. "Did he lose his phone? Get kidnapped? Or..."
Her expression suddenly darkened.
"...did he actually decide work is more important than his wife?"
Just then, one of the maids entered carrying breakfast.
The cheerful smile on her face vanished the instant she looked at Clara.
"Oh... my goodness!"
Her voice echoed through the dining room.
Normally, everyone in Sterling Mansion looked forward to serving Clara.
No matter what the chefs prepared, their madam would happily finish every last bite before showering them with endless compliments.
Sometimes she praised the food so passionately that the chefs themselves forgot what they had originally cooked.
But today...
The woman sitting at the table looked like she had spent the entire night negotiating with ghosts.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes.
Her hair was slightly messy.
Her shoulders drooped dramatically.
Even the bright morning sunlight couldn’t make her look alive.
"M-Madam..." the maid stammered nervously as she placed the breakfast in front of Clara.
"I brought your breakfast."
"Thank you..."
Clara answered weakly without even looking at the food.
The maid didn’t wait another second.
She hurried out of the dining room as though escaping a haunted house.
A moment later, Butler James entered with his usual warm smile, followed by several maids carrying side dishes.
"Good morning, Madam," he greeted politely.
"I instructed the chef to prepare your favorite breakfast today. I’m certain it will lift your spirits."
"Thank you, Butler James."
The moment Clara raised her head to smile at him...
The entire dining room froze.
Every maid stiffened.
One of them nearly dropped the soup bowl.
Another slowly covered her mouth.
Butler James’ confident smile completely disappeared.
"M-Madam..."
He blinked several times.
"Your... your eyes..."
Clara let out a dramatic sigh.
"Don’t mention them, Butler James."
She waved her hand weakly.
"I don’t wish to be reminded of the man who’s currently pretending his wife doesn’t exist."
Butler James looked utterly confused.
"...Pardon?"
"Dominic hasn’t replied to a single one of my messages."
She dramatically pointed at her phone.
"Not one."
"But Madam—"
"He didn’t even react with a thumbs-up."
"..."
"He didn’t send a heart."
"..."
"He didn’t send ’Good morning.’"
"..."
"He didn’t even send a sticker."
The maids exchanged helpless glances.
One whispered under her breath, "Master has committed a terrible crime."
Another nodded solemnly.
"I don’t think flowers will be enough this time."
A third quietly added, "Maybe an entire flower shop."
Meanwhile, Butler James pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Madam..."
"Mm?"
"Forgive me for saying this..."
"Go ahead."
"I wasn’t referring to Master."
Clara blinked.
"You weren’t?"
"No."
Butler James cleared his throat before speaking as gently as possible.
"I was referring to the fact that you currently resemble someone who has lost a fight... with sleep itself."
The room fell silent.
One brave maid cautiously held up a silver serving tray in front of Clara like a mirror.
Clara glanced at her reflection.
"..."
She stared.
Then leaned closer.
"...What happened to me?"
The dark circles under her eyes were so prominent that even she was startled.
Her usually bright face looked exhausted, and her sleepy eyes made her resemble a panda that had cried itself to sleep.
One of the younger maids couldn’t stop herself.
"...Madam..."
"Hm?"
"You look... adorably miserable."
The instant those words left her mouth, every servant sucked in a sharp breath.
But instead of getting angry, Clara let out another long, defeated sigh.
"I know..."
She slumped back into her chair.
"I’ve officially become a ghost..."
"But Madam," Butler James said helplessly, "Master has only been away for one night."
Clara looked at him with absolute seriousness.
"Exactly."
"But he’ll be back in a few days."
"I’ve already suffered enough."
The servants could only exchange speechless glances.
If this was Clara after just one night...
They couldn’t imagine what the mansion would look like by the end of Dominic’s business trip.
Clara let out another long, defeated sigh before reaching for a notepad beside her plate.
Without saying a word, she quickly scribbled down a list, folded the paper neatly, and handed it to Butler James.
"Butler James, could you please get everything written on this list for me?"
"Of course, Madam."
He accepted the paper with a respectful nod. However, the moment he unfolded it and read its contents, his composed expression slowly crumbled.
His brows knitted tighter with every item.
"..."
He looked up at Clara in complete confusion.
She, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, leisurely eating her breakfast as though the items she had requested were the most ordinary things for the lady of Hayes Mansion to own.
Butler James opened his mouth, wanting to ask what exactly she was planning, but after a brief hesitation, he wisely decided against it.
After all, questioning Madam’s ideas usually led to even more questions than answers.
"As you wish, Madam," he replied politely before folding the paper and excusing himself.
"Right away."
As Butler James walked away, the servants assumed Clara had quietly resumed eating because she was still upset over Dominic ignoring her messages.
Little did they know, Clara had already stopped sulking.
Instead, her brilliant mind was busy plotting her next move.
And somewhere far away, the very man she missed so dearly remained blissfully unaware that his wife was about to surprise him in a way he would never see coming.