Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 32: Clarissa – Mother and Forgiveness

I let out a long sigh. My body turned toward Luna Eileen, and I looked straight at her.

"Luna... I don’t want the wealth or the gifts you’ve given me. What I want... is your trust."

Luna Eileen’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She nodded.

"It was only that one time that I didn’t trust you, dear. From now on, I will. I’ll always take your side. Please forgive this foolish mother of yours."

Luna Eileen always cries, and every single tear of hers slices at my heart.

"I forgive you... Mother."

Her head jerked up. "You... you called me Mother?"

"Is that not allowed?" I asked.

"Of course it’s allowed!" she answered quickly, pulling me into a gentle hug. "Mother will be your strongest protector."

I also ended up forgiving Darren after he told me that Larry and Lisse’s engagement had officially been called off. Apparently, she was being confined at home by his father, the Beta.

I still didn’t know how Darren convinced Alpha Will to agree to that.

Was it possible Alpha Will would suddenly show up, slap me, and accuse me of manipulating Darren?

After this, I had no idea how to act around Alpha Will the next time we met. Thankfully, he only came home once a week, sometimes not even at all.

Today, I returned to the academy with Edwin and Larry. Edwin had already told Larry everything that happened to me but kept it secret from Shannon.

It was Alpha Will who specifically ordered everyone at home not to tell anyone, including Larry and Shannon.

But Edwin still told Larry anyway.

Alpha Will clearly didn’t want rumors spreading that he had abused the daughter he’d just adopted. What a two-faced!

"Bro Lar and that ugly Lisse aren’t engaged anymore, Sis Clar," Edwin announced as we sat in the car.

"Darren already told me, but I don’t know what he did to convince the Alpha to cancel it," I replied.

Edwin turned to Larry. "It wasn’t Darren who ended the engagement. It was Bro Lar."

My gaze immediately shot to Larry, who always acted calm and quiet. My face was probably full of confusion.

Larry understood instantly and explained before I could ask. "I don’t want any connection to someone who hurt my sister."

I blinked, surprised... and honestly touched.

Larry, who was reserved, and Edwin, who was blunt, were far more trustworthy than Darren, who spoke sweetly but calculated every word.

But then anxiety crept in.

Alpha Will could be harsh whenever someone defied him. There was no way he would simply agree to Larry’s request.

"Are you okay?" I asked nervously.

Larry didn’t answer. Instead, Edwin replied excitedly, "Bro Lar is richer than you can imagine, Sis Clar."

I tilted my head in confusion.

He was only eighteen, how rich could he possibly be, aside from the Alpha and Luna’s family property?

"Actually," Edwin began, as if he’d been dying to reveal this, "Bro Lar was raised by grandmother. Mother wasn’t in a good condition after losing you. So he became Grandmother’s favorite grandchild and inherited more assets and company shares than the rest of us."

A small ache formed in my chest. No wonder Mother tried so hard to bring me home. She must have gone through terrible times after losing me.

Unfortunately, Larry was the one who suffered because of it. I never expected him to still treat me this kindly.

But, it seemed Luna Eileen’s family was loaded.

Then, I stirred back the conversation to the right topic, "So what does that have to do with ending the engagement?"

"Father said that if he wanted to break off the engagement, he had to pay the compensation himself."

My eyes widened. "So Larry paid it himself? How much was it?"

"All the company shares I inherited from Grandmother. I had to give all of them to Lisse," Larry answered casually.

I had no idea how much Larry’s shares were worth or what the company even was, but it was clearly not a small amount.

Alpha Will really refused to lose even a single cent.

"Don’t worry," Larry said in his usual nonchalant tone. "I’m still rich."

"Very rich!" Edwin added proudly.

I couldn’t help staring at them. A moment ago, I was close to tears, but now those tears retreated back inside.

Even though the topic was heavy, the way they acted made it feel like we were only discussing what to have for lunch.

Soon, we arrived in front of the academy.

There was a ceremony in the auditorium today. It was held every two weeks, usually to review school rules or hand out trophies to students who won competitions.

As someone with a medical exemption, I could’ve skipped the ceremony and rested in the infirmary.

But Shannon had insisted several times that I should attend. She even said she’d arranged a special seat with a soft cushion near the heater.

So here I was, sitting among the best-class second-year students. Shannon and Adrian were student council members and sat in different rows.

My four new classmates, apparently nicknamed the Four Troublemakers, greeted me immediately.

Edwin had told me to stay away from them, but surprisingly, they were pretty considerate.

When I missed classes for three days, they called to check on me, and even sent their drivers to deliver get-well gifts since I refused to receive visitors.

As long as they didn’t cause trouble for me, I didn’t mind being friends. If they went too far, I could always distance myself.

"Clar, I know a great doctor who can remove scars," Tessa whispered gracefully. Somehow, she always looked elegant no matter what she did.

"Recommend them to me after I turn eighteen," I replied.

At eighteen, I would finally know whether my inner wolf would awaken, and whether this scar would disappear.

Tessa nodded with her usual elegance.

Behind me, Kallen and Mira were arguing about something. I had no intention of asking what.

My attention turned to the ceremony.

The student council member on stage, who turned out to be Shannon, began announcing the students who won the competitions.

"And next, the Rookie Ae-Engineer Competition. The winner is... Clarissa Green from the second-year best class."

Me?

...