StartNovelChapter 273
When Clara got to the Bradford house, she made a beeline upstairs to see Johnny. As she swung open the door to
his room, she almost bumped into Naomi, who was on her way out.
Clara braced herself for ssarcastic remarks from Naomi, but surprisingly, she was downright polite this time.
"Oh, you're here. Go on in, your dad's been waiting for you for ages."
Feeling a bit thrown off, Clara still stepped inside. The room was heavy with the scent of medicine, stinging her
nose. She'd hoped that after sorting out the contract mess, Johnny would be on the mend. Instead, he looked
even more frail than before.
Guilt weighed on Clara. Johnny hadn't done anything wrong. With two daughters caught up in chaos, any father
would have been worried sick. Years of stress had worn him down, and the added pressure from the company
had just caused everything to crumble at once.
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Sitting beside him, Clara couldn't hold back her tears. Johnny had lost so much weight, his eyes seemed too
large for his face. When he saw Clara, his eyes welled up, and he said hoarsely, "You've done a great job with the
company. Cough, cough. From now on, Anna is your responsibility."
Clara's voice trembled as she held his hand, "Dad, I'm sorry. | thought once the contract was sorted, you'd get
better."
She hadn't even called him, maybe because she was unconsciously avoiding anything to do with the Bradford
family.
Johnny managed a weak smile, "It's not your fault. Anna toldeverything, about the memory loss. We didn't
want to believe you before, and that was our mistake."
Clara felt a lump in her throat, unable to speak. Johnny was a good man, but she felt she wasn't much of a
daughter. She couldn't remember anything now and didn't know how to give back the love he deserved.
Her tears dripped onto Johnny's hand, and he tried to lift it to wipe them away, but he just didn't have the
strength.
"Clara, your mom shouldn't have blamed you for Quinn's disappearance. You were just eight. You both were gone
for three days, and we were frantic. When only you cback, she worried herself sick for a month. | knew she
needed someone to blame. She's selfish, but she's my wife. | could only watch her favor Quinn, so | tried to make
it up to you by sending money to your account, hoping to ease your pain. If none of this had happened, you
wouldn't have pinned all your hopes on Simon, and there wouldn't have been so many messes..."
The more he talked, the softer his voice grew, like he was losing the will to speak. "Dad, stop talking. Letcall
the doctor."
By then, Johnny had closed his eyes, looking so frail and weary. When the doctor cto check on him, Johnny
just lay there, not moving.
Clara stayed put, not daring to leave his side. Naomi popped in once with sfruit, which caught Clara off
guard, given Naomi's unusually kind attitude today.
But with Johnny lying there, she kept her thoughts to herself.
After Naomi left, she handed Clara's phone to Quinn, cautioning her, "Don't do anything rash. Your dad's in bad
shape; you should at least think about him." Quinn took the phone with a smirk, "Got it, Mom." And she dashed
out the door.
Watching her go, Naomi felt a sudden pang. Even Clara knew to stick around for Johnny, but Quinn, who had
been the favorite for five years, was only interested in running after boys.
Naomi wondered if she'd gone wrong somewhere in her parenting, feeling a heaviness settle in her chest.
Back in the room, she found Clara quietly asking the doctor, "How's my dad doing?"
The doctor shook his head, "Years of stress and worry have taken a toll. Medicine can't do much now. Maybe
spending more ttalking to him will help. He's got a lot bottled up that he needs to let out."
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