Eric froze, completely thrown by Clara. For a moment, he just stood there, dazed and motionless.

Emily, equally shocked, rushed to pull Eric behind her, her voice rising with outrage. "How could you treat Eric like that?"

Before Emily could finish, Clara shoved her.

The bustling entrance of Jones Manor instantly fell into a heavy silence.

Every servant who had been watching from the sidelines was now gripped by fear.

Emily completely cast aside her usual poise and shouted in fury, "Are you crazy?!"

Clara's eyes stayed cold. "As the eldest sibling, it's my job to set you straight. If you show me disrespect, is there anything wrong with me correcting you?"

Clara understood that Eric was at an age where pride came easily and rebellion was to be expected.

But that was exactly why he needed someone firm to keep him on track.

Otherwise, he would fall into the same traps as before, thinking he could do anything he wanted, racing recklessly, crashing, and ending up with an injury that left him mentally impaired.

Now that Clara had a second shot at life, she was determined to keep Eric from repeating that fate.

And as for Emily, putting her in her place was just something she wanted to do.

Emily was shocked, unable to move.

In the past, whenever Eric and Emily went out without Clara, she would feel hurt and distant from the Jones family, but she kept those feelings to herself.

Today, however, Clara refused to stay silent.

"You-" Emily said, her body trembling with anger.

At that moment, Clara's father, Brad Jones, and her stepmother, Ramona, pulled up and stepped out of the car.

They froze, shocked by the strange scene unfolding at the entrance.

"Mom! Clara's lost her mind!" Emily ran into Ramona's arms, sobbing and looking pitiful.

Ramona could hardly believe it. "What? There must be some mistake."

Ramona remembered how Clara had always tried to fit in with the Joneses, continually making efforts to please both Eric and Emily.

"I'm not lying!" Emily sobbed.

Eric turned to Brad and complained, "Dad! Can you discipline Clara? She shouldn't act so rudely..."

At first, Brad felt angry, convinced Clara had overreacted.

But when he glanced up and saw Clara's eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, his heart softened.

Hearing Eric's words, Brad scolded him, "How dare you speak of your sister that way! Apologize to her right now! If you make her cry again, I'll deal with you!"

Seeing Brad's reaction, Clara could no longer hold back her tears.

She rushed into his arms and cried out, "Dad..."

She wanted to apologize to him.

In her previous life, she had been far too trusting, letting Emily manipulate her and constantly fighting with Brad over Robert, that worthless man.

Things only got worse after Brad bailed her out of jail. Emily tricked her into signing a confession, and Clara ended up turning herself in, which made Brad so furious that it affected his health.

In the end, Ramona and Emily's plotting left Brad in a coma.

Clara couldn't shake the feeling that she had let him down as a daughter.

"What happened? Were you really bullied?" Brad wrapped his arms around her, startled and worried.

Ever since Clara came back into the family, she'd always kept her distance from him, rarely speaking unless it was to blame him for losing her and failing to find her back for so long.

But now, she was clinging to him, openly crying.

There was no doubt she was hurting.

Brad turned a stern gaze on Eric. "Eric! Did you upset your sister again?"

Eric tried to defend himself, but being blamed made him even more frustrated. "Dad! You're always siding with her! She's the one who..."

Brad cut him off. "Your sister was setting you straight for your own good! And Clara is my one and only precious daughter. If you think that's unfair, too bad!"

Eric had nothing to say.

To Brad, his daughter meant the world!

And he, as the son, was simply unwanted.

Meanwhile, Ramona and Emily stood nearby, their faces turning sour.

His only precious daughter?

Where did that leave Emily?

Clara quickly pulled back from Brad and wiped her tears. "Dad, this isn't about Eric," she said softly. "Eric spoke to me disrespectfully, so I put him in his place right away."

Taking a steady breath, Clara looked Brad in the eyes. "Dad, I want to break off my engagement with Robert."

"Break off the engagement?" Brad stared at Clara in shock, convinced he hadn't heard her right. "What did you just say?"

He couldn't process it at first.

In the past, he'd watched Clara lower herself over and over, always following Robert, swallowing every humiliation but refusing to let go. It had always pained him to see her that way.

And now she was the one choosing to end things?

Clara didn't hesitate; she made her decision perfectly clear.

Suddenly, a huge smile broke out on Brad's face. "Clara, you've finally come to your senses! I always told you Robert wasn't worth it. You deserve someone so much better! This is wonderful. I..."

Before he could finish celebrating, Ramona quickly cut in, wearing a stiff smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her voice, however, left no doubt about her real feelings. "Brad, don't pay attention to Clara's outburst. The Cooper family and us are just about to finalize the western district project. If you break off the engagement now, people might say we're unreliable. If the deal falls through, our losses will be huge!"

She shot Emily a meaningful look as she spoke.

Picking up her cue, Emily jumped in, her eyes rimmed with red, feigning concern for Clara. "That's right. Clara, please don't make a scene! Robert is such a perfect match for you. If you call things off, do you really think you'll find someone better? And after everything you've done for him, wouldn't ending things now just make you look impulsive and capricious?"

Their words sounded like advice, but Clara could tell they were really warnings.

Everyone already knew about Clara's long pursuit of Robert.

If she broke things off now, it would only be the Jones family's reputation that took the hit.

Clara's eyes were cold as she watched Ramona and Emily working together, unable to hide her contempt.

She had seen this exact act in her previous life. Whenever she even thought about stepping away from Robert, Ramona and Emily would corner her, talking endlessly about family obligations, public opinion, and how she'd never get a better match, scaring her with worst-case scenarios until she caved.

But now, Clara found it all ridiculous.

Clara let out a cold laugh. "By ending this engagement, I'm just giving you and Robert what you've always wanted, aren't I? Or is it that you two just crave the rush of sneaking around behind my back?"

Emily stiffened on the spot, her face flaring with panic before shifting into one of hurt innocence. "Clara, how could you accuse me of something so awful? Robert is your fiancé, and I haven't even said a word to him..."

Ramona, drawing on years of experience, didn't flinch. "They always say being a stepmother is difficult, and I'm beginning to see why. Clara, you still refuse to see Emily and me as your family. If that's how it is..."

There was a heavy accusation hidden in her words.

If gossip started, people would say Clara was ungrateful, unwilling to accept her stepmother and stepsister, painting her as spiteful and small-minded.

Brad's expression hardened in response. "If you two can't talk respectfully, then just keep quiet."

Clara almost wanted to laugh.

Brad had always been the kind of father who showed his love by providing, never really getting involved in the arguments at home.

But if his kids were under attack, he wouldn't hesitate to defend them.

That thought brought a genuine warmth to Clara's heart. She looked at Brad and spoke sincerely. "Dad, I'm not breaking off the engagement just to make trouble. I've thought it through. I know this puts our family in a difficult position, and I don't want you to worry about handling the fallout. I'll take responsibility for ending things myself."

Brad felt a mixture of pride at her growth and pain for her struggles. "If you're sure about this, I won't get in your way. But if you run into trouble, come to me and I'll stand behind you."

Clara smiled at him. "Thank you, Dad! You really are the best!" With that, she leaned against Brad's shoulder, feeling a rare sense of comfort.

Ramona and Emily exchanged glances, each one puzzled by how quickly things had shifted, but neither said a word.

A short while later, all five stepped inside the house, and no one dared to mention Emily's possible affair with Robert again.

Exposing Emily and Ramona completely was not part of Clara's plan for today.

She despised them with every fiber of her being, but exposing it all now would be too soon.

What she truly wanted was for Emily and Ramona to pay dearly for what she and her family had suffered in her previous life.

So she intended to peel back their masks slowly, revealing their deceit to everyone.

At dawn the next day, Clara rose earlier than usual.

She pulled out a concealed vial of potion and laid out the tools she needed to wipe off her makeup.

Bit by bit, she washed away the horribly applied cosmetics, unveiling a flawless, breathtaking face beneath.

With her appearance restored, she realized time was slipping away.

After coming downstairs, she greeted Brad as he ate breakfast, then drove off to school.

From inside Jones Manor, Brad watched her leave, stunned by how beautiful she had become.

...

Thirty minutes later at Pehville University, Clara paused at the classroom door.

Her steady gaze swept over the familiar threshold, and a cool smile curved her lips.

This time around, she wasn't the helpless girl everyone could walk all over.

Anyone who had humiliated or bullied her before would now face the consequences.

Holding her spine straight and keeping her composure, Clara walked in with quiet confidence.

Clara walked into Class One and immediately caught the sound of Emily's affected concern. "Robert, when Clara gets here, you should try to cheer her up. She told our dad last night that she wants to break off your engagement..."

Even though Emily made an effort to speak softly, her voice still carried just enough for their classmates to catch every word.

The students crowded around Robert fell silent for a moment, then broke into laughter.

"Can you believe Clara actually wants to end things herself?"

"I bet she's faking it. She probably just wants Robert to chase after her!"

"That's right! It's no secret that Clara's been shamelessly chasing after Robert. He's turned her down 99 times. Just one more and it'll hit a hundred. She won't give up now."

"Yeah, that's right!"

A chorus of laughter filled the air.

For a split second, satisfaction flickered in Emily's eyes, but she quickly masked it with a worried expression. "Please don't talk about Clara like that. She must be upset. She used to do everything for Robert, even bringing him breakfast and making handmade gifts. It's honestly a little sad."

Though she sounded like she was defending Clara, Emily was really dragging up Clara's old embarrassments for everyone to see, admitting how unattractive Clara supposedly was.

Clara's eyebrows lifted in amusement.

She recalled the first day Emily met her after she was brought into the Jones family.

That day, Emily wore flashy clothes and sparkling jewelry, trying her hardest to look better than Clara.

But when she finally saw Clara's face, she was left speechless by how beautiful Clara actually was.

And now, Emily had the nerve to slander her like this.

Clearly, Clara's bad makeup-all a trick by Emily-worked way too well. So well that even Emily had forgotten her earlier jealousy.

At the center of it all, Robert sat with a bored look, his voice sharp and uninterested. "Don't mention her again. She just puts me in a bad mood."

That single comment seemed to fuel the crowd, and their taunts only grew louder.

Emily watched, unable to hide the pleasure on her face.

She wanted the whole class to believe that Clara was just a clingy, unattractive nobody.

By doing so, Robert would never bother to look at Clara again.

"There's nothing pitiful about Clara!"

"She only chases after Robert because he's the best guy she's ever met!"

"Gross!"

People all around them exchanged looks of disgust and disbelief.

Hearing these cruel lies about Clara made Emily feel a sick kind of satisfaction.

This was exactly how things should be.

A girl like Clara deserved nothing but contempt and exclusion.

If everyone hated Clara, then society would only see Emily as the true, elegant heiress of the Jones family.

Just as the rumors hit their most vicious point, a slim figure suddenly stepped in and grabbed Adair Rooker, the student spreading the worst lies.

The entire class instantly fell silent.

Every head turned, eyes wide in shock, as they stared at the girl who had suddenly lashed out.

In that moment, no one moved. Awe and disbelief flickered in their gazes.

Bathed in sunlight, the girl stood out in a bold red dress, its vivid color tracing her graceful curves and making her look like a living flame, fierce, impossible to ignore.

Her hair flowed over her shoulders in glossy waves, drawing even more attention to her striking, almost dazzling features.

Light danced in her expressive eyes, while her crimson lips were as vivid as freshly bloomed roses.

She was so beautiful that it hardly seemed real.

Yet it wasn't just her looks that caught everyone's attention; it was the effortless poise and commanding presence that seemed to radiate from her.

Her sheer confidence and regal air made every so-called "noble" girl in the room feel utterly insignificant.