"Farak," she murmured.
Tightening the grip around the rod that he was holding, Farak Lafit nodded his head, "It's me, I thought you lost your memory or something after I attacked you with this earlier."
Passing past the hanging body, he pulled an old metal chair and sat down right in front of her. "Bad, bad very bad elder sister," he murmured.
Looking at his red eyes, pale face, chapped lips and his actions, Clara knew that he was high on drugs again.
Her life in the lafit family was nice and comfortable initially. Everyone loved and treated her like the little mistress of the house. At that time the little Clara was happy with the amount of love and attention she was getting. After being in the orphanage for almost five years, she always craved for love and a family. After being adopted and loved by the Lafit family, she thought she had everything and life couldn't be any better but everything changed after Farak Lafit was born.
After the next heir of the Lafit family was born, the whole Lafit family rejoiced in joy. Everyone started doting and looking after the little boy, completely ignoring Clara's presence. There were times when her mother Helena Lafit who once doted on her and always refused to leave her side would even forget to call Clara out for dinner.
Clara still remembered the time when she was down with a very high fever but her parents still left for a part alone with their son, leaving her alone. That is when uncle George canceled all his plans and stayed back with her. He took care of her all night and even took her to the hospital the very next day for a checkup. When the whole Lafit family ignored and disdained her, uncle George was the only one who loved and adored her.
As years passed by, she got accustomed to her parents biased behaviour and their cold treatment towards her. They showered all their love and attention to Farak who was very notorious and spoiled. There were uncountable times when Farak would get into very serious trouble but father Lafit would cover everything up using his connections. All Clara had was uncle George and she was happy with it.
Uncle George was more than just a father figure for her. He was her idol, her best friend and the only person she could trust until Ben barged into her life.
Not wanting to stay with the Lafit family anymore, Clara insisted on attending college in the states. With uncle George's help, she convinced her parents and flew to the states and that is where she met Ben.
After meeting Ben, her life changed. He showered so much love on her that she completely forgot about all her sufferings in the Lafit family. He was just perfect for her and she was also head over heels for him, they were the best couple but who would've thought that this happiness wouldn't last long.
When father Lafit handed over the business to him despite being aware of all the bad habits and his unruly behavior, Farak started spending a large amount of money on drugs which ruined the entire business and the company had to face bankruptcy. The entire family was in chaos and trying to find ways to deal with it when the Norway family came into the picture.
When Philip told her that he wanted to marry her, she straightaway refused and told him about Ben. She even told her family members that she already had someone but chose not to disclose Ben's name because she knew that once they found out that she was in a relationship with someone from the Jeon family, they would definitely approach him and try to curry favour of him. Clara didn't want Ben to get involved in something so messed up and chaotic. Her parents tried to convince her and requested her to get married with Philip for the sake of the family but there was no way she would betray Ben.
The Lafit family gave up and started looking for other ways to deal with the situation but Farak did something awful.
He kept on forcing Clara to marry Philip but this time uncle George stepped over and decided to leave the mansion forever with her but as they were about to step out, Farak pulled out a gun and shot uncle George right on his chest.
Clara's entire world turned upside down when uncle George collapsed on the ground covered in blood. She screamed and begged everyone to help her take him to the hospital but no one agreed. Placing her hand on his bleeding chest, she tried to stop the blood but nothing worked and when uncle George took the last breath, Clara lost a large chunk of her heart as well. He had been her only supporter and the only family member who genuinely cared for her. Witnessing his death was a huge blow and shock for her and not being able to save him, made the sour feeling even worse.
Clara still clearly remembered what Lafit told her before she passed out. 'He is dead because of you and if you don't marry Philip Norway, your lover Ben will die too.'
That incident terrified Clara so much that she couldn't think straight and decided to comply with whatever the Lafit family wanted. Uncle George had already lost his life because of her now she didn't want the same to happen with Ben. His life was very important to him and she didn't want anything bad to happen with him.
She had almost lost and gave up on everything when Philip stepped forward and told her the real truth behind the marriage. When he told her that he would help her out and later she could be with Ben, she left elated. He even promised that he would make sure that Ben always stays safe which is why she readily agreed with his plans.
Clara had always been very grateful to Philip because he had helped him alot. Though she couldn't be with Ben but the thought of him being safe was enough for her to survive. The thought of uniting with him in the future made her happy but as time passed by, her happiness turned into guilt and that guilt was too much for her to handle.
The guilt of leaving him and not being courageous enough to fight for their love was eating her up from the inside. With each passing day, the guilt grew deeper and deeper, slowly taking away her willingness to live.
...