Your Love Is But a Dream (Clara and Wren)

After breakfast, Wren sat on the couch downstairs, waiting for Clara to return. As time passed, and she still hadn't shown up, his confidence began to waver. Restlessness settled in. The longer he waited, the more unbearable each passing second felt.

By late morning, Wren had had enough. He pulled out his phone and opened an app to track Clara's location.

He had installed the tracking app after that school trip incident, fearing something similar might happen again. If Clara ever ran into trouble, he needed to find her immediately.

A few taps later, her location appeared-still within the city. Wren let out a breath of relief. Just as he was about to zoom in for details, footsteps approached from behind. "Wren, if we don't leave now, we'll miss the flight. Are you coming or not?"

Ivy had already reminded him three times. Each time, Wren said he had something to take care of. Yet, every time she came downstairs, he was just sitting there on the couch. It didn't seem like he was busy. It felt like he was waiting for someone. A thought crossed Ivy's mind. Could Wren be waiting for Clara?

The suspicion put her on guard. She pressed him a little more. "Carlisle called earlier to check in. Willie's already at the airport waiting for us. We should head out soon."

Wren's fingers froze for a second, and a flicker of coldness flashed in his eyes. After a brief pause, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood up. "Alright. Let's go."

Ivy breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly followed him.

On the way to the airport, Wren seemed distracted. Ivy's earlier excitement was gradually replaced by unease.

"Wren, is Clara still upset with me? Is that why she hasn't come back?" Ivy carefully watched his expression, testing the waters.

"She's just being stubborn. It has nothing to do with you," Wren replied with an unreadable expression.

Even so, Ivy sensed something was off. Her uneasiness deepened. "Do you think Clara's avoiding home because we're getting engaged soon? Perhaps she wants to make you worry so you'll cancel the engagement party." Wren's anxiety cooled slightly at those words.

It wasn't impossible. Clara had pulled similar stunts in the past.

Back then, when he got too close to Ivy and neglected her, she played this exact game-disappearing to make him panic.

The more Wren thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. His initial worry began to shift into irritation.

He had indulged Clara far too much, letting her believe she could do as she pleased. She wasn't a child anymore, yet here she was, pulling the same immature tricks.

Suppressing his frustration, Wren coldly said, "Let her be. She'll come back when she's done acting out."

Seeing that he believed her, Ivy finally felt relieved.

As long as the engagement proceeded as planned, everyone would recognize her as Wren's rightful fiancée. By then, even if Clara returned, there would be no room for competition.