Rebirth: My CEO Husband's Thoughts Are Too Shameless

"Ugh... why isn’t he replying?" Clara stared at her phone, waiting for Dominic’s response. A full minute had passed, yet the chat remained silent. She pouted before slipping the phone back into her pocket.

"He says so much in his head," she muttered under her breath. "Why can’t he just say it to my face?"

Shaking off her disappointment, she returned to her chores. After making them clean the house, Clara dragged Silvia and Lily out for grocery shopping. She planned to bake cookies and cakes later that afternoon and needed to stock up on ingredients.

The supermarket was crowded, and after handing the two women a shopping list, Clara wandered off to look for a few specialty items herself.

By the time she returned...

"Huh?" She looked around in confusion. "Where did those two disappear to?"

Just as she was about to call them, Silvia and Lily emerged from the next aisle.

Both women looked utterly exhausted, with their arms loaded with shopping bags, and they looked as though they were carrying half the supermarket.

Silvia let out a dramatic sigh. "Madam... we bought everything on your list."

Lily nodded vigorously beside her. "Everything."

Clara blinked. Then the corners of her lips twitched.

"You two look like you’ve just climbed a mountain."

Lily let out a pitiful groan. "It certainly felt like one."

Clara couldn’t help laughing. "Alright, alright."

She took a few lighter bags from them.

"Let’s head back."

Reaching the parking lot, Clara unlocked the car. "Girls, put everything in the trunk."

"Yes, Madam."

Silvia and Lily immediately got to work, carefully arranging the groceries inside.

Just as Clara was about to get into the car herself, movement across the parking lot caught her attention.

She paused. "...Eric?" Her eyes narrowed.

A man had just climbed into a black sedan with an elegantly dressed woman. Although she only caught a side profile before the car pulled away...

She was almost certain it was him.

A strange flicker crossed her eyes. Almost instantly, an old memory resurfaced.

Eric. Hannah’s boyfriend. The boy she had loved since childhood.

Their families had been close for years, and everyone believed they would eventually get married. Only Clara knew the truth.

Behind Hannah’s back, Eric had cheated on her with countless women.

In her previous life, Clara had discovered his affairs long before anyone else. She had possessed undeniable proof. Yet... she had remained silent.

At the time, she had already given up struggling against her own fate.

After failing to escape her marriage, bitterness had consumed her heart.

She had convinced herself that everyone in the Sterling family deserved whatever misfortune came their way. Including Hannah.

The constant ridicule... the endless humiliation... the way Hannah had stood by while others made Clara’s life miserable.

Little by little, Clara had come to resent her as well. So when she learned of Eric’s betrayal... she simply looked away.

She hadn’t warned Hannah nor exposed Eric.

She had done nothing.

By the time Hannah finally discovered the truth herself... everything had already fallen apart.

Remembering those days left an unpleasant taste in Clara’s mouth.

Not because she regretted exposing Eric. But because she regretted becoming the kind of person who had allowed hatred to silence her conscience.

Her grip on the keys tightened and her eyes went hollow when suddenly a tired voice pulled her back to the present.

"Madam..."

Clara blinked and turned around. Lily was leaning against the car door, breathing heavily.

"We’re done loading everything..." she let out another exhausted sigh. "But if you keep standing there, we’re going to melt under this sun."

Silvia nodded in agreement. "Please get in the car before we become part of the parking lot."

Clara couldn’t help laughing.

The bitterness in her heart gradually faded.

"Alright." She opened the passenger door and climbed inside.

"Let’s go home."

***

"Finally... that’s the last one."

Clara let out a relieved sigh as she placed the final grocery bag on the kitchen island.

The mountain of ingredients spread across the counter instantly left everyone in the kitchen speechless.

Butler James and the head chef blinked.

Even the kitchen staff exchanged bewildered glances.

They knew Clara had gone shopping with Silvia and Lily. What they hadn’t expected...was for her to return with what looked like half the supermarket.

Recovering from the shock, Butler James stepped forward with a guilty expression.

"Madam," he said respectfully, "if you were craving dessert, you only had to tell us. I would have arranged for someone to buy it immediately."

Having managed the Sterling mansion for years, he prided himself on knowing every family member’s preferences.

If only he had known his Madam wanted something sweet, he would have made sure it was prepared before she even asked.

Clara smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"It’s alright, Butler James. You don’t have to feel bad."

She looked at the bags with a satisfied smile. "Besides, these aren’t for me."

Everyone looked at her curiously. "I’m making dessert myself today."

She puffed out her chest proudly. "I’ll be baking cookies and cakes for everyone."

The cheerful announcement should have been good news. Instead... an uneasy silence filled the kitchen.

The servants instinctively exchanged nervous glances.

The head chef was the first to react. He hurried forward, looking as though he had just heard something terrifying.

"Madam..." His smile was polite but noticeably strained. "Please... don’t trouble yourself. We can’t possibly allow you to cook. If there’s any dessert you’d like, simply tell us. We’ll prepare it exactly the way you want."

Clara blinked.

"Why?"

The chef looked helplessly at Butler James before answering honestly. "Because if the Master finds out we let you work in the kitchen..." He paused dramatically. "...we’ll probably be the ones getting thrown out."

The entire kitchen staff nodded in perfect agreement.

Clara couldn’t help laughing at their frightened expressions.

"I’m only baking a few cookies." She smiled reassuringly. "I promise I won’t burn the kitchen down."

The chef forced an awkward smile.

"Madam... that’s not what we’re worried about. It’s the Master’s reaction that frightens us."

The moment those words left his mouth, every servant silently nodded again, making Clara laugh even harder.

"Then let’s see how he reacts."

"..."