Chapter 347

Seeing Mara Hawthorne just standing there, Gerald Hawthorne's anger boiled over. "Mara Hawthorne! I told you to come down—didn't you hear me?" He suddenly stood up, leaning heavily on his cane, turning toward the stairs. "Do I need to come up there and drag you down myself?" "Dad, please calm down. I’ll bring her down," Linda Quinn quickly said to soothe him, then hurried upstairs. Mara had her lips pressed tight, standing in silence, one hand gripping the railing like lifeline, resisting with all her strength as Linda pulled at her arm. She clenched her jaw, refusing to budge. With her back to those downstairs, Linda lowered her voice and said, "Mara, don’t be scared. You’re pregnant now, your grandpa won’t really hit you. Just swallow your pride a bit. Go down, say sorry to Cassandra, and smooth things over—then it’s done." Apologize? Say sorry to Cassandra? Mara immediately shut that idea down in her mind. Never. No way she was going to apologize to her. "Think about it. Ethan’s alw