A Night of Desire

"About what happened last time, with your identity being exposed—that was a mistake Chloe made in a moment of confusion. It wasn’t at my instruction; I truly didn’t know about it then. And when I found out, I went to the Quinn family right away to try and explain.

For various reasons, I wasn’t able to explain it properly. I felt terrible about it, and I was worried for you because you might not have been able to marry Seth. But thankfully, no matter what happened, you and Seth ended up together. Dad is happy for you, really.

But I also need to apologize for Chloe’s mistake. I’m sorry, Clara. It’s my fault for not teaching her better, for letting her nearly cause such a terrible disaster. Besides, Chloe regretted it afterward. She even said she wants to apologize to you in person when she gets the chance."

Perhaps because it had been a long time since she’d called him ’Dad,’ or heard Cedric Grant refer to himself that way, Clara felt a slight stirring in her heart as he kept repeating the word. Her expression remained icy, but her tone wasn’t quite as harsh as before.

"Is that so? Then have her come and apologize to me. I’m free anytime."

"Alright. When I get back, I’ll tell her you’re back from filming and have her come apologize. Clara, if Chloe apologizes, please forgive her. After all, she’s still your sister, in a manner of speaking."

’Sister? We don’t have the same father or the same mother. What kind of sister is that supposed to make her!’

Cedric Grant continued, "And you should try to convince your mom... to forgive me, too. If you’re going to live with the Quinns and you’re worried about your mother being home alone with no one to care for her, don’t be. I can bring her back to live at the Grant family home. You can rest assured, if she comes back to the Grant home, I guarantee that absolutely no one will dare bully her."

Clara Grant suddenly chuckled. ’Bring my mother back to the Grant home? What would that even be? His ex-wife and current wife living under the same roof? How is that even remotely appropriate?’

’The Shelby family also has two women living there, but at least Sarah’s mother and Autumn Shelby’s mother are both considered current wives. At worst, it’s just a bigamous household under the Shelby roof.’

’But my mother has no official title or status now. What would it mean for her to move back into the Grant home?’

Clara Grant stared at Cedric Grant and said, "Alright, I’m not opposed to bringing my mother back to the Grant home. But... what if I said the condition is that you have to kick Jean Jarvis and Chloe Grant out of the house first? Would... you agree to that?"

Cedric Grant froze. He studied Clara Grant’s face, searching for any sign that she was joking. Unfortunately, there was none. Her expression was completely serious.

It seemed Cedric Grant had never expected the once naive and kind-hearted Clara to be so ruthless. ’Kick Jean and Chloe out? Make them wander destitute, suffering even worse scorn and gossip than before? Hasn’t she even considered whether they’d be able to survive?’

"Clara, Chloe is still my own... daughter, and your sister. And Jean and your mother were like sisters for twenty years. You should call her Auntie. To kick them out..."

Clara had only said it to test him. Seeing him stammer, she scoffed. "Forget it. I’ll just ask one thing of you: you absolutely cannot tell my mother that the Quinns know about my parentage. My mom isn’t an arrogant person, but she has her dignity. If she knew her in-laws were aware of something like this, how could she ever face them again?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I understand, I understand." Cedric Grant nodded profusely. He silently broke out in a cold sweat. ’Thank goodness she came back just in time. Otherwise, I would have let it slip to Skylar.’