A Night of Desire

"What’s wrong?" Seth asked, noticing she seemed a little off.

"...It’s nothing." Clara walked over to him. "Let’s go."

’If I ask him, it’ll feel like I’m prying into his business. Besides, he hasn’t brought it up himself, so how can I just come out and ask?’

’And what if I’m just overthinking all of this? What if he’s simply trying to look into it?’

’If I ask him, will he think I don’t trust him?’

’So, forget it. I’ll just let things play out. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. If Autumn Shelby really does show up and cause trouble, we’ll deal with it then.’

Seth didn’t suspect a thing. He just assumed she had gotten bored waiting for him and didn’t press the issue. It was only after they were both in the car that he spoke again as he started the engine.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t spend time with you back at the office. You must have been so bored. Let’s go get something to eat first, and afterward, I’ll take you somewhere fun to make it up to you."

Clara was taken aback for a moment before realizing he’d misunderstood. "No, I wasn’t bored at all," she said quickly. "I read for a bit and played on my phone. The time actually went by pretty fast."

"Besides, aren’t we supposed to be moving back to the family estate today? What kind of daughter-in-law stays out until the middle of the night on her first day moving in with her in-laws? And I’m sure your parents are waiting for us to have dinner with them."

Seth glanced at her and nodded. "All right. We’ll find another chance to go out and have fun."

Clara just smiled without saying anything.

Clara was rather quiet during the drive. She would only offer a brief reply when Seth occasionally brought up a topic of conversation.

Finally, Seth couldn’t help but take one hand off the wheel to ruffle her hair. "Clara," he said, "don’t worry so much about Sarah Shelby’s situation. I’ll get in touch with Ewan Stratton as soon as I can."

His words made Clara realize that her unusual silence must have been worrying him.

She smiled, gently taking his hand from her hair and placing it back on the steering wheel. "I’m fine, just a little worried about Sarah. But don’t you worry. I’ll be in better spirits once we’re home."

"It doesn’t matter whether you’re in good spirits at home. I’m just worried you’ll exhaust yourself by overthinking things."

Clara stared at him for a moment, her lips parting. "I’m fine," she said.

’He’s right,’ she thought. ’Why overthink it? It’s just emotionally draining, and it could strain our relationship. Maybe I really am reading too much into things.’

With that thought, her spirits lifted.

...

When they arrived back at the Quinn family estate, just as she’d expected, the whole family was waiting for them to begin dinner. As soon as Sienna Hale saw them, she instructed Mrs. Cheney to have the kitchen staff bring out the food.

Although they had all met more than once, and this wasn’t Clara Grant’s first visit to the Quinn estate, this time was different. This time, she was arriving to officially move in as the family’s daughter-in-law.

So, Clara couldn’t help but feel a little reserved and nervous. As she went to greet Theodore Quinn and Sienna Hale, she instinctively started to call them "Uncle" and "Auntie." Thankfully, she had barely gotten out the first syllable when Seth gave her palm a light squeeze as a reminder.

Theodore Quinn seemed to notice her awkwardness. His usually stern face actually held a hint of a smile as he nodded at Clara. "Clara, you’re here."

Clara quickly nodded in response. Sienna Hale, though noticing Clara still looked a bit pale, also coolly remarked, "You’re here."

It was a bit perfunctory, but at least it didn’t cause Clara to lose face. After all, Clara was the wife of the family’s eldest son, the future matriarch. Sienna couldn’t very well let her be completely disgraced in front of the servants. Otherwise, what authority would Clara have as a future matriarch?