The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 575

Truthfully, the person who had the most dramatic reaction to Clara's pregnancy was neither Rhys nor the Jensens.

It was Emily.

Emily's joy went far beyond simply "being pregnant at the same time as my best friend."

From the moment her own pregnancy test showed two lines, she had already formulated a master plan in her head.

If the baby in her belly turned out to be a girl, it would be absolutely flawless.

She could grow up alongside Felix, childhood sweethearts practically attached at the hip.

The age gap was perfect, falling right into the golden "older brother spoiling his little sister" demographic.

In elementary school, the older brother would protect her from bullies; by middle school, they'd be passing love notes; and in high school, their homeroom teacher would catch them dating and call the parents in.

When the time came, their parents would sit in the principal's office, exchange a knowing glance, say, "Don't worry, we'll discipline them severely at home," and then walk right out of the school gates to celebrate over Mexican food.

Then would come the long-distance college relationship, the post-graduation proposal, the wedding planned by Emily herself, and the honeymoon sponsored by Clara.

She had the entire timeline meticulously mapped out.

When all was said and done, she and Clara would officially be family.

In-laws.

Just thinking about that word made the corners of Emily's mouth turn upward.

The ultimate evolution of a best friendship was becoming family.

It came with legal validation and a bloodline connection, turning them into a legitimate family every holiday. Nobody would ever be able to tear them apart.

Thinking about this, she mentally reviewed every older female relative she had ever met.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law dynamic was basically one of the top ten unsolved mysteries of human sociology.

The critical ones, the control freaks, the ones who claimed they didn't mind but judged every little thing—she had seen dozens of them in the divorce files Daniel had brought home over the years.

Even she had gotten into a screaming match with Daniel's mother once over whether to bake or pan-fry a fish.

Kids grow up. Eventually, he'd learn exactly what to say in front of his mother-in-law.

And now that Clara was pregnant with a second child, Emily felt her master plan's success rate had literally doubled.

If Clara's second baby turned out to be a girl, then Emily had a backup plan. Double insurance.

Whether her own baby was a boy or a girl, they would find a flawless match within Clara's offspring.

If it's a boy, he marries Clara's daughter. If it's a girl, she marries Felix.

It was a win-win scenario.

She was going to be an amazing mother-in-law too!

After polishing this twenty-year life plan in her head for days, Emily finally sat on the bed in Riverside Court's master bedroom on a perfectly sunny afternoon and dumped the entire vision onto Clara.

She covered everything from an arranged childhood marriage to the wedding venue, from the dowry standards to the educational philosophy for their future grandchildren. She even sprinkled in a highly detailed interlude about how the two fathers, Daniel and Rhys, would get hammered at the wedding reception, slapping each other on the back, taking shots, and eventually crying in each other's arms. One would slam the table and sob, "Brother, I'm handing my daughter over to your boy, you better make sure he treats her right!" and the other would thump his chest, yelling, "Don't worry! If my son ever disrespects her, I'll bury him myself!"