Two Times the Charm (Clara and Emmett) novel Chapter 222

She'd given it some thought. Unless the biological mother of the kids returned, she would freak out no matter which woman Emmett brought back. Now Clara's anxious expression didn't seem to be a pretense. As long as one occasionally reminded her, she should also treat the children well.

"Gran?" Alex nudged her cautiously and whispered, "Could you stop giving mom a hard time? She really loves us!"

Sophia got a jolt in her heart and pulled Alex into her arms.

"Alright! Gran promises, as long as Clara doesn't lash out or bully you guys, I won't give her a hard time anymore, okay?"

Alex nodded and broke into a smile, "That's awesome! I gotta tell Aiden this ASAP!"

Sophia was a bit puzzled by this. "Are you and your Aiden up to something?"

"No! What could we possibly be planning? Gran, I have no idea what you're talking about," Alex, though not particularly gifted in other areas, was an expert at playing dumb.

Sophia could only let out a sigh of resignation. The suspicion against Clara had stirred up a mess at home. She was actually exhausted! She'd wanted to put some pressure on Clara, but then her sons and grandsons all turned against her. Maybe she was the problem.

"Good boy, let's pray together that Aiden's okay!"

"Don't worry, Gran, once you stop giving mom a hard time, Aiden will recover soon!" Aiden had deliberately hurt himself, but Alex swallowed the rest of his words. Gran couldn't know about this.

…

Sophia nodded, shot Clara a glance, and stayed silent.

Emmett glanced at them both, sensing his mother's concession. This outcome… was not too bad! It seemed there was a silver lining to his son's injury after all.

…

At the hotel, Leah had prepared some delicacies. The table was laden with Elio's favorite food and his beloved red wine.

"Elio, your trip back home really wasn't easy, and since Clara couldn't accompany you, how about I join you for a drink? Would you mind?"