What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 174

Finnian sat next to her, glancing over every now and then. Seeing that Kaia had absolutely no intention of acknowledging him, he quietly ate his food.

Josephine scanned the table. Even though Noelle wasn't there, she didn't ask a single question about her.

Elaine's glare toward Kaia grew increasingly judgmental and hostile.

Halfway through the meal, a maid brought out a rich, savory chicken soup. Elaine took a sip, her eyes cutting toward Kaia. "I was playing cards with some of the ladies yesterday afternoon and heard some rather unpleasant gossip. Kaia, do you have any idea what that's about?"

Kaia looked up at her and shook her head. "No idea."

Elaine let out a frustrated huff. "They're saying there's bad blood inside the Sanders family, that the sisters-in-law are at each other's throats. Kaia, I'm not trying to lecture you, but I do expect you to protect the family's reputation in public. If you have a grievance, sort it out behind closed doors. Turning some petty disagreement into a massive public spectacle is highly inappropriate."

The atmosphere at the dinner table instantly grew thick with tension. Brynlee looked up at her grandmother, blinking her big eyes. "Grandma, why are you always saying my mom is wrong? Doesn't anyone else ever make mistakes? Can we stop picking on my mom all the time? Why don't you talk about me instead? I make mistakes every day."

Elaine was stunned. This kid was way too smart, already knowing how to run defense for her mother at such a young age.

"Brynlee, you're too young to understand. Stay out of adult conversations," Elaine said. She was annoyed, but she would never take her anger out on her granddaughter.

"Well, I don't like it when you talk about my mom like that. It makes me sad, and now I don't even want to eat," Brynlee declared. She slammed her utensils onto the table, crossed her little arms over her chest, stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, and turned her head away with a dramatic huff.

Finnian looked over at his daughter. From his angle, her puffed-out, angry little cheeks made her look exactly like a cartoon character—just a round silhouette with a fiercely pouting mouth. It was actually incredibly adorable.

Elaine was embarrassed for a second and forced a smile to lighten the mood. "Brynlee, why are you getting mad at Grandma? I just told you I wasn't trying to lecture her. I was just giving your mom a friendly reminder..."

"My mom didn't do anything wrong! She's the smartest person in the whole world, and she never makes mistakes. If someone made a mistake, it was definitely the other person's fault. It definitely wasn't my mom's." Brynlee's little mouth fired off like a machine gun. When she finished, she turned to Finnian. "Dad, tell her. Am I right?"

Put on the spot by his daughter, Finnian had no choice but to smile along. "Yes, Brynlee is absolutely right."

"I didn't ask you to say I'm right! I asked you to say Mom is right!" Brynlee snapped impatiently.

Finnian cast a deep, complex look at Kaia and murmured an "Mm-hmm. She's right too."

Kaia hadn't expected her daughter to go to bat for her like that. Her heart felt incredibly warm.

But there were things that needed to be clarified, and she wasn't going to sweep them under the rug.

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