Whats She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 174

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

Elaine was stunne

10 No tod? I make mistakes every day.”

This kid

mother at such a young age.

way too smart, alread

knowing how to run defense for her

“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

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Chapter 174

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.

She looked up at Elaine. Elaine’s eyes still held a layer of hidden reproach and authority.

Mom, I have no idea how those rumors started. When she came to see me that day, she chose to confront me in a public area and started spouting things that made zero sense. You can’t put that on me,” Kaia defended herself.

Elaine frowned. Kaia made it sound like it was nothing, but was that really the truth?

She was just about to deliver another round of scolding when she heard the faint clink of a porcelain spoon hitting a bowl. Josephine, who hadn’t said a word the entire night, looked up and elegantly dabbed her mouth with a napkin.

Those cloudy, yet remarkably sharp eyes locked onto Elaine.

Elaine’s stomach suddenly dropped, and a wave of dread washed over her.

Elaine’s stomach

suddenly so. Why are you taking

it so seriously? Bringing tas

“Gossip from outsiders is

kind of nonsense to the din.

table is just exhausting.”

Elaine’s bad premonition was dead on. Josephine was blatantly playing favorites with Kaia. She didn’t even bother asking for the full story before bringing the hammer down on Elaine.

‘Elaine, you’re not getting any younger. You’re a grandmother now. You need to understand that you can’t just take things at face value, and you certainly can’t jump to conclusions after hearing only one side of the story.”

Elaine practically nodded furiously under the reprimand. “Yes, Ma’am. You’re right.”

“If we’re talking about who has a complicated agenda, does anyone really think Noelle’s hands are clean?” Josephine’s stern gaze swept across the table, lingering deliberately on Finnian and Elaine. “If you ask me, the person who needs to be reflecting on her behavior isn’t Kaia; it’s Noelle. She’s been a part of the Sanders family for over a decade longer than

Chapter 174

Kaia, and she still hasn’t figured out how to conduct herself. What gives her the right to point fingers at Kaia?”

Josephine’s tone wasn’t particularly harsh, but her casually delivered words hit the table like a bomb, leaving everyone staring in shock.

Elaine’s expression froze in absolute horror.

Josephine genuinely despised Noelle, which made Elaine incredibly uncomfortable. It felt like she was looking at a mirror of her own past struggles in the family.

And it was all because of Kaia.

Finnian suddenly looked up at his grandmother, but he kept his mouth shut.

Kaia just kept helping her daughter eat. The little girl seemed to be chewing extra enthusiastically, as if trying to comfort her mom.

After finishing her piece, Josephine didn’t wait for anyone’s reaction. She went back to eating her soup and said dismissively, “Eat. The food is getting cold. From now on, keep trivial matters away from the dinner table.”