Chapter 80: I’ll accept the family discount

[Sterling Mansion]

Jonathan finished watching the livestream for the second time before turning toward Grace with an impressed smile.

"Aw, honey, you were so cool back there."

Grace merely waved her hand, completely unfazed by his praise.

"It was nothing."

"Nothing?" Jonathan repeated. "You practically destroyed them with three sentences."

Grace rolled her eyes.

"I only said what needed to be said."

She hadn’t even planned on visiting the bakery that morning. In fact, she had originally intended to stay away.

Yet somehow, she had found herself going there anyway.

Perhaps it was because of her previous meeting with Clara.

Or perhaps it was because Clara had gone out of her way to expose Eric and, in doing so, prevented Hannah from becoming trapped with someone who could have ruined her life.

Grace wasn’t entirely sure.

She only knew that some part of her had wanted to see Clara again.

Maybe she had wanted to thank her.

Instead, she had walked into a confrontation involving Dorothy, an allegedly unhygienic cup of coffee, and three women who seemed determined to turn a bakery into a courtroom.

Grace sighed.

"At least it’s over."

Jonathan smiled.

"Still, you handled it beautifully."

Grace finally looked at him.

"Thank you."

Jonathan’s smile widened.

Finally.

He had his wife’s attention.

Unfortunately, it lasted for approximately three seconds.

"Mom!"

Clara’s excited voice suddenly echoed from upstairs.

Before either of them could react, hurried footsteps came down the stairs.

Clara appeared in the living room and immediately spotted Grace.

Her eyes lit up.

"Mom!"

She rushed over and wrapped her arms around Grace, practically crushing her in the hug.

Grace staggered slightly.

"Clara—"

"Mom, you were so cool!"

Clara tightened her embrace. "Did you see their faces when you warned them? That was amazing!"

Grace laughed helplessly. "I believe they understood the warning."

"Of course they did! You were terrifying!"

Clara finally pulled back just enough to look at her.

"You’re even more terrifying than Dominic."

Dominic, who had silently followed her downstairs, stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned his head toward his father. Jonathan immediately raised both hands.

What? I didn’t do anything. Your wife is the one hugging my wife.

Dominic stared at him for another second before walking over to the couch and sitting down across from them. He folded his arms.

(This is getting out of hand.)

He regretted showing Clara the livestream the moment Grace had appeared on screen.

At first, he’d thought Clara would be worried about the bakery. Instead, she’d become completely fascinated by her mother-in-law.

"Mom, that was so impressive!"

Grace smiled. "You’re exaggerating."

"I’m not!"

Clara grabbed her hands. "You stood up for me without even hesitating."

Grace’s expression softened.

"Of course I did."

Clara smiled brightly and hugged her again.

Dominic’s eye twitched.

(Why is everyone getting her attention except me?)

He glanced toward Jonathan. His father was sitting there looking equally offended.

Dominic narrowed his eyes.

(At least I’m not alone.)

Jonathan caught his gaze. The two men stared at each other for a moment.

Neither spoke. Neither needed to. They both understood the suffering.

Meanwhile, Clara finally pulled away from Grace, and she took a deep breath.

Grace looked as though she’d just survived an intense workout, but then she blinked.

"Are you okay?"

Clara smiled.

"Yes." She discreetly adjusted her clothes. "Your hug is... enthusiastic."

"..."

Grace had expected to find Clara lying in bed, considering what her team had told her about Clara not feeling well. But instead, she found Clara perfectly fine—and apparently on a mission to squeeze every person within her reach.

Seeing her energetic and completely unharmed, Grace finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, why did you visit the bakery? We didn’t even have any offers there."

Clara’s question left Grace speechless for a moment. Then she couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculously unpredictable this woman could be.

"You said I would get a family discount if I ever came there."

Clara pursed her lips and awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.

Oh.

She had definitely not expected Grace to actually take her up on that offer.

She had only said it because a small part of her wanted to make up for all the horrible things she had done to them in their past lives. At the time, she hadn’t imagined Grace would actually show up at the bakery and demand her promised family discount.

"Well..." Clara cleared her throat, suddenly finding the floor extremely interesting. "I was being generous."

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Generous?"

"Yes. Very generous."

"You do realize family discounts usually apply to family, right?"

Clara blinked.

"But you came."

"I came because you said I could."

"Exactly." Clara nodded confidently. "So technically, you made yourself family."

Grace stared at her.

Clara stared back.

After a moment, Grace burst out laughing.

"You’re unbelievable."

"I’ve been told."

Clara’s smile softened, but beneath her playful expression was a heaviness she couldn’t quite shake.

In her previous life, she had been nothing but a source of pain for them. She had hurt Grace deliberately, especially when she had tried to poison her mind against Dominic and make her hate him.

Remembering it made Clara’s heart squeeze painfully.

She couldn’t change what she had done back then.

But perhaps she could make things right this time.

Even if that meant bribing Grace with bakery discounts until she finally forgave her.

"Fine," Grace said, still smiling. "I’ll accept the family discount."

Clara immediately brightened.

"Good. It’s unlimited."

Grace’s smile disappeared.

"Wait. What?"

Clara froze.

"...I may have gotten carried away."

Meanwhile, while Clara was slowly getting closer to Dominic’s family, someone else was sitting in stunned silence as he watched the fame she was gaining online.

It had started with only a few videos, but now people were livestreaming her. The attention surrounding her had grown far beyond what he had expected. And after witnessing everything that had happened today, he finally had to admit one thing—Clara had changed.

"She is finally fulfilling her mother’s dream..." he muttered bitterly.

His gaze remained fixed on the screen before his expression twisted with frustration.

"And here I am, still struggling to figure out what to do with my own life."

A surge of anger rushed through him. Unable to contain it, he grabbed his phone and slammed it onto the couch.

"Clara, I’m not going to let you keep ignoring me."

His eyes darkened as he leaned back, his mind already racing.

If Clara thought she could simply move on and leave him behind, she was wrong.

He was going to find another way to make sure she couldn’t ignore him anymore.