Chapter 89: I’ve never seen him stop to admire a single rose

Both Grace and Jonathan pursed their lips, but the moment they noticed Nicolas happily devouring the pastry after lecturing them about accepting Clara, they stared at him in utter disbelief.

Jonathan pointed at him. "Dad... weren’t you the one giving us a speech five seconds ago?"

Nicolas paused mid-bite, cleared his throat, and continued eating as though nothing had happened.

"How can you two switch sides when we’re supposed to be a team?" he grumbled between mouthfuls.

Grace blinked. "You’re saying that while eating Clara’s pastry."

"I’m criticizing the person, not the dessert."

"..."

Neither of them knew how to respond to such shameless logic.

Eventually, Grace let out a defeated sigh while Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Dad, you can’t betray the anti-Clara alliance just because her desserts taste amazing," Jonathan complained.

Nicolas shot him a murderous glare.

"I did not betray anyone."

"You literally accepted the peace offering."

"I accepted free food."

Jonathan immediately looked away, pretending to be fascinated by the ceiling before his father decided to throw the fork at him.

Grace shook her head helplessly before speaking.

"Father, we didn’t switch sides. We simply don’t dislike Clara anymore."

Her voice remained gentle.

"We judged her without truly knowing her. The Clara we know today isn’t the same person we thought she was. She’s been trying to make things right."

Jonathan nodded in agreement.

"And don’t forget she exposed Eric. That alone saved the family from a huge problem."

He grinned.

"And as an added bonus, we get discounted pastries."

Grace slowly turned to look at him.

"...Jonathan."

"What?" he asked innocently. "I was listing all her achievements."

Nicolas scoffed.

"Your priorities are concerning."

"They’re delicious priorities."

Grace sighed again while Nicolas folded his arms stubbornly.

"I still don’t believe she’s changed."

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

Nicolas frowned deeply.

"Because people don’t suddenly become nice."

Grace patiently replied, "Sometimes they do."

"Not this suddenly."

Jonathan blinked.

"Dad... it’s been almost a month."

"Exactly."

"...That’s not sudden."

"It is."

Both Grace and Jonathan exchanged confused glances.

Nicolas continued with complete seriousness.

"If someone is kind for one month, they could simply be practicing."

"Practicing... what?" Jonathan asked cautiously.

"Being nice."

Silence filled the room. Grace opened her mouth before quietly closing it again.

Jonathan scratched his head. "Dad... do you hear yourself?"

"I do."

"And you still think that makes sense?"

"It makes perfect sense."

Grace rubbed her temples. "Father, that’s not how people work."

Nicolas refused to budge.

"I’ve lived longer than both of you. Experience tells me to stay suspicious."

Jonathan couldn’t help himself. "So... how long does she have to stay nice before you believe her?"

Nicolas thoughtfully stroked his chin as though calculating the answer to life’s greatest mystery.

"Hmm..."

Grace and Jonathan leaned forward expectantly.

"Ten years."

"..."

Jonathan nearly fell off his chair. "Ten years?!"

Nicolas nodded with absolute confidence. "If she’s still kind after ten years, then I’ll consider the possibility that she isn’t pretending."

Grace stared at him in speechless disbelief. "Father... do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"It sounds perfectly reasonable."

Jonathan threw his hands into the air. "No wonder Mom always called you the hardest nut to crack."

Nicolas calmly picked up another pastry. "I’ll happily remain a hard nut."

He took another satisfied bite before adding, "But I never said I wouldn’t keep eating her desserts."

Grace and Jonathan could only stare at him, completely stunned by the old man’s flawless ability to separate desserts from daughters-in-law.

Grace and Jonathan knew there was no point trying to change Nicolas’ mind.

The old man was simply too stubborn.

If he had decided not to trust Clara, no amount of reasoning would convince him otherwise.

In the end, they gave up and decided to let time speak for itself.

My poor daughter-in-law...

Grace silently prayed.

May God give you enough patience to deal with Father.

Completely unaware of Grace’s heartfelt prayer, Clara was several miles away inside the bakery...

"Achoo!"

She sneezed so hard that everyone instinctively turned to look at her.

"..."

"Achoo!!"

"..."

"Achoo!!!"

After the third sneeze in a row, Clara slammed both palms on the counter.

"Who in the world has a death wish?!"

The bakery instantly fell silent.

Everyone exchanged awkward glances before lowering their heads and pretending to be extremely busy.

Not a single soul dared answer.

Clara rubbed her nose with a sniff.

"I swear someone’s talking behind my back."

One of the bakers almost nodded before wisely stopping himself.

Nope... I’m not getting involved.

Taking a deep breath, Clara finally calmed down.

Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she’d had with Dominic earlier.

She had been worried about the livestream affecting the bakery’s future business, but Dominic had dismissed her concerns with complete confidence.

He had assured her that Sterling Group wasn’t so fragile that it would lose everything because of one livestream.

Then, with his usual calm expression, he had added,

"Even if you lose a few deals, you’ll still be rich."

She had blinked.

"How?"

"Because your husband has no intention of stopping work."

The memory instantly brought a smile to her face.

"My husband really knows how to make people feel better."

The uneasiness in her heart melted away.

Just then, Lily walked over carrying a beautiful bouquet.

"Madam, these are the flowers you asked for."

"Perfect. Thank you."

Clara accepted the bouquet before quickly packing up her things.

Seeing how hurried she looked, Lily tilted her head.

"Are you heading somewhere, Madam?"

"Mm."

Clara smiled mysteriously.

"I’ll be back later."

Without another word, she grabbed her handbag and left the bakery.

Lily watched until Clara’s car disappeared from sight before returning to the kitchen.

The moment she stepped inside, she lowered her voice dramatically.

"Girls... do you think Madam is going on a date with Master? She even asked me to prepare flowers."

Silvia paused in the middle of decorating a cake.

"That’s odd."

She frowned thoughtfully.

"As far as I know, Master isn’t exactly the romantic type who enjoys flowers."

Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"Right! Sterling Mansion has a garden bigger than some parks, yet I’ve never seen him stop to admire a single rose."

The two looked even more puzzled.

Without looking up from the bread she was arranging, Gen spoke calmly.

"Those flowers aren’t for Mr. Sterling."

Both women immediately turned toward her.

"What do you mean?" Silvia asked.

Before Gen could answer, Lily suddenly gasped.

Her eyes widened dramatically.

"Oh no..."

"Don’t tell me Madam is secretly meeting her ex-boyfriend!"

Silvia stared at her in disbelief.

"...Your imagination deserves an award."

Gen let out a helpless sigh.

"They’re for Madam’s mother."

The kitchen fell quiet.

Gen finally looked up.

"Today is the anniversary of her mother’s passing. She visits her grave every year."

Realization dawned on both women.

Lily’s exaggerated expression instantly disappeared.

"Oh..."

Silvia awkwardly coughed.

"So... we completely misunderstood."

"We did," Lily admitted, looking embarrassed.

Before either of them could dwell on the guilt, they suddenly narrowed their eyes at Gen.

"Hold on."

Silvia folded her arms.

"How do you know that?"

Lily pointed at her suspiciously.

"Yeah! You know an awful lot about Madam."

Silvia leaned closer with a grin.

"Did the two of you secretly become friends behind our backs?"

Lily nodded dramatically.

"Confess! Did you make some secret friendship pact while we weren’t looking?"

Gen looked at the pair before letting out a long, tired sigh.

"...You two really have too much free time."

Lily and Silvia exchanged triumphant grins.

That response only made them more convinced they were onto something.

Gen simply shook her head.

Sometimes, dealing with hundreds of customers in a day was far easier than dealing with two hopelessly curious coworkers.

***

Clara soon arrived at the cemetery and stopped in front of Diana’s tombstone.

A gentle breeze swept across the quiet grounds as she knelt down, placing the fresh bouquet beside the grave.

"Mom..." she whispered softly.

She carefully removed the dried flowers that had been left there during her last visit before replacing them with the fresh ones.

"Are you upset that I don’t come to see you every day anymore?"

A faint smile appeared on her face.

Back then, after Diana passed away, there hadn’t been a single day when Clara failed to visit her. Even after Vincent took her into the Hayes family, she would secretly return to the cemetery because this was the only place where she could find peace.

But ever since marrying Dominic, today was her first visit in quite some time.

"I’m sorry."

She gently brushed the dust from the tombstone.

"But... weren’t you the one who always told me not to keep living in the past?"

Her eyes softened as she recalled her mother’s words during her final days.

"Don’t let your pain become your entire life, Clara. Promise me you’ll find your own happiness."

Back then, she had never truly understood what Diana meant.

Now she finally did.

Taking a deep breath, Clara smiled.

"I’m happy now, Mom."

"I finally found someone who truly loves me."

The moment Dominic’s face appeared in her mind, the smile on her lips grew even warmer.