Cade shook his head, as he wasn't expecting his father to do it like that. "If you do so, then you will be caught you are in a fake marriage. And then grandmother would be on your back again!"
"Oh~" Logan was quite surprised to hear that from his son. He thought that the other would admonish him and refuse for him to share a room with Briar, but it didn't seem to be the case.
"Since you want those people off your back, then better act pretty well. Only when they believe it, can they leave you alone!" Cade didn't forget to add that, ignoring his father's shock.
Lyra also added, "And before you are sure about whether you want to spend the rest of your life with nanny Briar. No, second mother, don't overstep your boundaries. She is a good person and we can't have her suffer because of your selfishness. Did you even ask her in the first place or did you take advantage of her and just order to sign the contract?" Lyra suddenly narrowed her eyes as she thought of her sly father.
Her father was gentle when he was at home. The second he leaves the mansion gates; he would turn into an asura. Even her cousins were afraid of him. They used to be scared of him, but with their second mother's urging; they got to know him more and now were less scared of him.
Second mother Briar was a softie and now she believed that her father might have coerced her to enter the marriage.
Logan, who had been accused of a crime he didn't commit, looked at his children and wondered whether they were his or someone else's.
How could they see him in such a manner?
He was innocent. He didn't coerce her at all. She signed her name willingly. He remembered that part very well. When did it turn to him being the bad guy?
Unfortunately, the kids were just starting.
The butler amusedly listened as the kids courageously roasted their father, leaving the man who was known to be ruthless and not to be trifled with, at a loss for words.
To think that these kids a few hours ago were busy condemning the second madam, but now their allegiance had shifted and was now against their father. He had a feeling that it was going to be cheerful at the house from now on.
***
Meanwhile, upstairs, Briar regretted it as she slept on the bed.
'Why did I lash out at Lyra?'
'What if I scared them and made them think that this is how I am from now on? How am I going to change this?'
Briar wanted to cry badly as she regretted letting her anger off the leash.
Before Lyra exposed her and unmasked the insecurities, she had been doing her best to pretend as if they weren't there. She had forgotten that her temper was never good.
Every time she gets angry, she always does her best to keep to herself and calm herself until she is okay. However, Lyra just had to come to her at that moment. And thinking about her shameless parents and everything that happened in Ascot, she exploded.
The thought of Logan looking at her with admonition and disappointment, Briar just wanted to bury herself deep into the ground.
'I should have accepted the charms!' she thought to herself.
With them, even if they don't like her, they would be forced to do so.
How could she mess up on the first day like that?
As she was beating herself like that, a childish voice called out to her and she froze as she listened to it.
"Second mother. It's me, Tee! Are you not going to see me?"
It was Tiana, the only child in the family who still calls her that even when she continues to refuse it.
She really loved being called second mother, but the thought of being complacent and exposing herself, which might have led to getting kicked out of the family, made her continue to reject anyone calling her this kind of title.
But who would have known that her dream would come true?
Hearing Tiana calling her second mother, tears started streaming down her cheeks.
'She doesn't hate me. She likes me. She wants me to be her mother!' that's all she could think about as she climbed down the bed before rushing to open the door.
How could she let her dear child stand outside the door when she was inside?
"Tee, you_!" Briar's words got stuck in her mouth as she saw Tiana holding a card, grinning as she looked at her.
The card looked familiar and, seeing it in Tiana's hands; she didn't know how to react.
"Second Mother, this is my gift to you!" Tiana didn't seem to notice Briar's state at all and just stretched her hands to give the other the card in her hand.
Boom!!!!
There was an explosion in her head as soon as Tiana confirmed that the card was hers.
Briar's hands shook as she accepted the card from the little one's hands. The tears, which she had been trying to suppress a moment ago, poured down heavily, startling Tiana.
"Second Mother, are you okay? Are you sad? Did I do something wrong?" Tiana panicked when she saw Briar crying. She couldn't help but ask worriedly, thinking that it was her fault.
After all, second mother was still angry a while ago. Didn't the card work?
Briar, however, shook her head as she wiped her tears. "No, dear, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just me. I am just happy! I like it!" she gratefully said as she looked at the other.
The card in her hand was a childish portrait, something that Tiana drew when she was still in kindergarten. It was a family portrait of her family and she was among that. A sticky figure was labeled as a second mother.
To her, in the mind of the little girl, she was that important to be drawn as part of her family. How could she not be touched?
However, she rejected that card, as she found it inappropriate. She didn't want to be greedy back then, so her heart was as hard as steel.
But now, getting the card again, she felt emotional. It was more of a recognition in her heart. Tiana had accepted her as her second mother and gave her such a gift in welcoming her. How could she not be touched?
Tiana, upon hearing that, heaved with relief. She had been holding onto the card for years, and now she could finally give it to her second mother. She should need it more than her, right?
After all, there weren't a lot of photos with second mother in them.
In the future, she was going to drag everyone to take a family photo and bring it everywhere.
"Come inside. Sniff …. You will get cold out there!" Briar urged as she took Tiana's hand before pulling her into the room.
She still wasn't at ease to face Lyra and Cade. She didn't even know if Logan was back. So going downstairs was a big NO.
So, for now, as she calmed down, she was going to spend time with Tiana and continue to nurture the relationship with the other.
With Tiana's approach, she had a sudden realization.
If the other person had doubts about her, then use effort to make her change her mind.
She couldn't raise the white flag now. There was so much for her to do and achieve.
There was still a long way for her to go.
With that in mind, Briar's mood got uplifted, and she started playing with Tiana, completely unaware of the fact that Logan was downstairs.
Tiana, enjoying her second mother's company, also forgot to tell her second mother that her father had arrived already and they were talking about her.
Knock. Knock.
So, when after a while, there was a knock at the door, the two of them froze, wondering who was knocking.
When the door opened, since it wasn't locked, a tall man stepped into the room, followed by two young ones. Briar and Tiana both sat on the bed abruptly, as if they had been caught doing something wrong.
"Well! It seems that everything is going perfectly well here!" Logan said amusedly as he looked at the two on the bed who looked like kids right now.
Briar wanted to badly bury herself upon being caught by Logan in such a state.
Why did he have to see such a scene after not seeing each other for days?
Briar's habit of playing with her nails surfaced once again, and Logan's lips curled upward when he saw that.
"Lo … Mas …. Si…." Briar's words came out incoherently, making Logan chuckle lightly as he stepped forward.
Briar was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Without looking at the two kids behind him, Logan asked, "Aren't you going to apologize to your second mother?" his lips curled into a teasing smile as his gaze remained fixated on Briar.
Briar's face flushed as she looked at Logan, who was teasing her. She couldn't look him in the face, so in the end, she had to look at the two kids who were following Logan.
Honestly, it still felt like a dream right now.
Logan came back and talked to the kids about her.
They were here to apologize to her.
And what did Logan call her?
Just thinking about it, Briar found all her anger and despair vanishing just because she got recognized.
Even if the whole thing was fake and would end in three years or fewer, it still felt good hearing it coming from his mouth.
She might never be able to be called mother in a real sense in this life, but still, it felt so unbelievably good.
"Se …. Second mother, I am sorry for lashing at you earlier without understanding the whole thing!" Lyra apologized to Briar as she approached her, her voice laced with remorse.
Briar's eyes turned teary as she looked at Lyra, this proud daughter she had raised the best she could, fiddling with her fingers, and her head lowered as she said sorry.
Was this really happening?
"I... second mother, I am sorry too. I should have done something to prevent what happened earlier from happening," Cade said next, feeling remorseful for just watching without doing anything.
As the man of the house when his father wasn't there. He didn't do his duties well. If he had believed her in the first place, he wouldn't have let the argument reach to that extent.
He was at fault, and after listening to his father earlier, he understood that he was in the wrong.
He vowed to take great care of this second mother with everything that he got.
He couldn't let her give up on them and somewhat paved the way for those wolves in sheep's skin, waiting eagerly to find a way to enter the house. They couldn't let that happen.
Tiana, hearing her siblings apologizing and Briar tearing up, nudged at her as she interjected for her siblings, "Second mother. They are good kids. They came to say sorry, so can you forgive them?" speaking out for them.
Briar being surrounded like that; didn't know what to do. She felt very emotional and giddy inside. This situation had never happened before. Honestly, she felt like she was on cloud nine. She wanted to be in this moment forever.
However, she didn't dare drag the moment any longer. If she appeared to be unforgiving now, wouldn't she shoot herself in the foot?
Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, she smiled tearfully at the two as she opened her arms for them.
That was something that she always did when they were reconciling. Hugs were always the best, and at a time like this, why not hug it out and start anew?
Lyra and Cade, seeing that, both hopped towards the bed, passing their father, who was looking at everything with calmness though deep down inside, he was feeling very satisfied.
These four indeed had a deep bond. Briar didn't need to say anything and the issue was resolved. He indeed had made a wonderful choice in picking.
Briar hugged the three kids as she kissed their cheeks, making them all giggle.
"Let us not fight like that in the future, neh!"
"Um, we won't."
"Let us talk things out first and settle our differences!"
Logan watched and listened as the three young adults compromised and prepared for the future. As for Tiana, she was foolishly grinning, very happy that everyone had come together again.
After the emotional moment of the four, Briar disappeared to the bathroom where she cleaned her face before joining the kids in the dining room where food had been reheated again.
Logan joined them a moment later after changing his clothes, and with the five of them together, the first meal after exposing the marriage was served.
At dinner, table manners were always observed, though they weren't opposed to complimenting or asking about anything related to food.
So eating was something that was done very quickly. It didn't take long before the plates were wiped clean and the maids cleaned the table.
With food out of the way, the family of five went to the living room to have a family chat. That was something that Logan ordered.
With him as the head of the family, the four could only comply.
In the living room, Briar loved sitting in the comfort of the thick fur carpet surrounded by the cushions. It wasn't that she wasn't allowed to sit on the sofas, she just preferred to sit there. Since she loved it there, her loyal follower, Tiana, loved it there as well.
So, an unusual scene could be seen in the living room as the maids served some beverages and snacks for the family to munch on during their talk.
Logan sat on his exclusive single sofa while Lyra and Cade sat on the double sofa, while Briar and Tiana both sat on the carpet holding plush cushions.
When the maids finished serving the drinks, they all excused themselves, leaving the five to themselves once again.
"Ahem .. ahem," Logan started by clearing his throat, bringing all the attention to himself.
With all eyes on him, he started addressing the family. Something that he didn't see himself doing for a long time in the future. He wasn't really good at doing this.
"I will be quick and get this over with swiftly," he said as he looked at his children and new contract wife, Briar. "Tonight, we were supposed to announce this marriage to the three of you, but since the deed has been done already, then I will just officially announce it. Me and Briar we got married, and we hope that you kids will support us."
Briar, listening to that, felt the heat rising to her ears. How could he say something like that so easily like that?
The kids, seeing her getting shy, stifled their laughter but didn't dare utter a sound. Their second mother would definitely not let them go if they teased her after everything that had happened that day. They could only cool it off for now.
"I expect you to respect each other, and if there is anything that worries you, she is there for you. Just like how she had been taking care of you from the beginning, she would continue that way," Logan sincerely hoped that all of them would adapt quickly to this new relationship.
Only that way would it be very smooth between them. In the future, when they go out as a family, everyone will believe in this façade. He didn't want to have targets on his back anymore.
Briar's heart sank when she heard Logan's words.
'He must have told the kids that we are fake. Just listen to what he is saying. It's more of an upgrade, huh!' she felt very disappointed, but what else could she do?
In the end, just like the kids, she accepted whatever Logan said until the meeting was over.
With the meeting over, it was time for her to continue with her nanny duties.
"It's late, dear. Let's go and get ready for bed," Briar softly said as she pulled Tiana with her.
It was still midweek, with classes for the three kids. And as students, these kids were supposed to be in bed before 10 pm without fail. And that time was slowly approaching.
Tiana was a kid she grew up sending to bed every day. And since she was the youngest, it took longer to make her sleep. So usually around 9 pm, that's when she would take her to bed. At least after telling her a story and singing a song, the little girl would sleep deeply and wake up the next day.
"I want to sleep with you today!" Tiana excitedly said as she looked at Briar with her big eyes, however a chilly aura suddenly hit her.
Wondering what was going on, she turned to look in the direction where the ominous feeling was coming from, and she just happened to come face to face with her father, who was glaring at her.
Seeing her father glaring at her like that, she was not a small child who didn't understand some issues.
'Very stingy! Umph, hoarding second mother to himself now that he married her! very stingy!' she complained inwardly as she sulked, turning to follow her second mother.
Why bother looking at her stinky father? At that moment, she really hated him.
Lyra and Cade, witnessing that, held their hands over their mouths as they fled from the living room.
This kind of battleground wasn't a place they wanted to be at a moment like this.
Let the eldest and the youngest go hard on it.
As for them, they still wanted their allowances badly
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