As soon as she got upstairs, Grandma came over to greet her.

"Grandma."

Sophia Shaw called out.

Grandma answered warmly, her gaze immediately falling on Bun. "Is this my great-granddaughter? She’s adorable, just too adorable."

Although Old Mrs. Grant had several great-grandchildren through her daughters, she had pitifully few paternal great-grandsons and great-granddaughters.

There were only Cedric Grant and Cheryl Grant.

Even Old Mrs. Grant, who had weathered hails of bullets alongside Elder Grant, was utterly smitten with the soft and delicate Bun.

"GOO GOO, GA GA."

Bun looked at Old Mrs. Grant with her big, pearl-black eyes and babbled away, as if she were giving a serious response.

This sent Old Mrs. Grant into another fit of laughter.

After laughing for a while, Old Mrs. Grant finally noticed Vincent Grant standing a short distance away. Her face darkened. "What are you doing standing there? Trying to be an eyesore?"

"Well, get lost!"

Vincent Grant took the scolding from Old Mrs. Grant without complaint.

As the senior sister-in-law of her generation, Eleanor Crawford still had guests to attend to and had gone downstairs earlier.

Old Mrs. Grant pulled Sophia Shaw and Bun into her room, shutting the door right in Vincent Grant’s face.

Sophia Shaw knew that the old woman was taking her side.

Only after closing the door did Old Mrs. Grant turn to Sophia Shaw. "Grandma knows you like your peace and quiet and don’t care for all the commotion, so I specifically asked Eleanor to keep an eye on things for you."

"You just stay up here. You can come down with me later when it’s time for dinner."

"Okay," Sophia Shaw replied obediently.

Ever since her first day in the Grant family home, Old Mrs. Grant had taken excellent care of her.

People outside were spreading all sorts of rumors, saying her mother had destroyed a family, and that she was just as treacherous and shameless for ruining the relationship between Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman.

Grandma had never taken those words to heart, nor had she ever given her the cold shoulder because of them.

Sophia Shaw had always been deeply grateful to Old Mrs. Grant.

"Grandma, this is my gift for you."

Sophia Shaw took out an exquisitely wrapped little box.

She slid the box open, revealing the exceedingly valuable Jujube Birthday Clothes inside.

It was a local custom to give the elderly "Birthday Clothes" on their birthdays, symbolizing a wish for more fortune and a longer life.

Sophia Shaw had commissioned a master artisan to embroider the ’Longevity’ character on the clothes, one stitch at a time.

Old Mrs. Grant was absolutely delighted, but she said, "Vincent Grant already gave me a set. There was no need for you to give one too."

Sophia Shaw pursed her lips. "His is his, and mine is mine."

’We’re getting a divorce. I don’t want any financial entanglements with Vincent Grant.’

Old Mrs. Grant understood the implication behind her words, and a pang of sadness struck her heart.

In truth, she hadn’t liked Sophia Shaw at first, but the more time she spent with her, the more she discovered her wonderful qualities.

She was unassuming, meticulous, and conscientious, not at all the terrible person the rumors made her out to be.

The more she got to know her, the fonder she became.

Old Mrs. Grant said no more and had Mrs. Donovan, who had cared for her for many years, place the item in her wardrobe chest.

The wardrobe chest was usually reserved for her most important possessions, which was a clear sign of how much Old Mrs. Grant treasured Sophia Shaw’s gift.

Soon, it was time for dinner, and Eleanor Crawford came upstairs to fetch them.

Sophia Shaw carried Bun, and Eleanor Crawford helped Old Mrs. Grant down the stairs.

Downstairs, every table was full except for the head table.

Due to his special status, Elder Grant was not in attendance, even though it was Old Mrs. Grant’s birthday banquet.

Eleanor Crawford helped Old Mrs. Grant to the seat of honor.

Holding Bun, Sophia Shaw planned to go squeeze in at one of the other tables.

"Faye, come sit with Grandma," Old Mrs. Grant called out.

Sophia Shaw felt awkward.

’The head table should be for the elders. Julian Grant is still standing, so how could I possibly go sit there?’

"Come on." Old Mrs. Grant took her hand. "Our family doesn’t have so many rules. We’re not so rigid. Everyone can sit wherever they please."

Since the guest of honor had spoken, no one dared to object.

Cedric Grant was at the children’s table, so there was no need to worry about him.

The others found their own seats.

"Vincent Grant!"

After sitting down, Old Mrs. Grant called out to Vincent Grant, "Your wife is holding the baby. You’re the husband, aren’t you going to lend her a hand?"

"It’s okay, I can manage on my own." Sophia Shaw really didn’t want Vincent Grant to think she had complained to his grandmother to force him to hold the baby.

"I’ll take her." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Her arms suddenly felt empty as Vincent Grant took Bun from her.

Vincent Grant had helped raise Cedric Grant from a young age, so he was extremely skilled at holding a child.

But Bun just kept kicking her little legs and began to whimper.

Sophia Shaw wanted to take her back, but Vincent Grant had already sat down beside her. "Let’s eat."

He gently patted Bun’s back. "Mommy needs to eat. Baby doesn’t want Mommy to go hungry, does she?"

Bun seemed to understand his words. Although her big, round eyes were still tinged with reluctance, she stopped squirming.

Sophia Shaw quietly watched Bun in Vincent Grant’s arms.

’She had once dreamed of seeing Bun held in her own father’s arms, but she never imagined it would happen like this.’

’If Old Mrs. Grant hadn’t forced him, he probably would have remained too disdainful to touch his own daughter.’

The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart became.

She felt sad for Bun.

Not wanting to cause a scene with the baby and upset Grandma, Sophia Shaw didn’t ask for her back and just sat quietly beside Vincent Grant.

She kept her head down, trying to make herself as small as possible, silently spooning rice into her mouth.

"Faye, it’s not convenient for Vincent to get food while he’s holding the baby. You should serve him," Old Mrs. Grant said, gently turning the lazy Susan to bring Vincent’s favorite dishes in front of Sophia.

Sophia Shaw glanced at Vincent Grant.

’Maybe he’d gotten used to it from holding Joanna Sherman’s child; he could eat just fine even while holding a baby in one arm.’

Not wanting to disobey Old Mrs. Grant, she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and placed it in his bowl.

Vincent Grant accepted it readily.

"Get me some vegetables."

Resigned, Sophia Shaw placed a large helping of vegetables onto Vincent Grant’s side plate.

"That’s more like it." Old Mrs. Grant was extremely pleased. "A husband and wife should support each other."

"Vincent, Faye runs this household and has given you a child. It’s not easy, so you need to treat her better."

"I know."

Vincent Grant’s reply was earnest.

’But Sophia Shaw saw the situation with perfect clarity.’

’Vincent was only acting this way because he didn’t want to ruin his grandmother’s birthday banquet. She couldn’t take it to heart.’

’She knew what her grandmother-in-law was trying to do—convince them not to get a divorce.’

After the meal, the guests began to disperse.

Only those at the head table remained.

As long as Old Mrs. Grant didn’t leave, no one else felt it was right to get up.

Old Mrs. Grant’s gaze swept over everyone before landing on Sophia Shaw and Vincent Grant. "You two came all this way. Don’t go back tonight. Stay here."

Just as Sophia Shaw was about to refuse, Skye Sutton, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "You should indeed stay. If you try to head back this late, you won’t reach Crestfall until tomorrow morning."

"No matter how strict the Grant family’s discipline is, we can’t have our children and grandchildren celebrate a birthday in secret only to have to rush home in the dead of night."

The Grant estate and Crestfall were in different provinces.

It was a rule that Vincent Grant’s business operations could not be within the Grant family’s sphere of influence.

"Besides, I’m just living one day at a time. The next time you visit, it will probably be for my funeral."

Skye Sutton was well aware that she would likely pass away before Old Mrs. Grant.

With her having said that, how could Sophia Shaw possibly insist on leaving? She could only let Vincent Grant make the decision.

"Okay," Vincent Grant agreed without hesitation.

’Since he was willing to stay, she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut, no matter how much she didn’t want to.’

Skye Sutton was extremely frail and had to be supported by others to get around.

Still, she asked Vincent Grant to bring Bun closer for her to have a look.

Vincent Grant complied.

Skye Sutton carefully studied Bun’s features. "What a striking resemblance. She looks exactly like our Vincent did as a child."

Sophia’s eyelid twitched, and she couldn’t help but look at Vincent Grant.

Vincent Grant’s expression remained placid, but she still managed to catch his fleeting frown.

Another pang shot through her heart.

’He can’t even stand to hear that his daughter resembles him.’

As Skye Sutton said this, her gaze shot provocatively toward Julian Grant.

"Sophia Shaw is as capable as I am. She has blessed the Grant family with new life and knows how to keep the Grant men in line."