A Night of Desire-Chapter 181: I Can’t Dote on Her Enough

Clara Grant probably never would have guessed that her own mother had just sold her out without her knowing a thing.

Clearly, Skylar Hayes’s words were very much to Sienna Hale’s liking. She turned and shot her son a mock-stern glance. "Your mother-in-law has so much faith in you. Seth, aren’t you going to show your gratitude?"

Seth Quinn played along, looking at Skylar Hayes sincerely. "Thank you, Mrs. Hayes."

His use of "Mrs. Hayes" stunned everyone.

"Seth, why are you still calling her Mrs. Hayes? You and Clara are officially married; you’re husband and wife now. Don’t you know to call her something more familiar?" Hearing her son still address his mother-in-law so formally, Sienna Hale was exasperated and quickly prompted him.

’Call her something more familiar?’ That was something Seth Quinn hadn’t even considered. It had been an oversight on his part.

Just as he was about to correct himself, Skylar Hayes noticed his momentary hesitation. Thinking he wasn’t mentally prepared to make the switch, she stepped in to smooth things over. "Whether he changes what he calls me isn’t important right now. They just got married, and Seth isn’t used to it yet. It’s perfectly understandable if he feels a bit awkward..."

Before she could finish, Seth Quinn looked at her again, his expression earnest, and repeated himself. "Thank you, Mom, for trusting me and entrusting Clara to me. You can rest assured, I won’t let you down."

"...Ah... yes." Skylar Hayes was taken by surprise. Once she collected herself, she nodded again and again in affirmation.

"Seth, you said that yourself. From now on, you have to be good to Clara, you hear? If you dare to bully her, even I won’t let you off the hook."

Seth Quinn seemed to be in a good mood. A rare smile graced his lips, and his tone was casual, yet utterly serious. "How could I ever dare bully her? I’ll be too busy spoiling her."

Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Quinn, and Jenna Quinn had "known" him for over twenty years. He was the type to keep his emotions bottled up. When had they ever heard him say something so sappy?

So, the three of them froze for a moment before breaking into relieved smiles. ’It seems Seth has finally found the one.’

Although Skylar Hayes didn’t know her son-in-law very well yet, from their few interactions, she could tell he was a quiet man of few words.

A man like that wouldn’t say sweet nothings unless he was truly in love.

This only strengthened Skylar Hayes’s conviction that she hadn’t made a mistake. With Seth Quinn, Clara was sure to be happy.

"Good. You’d better remember what you said today," Sienna Hale reminded Seth Quinn, then turned to Skylar Hayes to speak up for her son.

"But Skylar, you can rest assured when it comes to Seth. He doesn’t make promises often, but when he does, he always keeps them."

She trailed off, sighing. "Sigh. It’s no wonder we parents worry so much. So many young people these days are unreliable. They talk about divorce at the drop of a hat, not taking marriage seriously at all."

"Oh, Skylar, speaking of divorce, why did you and Cedric Grant get divorced?"

The moment she said it, the entire room grew awkward. But Sienna Hale had always been a straightforward person—to put it less kindly, she often spoke without thinking. She had created the awkwardness but was completely oblivious to it.

Skylar Hayes, in particular, found the smile on her face becoming strained.

While the divorce hadn’t been her fault, the reason for it was something she could hardly bring herself to talk about. It was a lifelong pain, a lifelong shame that she never wanted to mention again. If she could, she wouldn’t even tell Clara.

Now, she certainly couldn’t tell Clara’s in-laws, because it was also tied to Clara’s parentage.

She was afraid that if she told them, the Quinn family, who had already accepted Clara, would look down on her and call off the marriage.

And as events would later prove, her fears were not unfounded.