CHAPTER 16: SECOND MOTHER 2
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