Chapter 974
“I’m just amazed that pregnancy has made you smarter. Most people say pregnancy makes women forgetful for three years,” Hayden teased Keira with a rare grin.
Keira gave him a gentle kick. “Did Aaron ask you to pass on his thoughts?”
“No, it’s just what I think,” Hayden replied earnestly. He would never lie to her.
Keira sighed softly. “Love between two people isn’t something outsiders can meddle with. But maybe Aaron’s actions today will help Lena realize what’s in her heart.”
“Let’s wait and see,” Hayden said, finishing the massage before applying lotion and stretch mark cream to Keira’s belly.
“Baby, give Dad a little kick,” Hayden said, stroking her belly.
Right after he spoke, the baby really did kick. Keira couldn’t help but laugh; this little one was so obedient to their dad.
“Just a few kicks, alright? Mommy needs to sleep, so don’t bother her,” Hayden instructed.
The baby obediently kicked a few more times before settling down. Keira was curious. “I think our baby is going to be super well-behaved when they’re born.”
“Of course, just like their dad—someone who loves their mom very much,” Hayden said, leaning down to kiss her belly. “Good baby.”
He straightened up and kissed Keira too. “Don’t think about anything else now. Let’s sleep.”
Because of the pregnancy, Keira fell asleep quickly, but Lena wasn’t so lucky. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess, and she kept picking up her phone to check the news online.
She wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. Briana also came out for a glass of water and noticed Lena was still awake. “Why don’t you go upstairs to sleep? I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Mom, you couldn’t sleep either?” Lena asked.
Briana sighed and sat down beside her. Lena leaned over, resting her head on her mother’s lap. Briana clicked her tongue. “You’re so heavy.”
Even though she said that, she didn’t push her away. Instead, she gently ran her fingers through Lena’s hair. “Honestly, I’ve already accepted it in my heart, but… it still feels a bit strange.”
“Mom, do you like Uncle Aaron’s girlfriend?” Lena asked suddenly.
“Yes, I do. She’s a sweet girl—cheerful and polite, much better than you,” Briana answered, not sparing her a bit of criticism.
Lena chuckled bitterly. “Then Uncle Aaron must really like her.”
“Of course, he does. He’s almost thirty, and this is the first time he’s ever brought a girl home. We haven’t even heard about him dating anyone all these years. Your grandparents and I were starting to wonder if he’d picked up bad habits abroad, like preferring men over women,” Briana said, her imagination running wild.
“Mom, Uncle Aaron doesn’t have anything to do with the Ace family anymore. Now that he has a girlfriend, he probably won’t come around much—or maybe not at all,” Dena said, a hint of melancholy in her tone.
“That’s not possible,” Briana said, her hand pausing mid-stroke on Lena’s hair.
Chapter 974
Lena mischievously reached up to play with Briana’s hair. “Why not? Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘A married man forgets his mother’? And Uncle Aaron isn’t even blood-related to us.”
Briana froze, her expression distant as she stared into space. After a few seconds, she sighed. “What can we do about it?”
“Mom, do you like Uncle Aaron that much?” Lena asked again.
Briana’s eyes grew unfocused, lost in a memory. “Even though he calls me Sister, I’ve always thought of him as one of my own kids since the first time I saw him…”
Briana went on to recount moments from Aaron’s childhood and all the love and care she’d shown him. At the end, she admitted, “Honestly, I know I’ve loved him more than I’ve loved you.”
“Mom, if I’d known you liked him this much, I would’ve snagged him and made him your son-in-law,” Lena said boldly, not afraid to provoke her mother.
It was another test. Although Lena had tried testing her mother before and was met with a stern interrogation, this time was different. Aaron had brought his girlfriend home. Briana would probably just think Lena was joking and wouldn’t overthink it.