Chapter 36
Mariah nodded as she thought the same.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Briley said, while gently patting Abby’s head. Then she continued, “However, I have a small request. Since Paige is still quite young, I hope she can wait for three or four years before having children. To be honest, Abby is still a kid, and I would worry that once Paige and Allen have a child, they might inadvertently neglect Abby. Let Abby grow a bit older before considering it.”
Mira understood instantly. She glanced at her sister, who also appeared surprised. It seemed that the Duncan family hadn’t discussed it with Paige beforehand.
She quickly looked at Allen and noticed that after a brief moment of surprise, he seemed to ponder for a few seconds and then fell silent, indicating that he agreed with his parents’ decision.
Romeo said, “Paige is now 24 years old, so waiting for three or four years, she’ll only be 27 or 28. She’s still young.”
“Since you are concerned about your granddaughter, why didn’t you let your son wait for three or four years before remarrying back then?” Mariah retorted, feeling angry.
The atmosphere in the private room froze in an instant.
Briley and Romeo didn’t look good.
They were a dean and professor for many years, so many people treated them with respect and politeness.
Paige’s parents appeared to be nouveau riche.
“Mom, Dad, please don’t misunderstand,” Allen quickly intervened, “My parents are concerned because I’ve just returned to the country recently, my job isn’t completely stable yet, and I am occupied at the moment. If we have a child right now, it will be challenging to take care of both of them. They didn’t mean anything else by it.”
“If Paige really wants children, I don’t mind,” Briley said calmly. “As long as she can take care of them without disturbing Allen’s work. I have only one request. Don’t mistreat my granddaughter.”
The implication was that Paige could do as she pleased, but if she wanted children, she had to quietly stay at home and act as a full-time nanny to take care of the kids.
Mariah chuckled in exasperation, “Since you’ve made a request, let me make one too. You take care of your granddaughter yourselves. To be honest, I didn’t mind my daughter looking after your granddaughter. But you cherish your granddaughter so much, and there can be conflicts between her own mother and her stepmother when they live together. Besides, stepmothers often face criticism. So it’s better if you take care of her yourselves to prevent your granddaughter from feeling wronged and causing trouble for my daughter.”
“Stop arguing. Paige doesn’t want to take care of Abby, right? Fine, if it weren’t for her saying she’d treat Abby like her own daughter, we wouldn’t have agreed to let our son marry her,” Briley retorted.
“If it weren’t for my daughter secretly going to the City Hall with Allen behind my back, do you think I would have agreed to her marrying a divorced man with a child?” Mariah said with a sneer.
“My son has been married before, but with our family’s status, you should know your daughter is climbing the social ladders,” said Briley.
“Huh, how ridiculous. Are you suggesting that the Duncan, family is of royal blood or something?”
“Shallow-minded and short-sighted.” Briley rolled her eyes.
“Mom, please stop,” Allen urged, feeling a headache.
“Mom, you too.” Paige felt overwhelmed and never expected a simple family dinner to turn into such a situation.
Suddenly, Abby, who had been silent all along, stood up in tears and cried out, “Please stop arguing. It’s all because of me. I’m just a burden. If I weren’t here, things would be better.”
After saying that, she pushed her chair back, covered her eyes, and rushed out of the private room, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Abby…” Briley chased after her instantly.
Allen’s expression changed too, and he followed them quickly.
Romeo hesitated for a moment and glanced at Paige when he left. He said, “Paige, if I had known your family was like this, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here.”
