The scene instantly turned chaotic and filled with the piercing cries of children.
My in-laws scrambled to calm the children. They tried frantically to move from one kid to another.
"Don’t cry, sweethearts. That bad man won’t be your daddy. Grandpa and Grandma promise!"
The eldest, Robert, shot me a defiant look before pretending to be upset and said, "Grandpa, Grandma … but you can't make the final decision."
Robert sniffled and squeezed out a few crocodile tears. "I heard people say that all these years, Daddy hasn’t been able to officially become the head of the Jameson Family because Mommy wouldn’t allow it."
My in-laws froze as if suddenly realized something then turned to glare at Clara and yelled, "Clara! Say something! I'm warning you, if my precious grandson cries himself hoarse, I’ll make you pay for it!"
Clara hesitated and locked eyes with me for a brief moment before sighing as if making a difficult decision.
After a pause, she finally spoke, "Stop crying. Mommy will give you the answer you want. A real man doesn’t cry so easily. You have to set a good example for your younger siblings."
Her words were like a magic spell that instantly silenced the children.
The only one left overwhelmed with emotion was Marvin. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he said, "Clara … do you mean it? I'm not dreaming, am I?”
Clara automatically glanced at me again but said nothing.
Suddenly, Colin charged at me with a clenched fist while screaming, "I'm going to beat up the bad man to death! How dare you try to steal my mommy! I’ll kill you!"
He wasn’t even nine years old yet, but the boy weighed a solid ninety kilos.
Instinctively, I stepped aside.
He stumbled forward and crashed headfirst into the wall. Blood gushed from his nose and he immediately burst into earth-shattering sobs.
"My baby!"
Marvin let out a sharp cry before he turned on me, his face twisted in anger. "Mr. Stevenson, I know you must feel uncomfortable that I replaced you by Clara side, that I had children with her. However, if you have a problem, take it out on me! Colin is just a child! How could you take it out on him?"
For a moment, I was dumbfounded.
When I was about to speak, Clara slapped me hard with a resounding crack and said, “I thought you just needed time to adjust after getting out of prison but to think you’d actually lay a hand on a child!”