Rebirth: My CEO Husband's Thoughts Are Too Shameless

"Aren’t you getting in?"

Grace looked at Clara in confusion when she continued standing outside the car instead of getting in.

Clara smiled sheepishly. After everything that had happened inside the boutique, she had come to one conclusion.

Grace Sterling had an incredibly soft heart. Although she acted strict and dignified, she had stood up for Clara without hesitation when everyone else was ready to suspect her.

That alone had earned Grace several points in Clara’s heart.

"I’ll head out from here," Clara said with a smile.

Grace frowned. "Aren’t you going home?"

Clara shook her head. "I have somewhere else to be."

She had wanted to tell Grace about the bakery she had opened. But...the business had only recently started, and she didn’t think it was successful enough to proudly show it off yet.

Still, that didn’t stop her from inviting her. She opened her handbag, pulled out a neatly printed brochure, and handed it to Grace.

"If you ever have time..." she smiled warmly. "Please come visit my bakery."

Grace accepted the brochure before looking down at it. Her brows slowly rose.

"A bakery?" She looked back at Clara.

"When did you open one?"

Clara scratched the back of her head. "Not long ago."

Grace was genuinely surprised. She had always believed Clara was the type of spoiled young woman who spent her father’s money without a second thought.

After all, that was the impression Vincent Hayes’s wife and Julian had repeatedly given the Sterling family for the time being.

Yet today... everything she had witnessed painted a completely different picture.

Not only had Clara arrived wearing an ordinary dress despite being Mrs Sterling... she had also quietly started a business of her own.

’Is my son running out of money that he allowed his wife to work’

Grace wasn’t that old-fashioned lady who would stop Clara from working. But the impression she had of hers made her think she would carelessly spend Dominic’s fortune until he goes bankrupt.

Before Grace could say anything, Clara spoke again with an innocent smile.

"I heard you like desserts."

Grace blinked. "...Who told you that?"

Clara smiled mysteriously. "I have my sources." She then pointed at the brochure.

"So whenever you visit... I’ll give you a discount."

Grace stared at her for a few seconds.

"...A discount?" She looked at Clara in disbelief.

"I’m your mother-in-law."

Clara nodded seriously. "Exactly. So I’ll give you a family discount."

Grace was speechless.

"...Shouldn’t family get free desserts?"

Clara immediately looked conflicted. "Free?"

She placed a hand over her chest dramatically. "Mom... my bakery has only just opened. If I start giving everything away for free..." She sighed exaggeratedly. "We’ll both have to survive on plain bread."

"...."

Hahaha...

For the first time that day... Grace laughed.

It was soft. Brief. But unmistakably genuine.

Clara’s eyes lit up. "You laughed!"

Grace instantly cleared her throat and regained her composure.

"I did not."

"You definitely did."

"I didn’t."

"You even smiled."

Grace calmly closed the car door.

"I think you’re seeing things."

Clara giggled before giving her a small bow.

"Take care, Mom."

Then she turned and walked away.

Grace watched her disappearing figure through the window for a long moment.

Only after Clara was out of sight did she lower her gaze to the brochure in her hand.

A small smile unconsciously tugged at the corner of her lips.

"...Family discount?"

She shook her head helplessly.

"What a strange girl."

Grace watched as Clara hailed a cab by the side of the road.

Only after making sure Clara had safely gotten into the taxi did she instruct the chauffeur to drive away.

The car slowly pulled into traffic and disappeared from sight.

Unbeknownst to them...

Another pair of eyes had been watching everything from a distance.

Julian stood hidden behind the tinted glass of her own car, her gaze fixed on the road where Clara’s taxi had just disappeared.

Her expression was unusually grim.

Earlier, when Clara insisted on checking the surveillance footage, Julian had genuinely believed it was over for her.

For one terrifying moment, she thought all of her schemes would be exposed.

Fortunately, Clara had unexpectedly dropped the matter after the missing ruby was found.

Although Grace had refused to buy anything from the boutique and left in anger, the surveillance footage had never been reviewed.

Julian had escaped by sheer luck.

But instead of feeling relieved...

She was confused.

The Clara she knew would never have let an opportunity to humiliate someone slip away.

Yet today, she had done exactly that.

"What are you planning, Clara?" Julian murmured under her breath.

The more she replayed everything that had happened, the more unsettled she became.

Clara’s personality had changed so drastically that she almost felt like a completely different person.

More importantly...

Grace’s attitude was changing as well.

Julian clenched her fists.

Grace was supposed to dislike Clara.

She was supposed to reject her.

Instead...

She had openly defended Clara in front of everyone.

Even after leaving the boutique, the atmosphere between them had been surprisingly peaceful.

That wasn’t how things were supposed to unfold.

Julian’s eyes darkened as she watched Clara’s taxi disappear into the distance while Grace’s car headed in the opposite direction.

"No..."

She slowly tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

"I need to find out what you’re hiding."

Without another moment’s hesitation, Julian started her car and quietly followed Clara’s taxi from a safe distance.

***

Twenty minutes later, the taxi came to a stop outside the bakery.

Clara paid the driver, thanked him, and stepped onto the sidewalk.

She had barely taken two steps when she froze.

Her eyes widened.

"...What?"

A long line of customers stretched from the bakery entrance all the way down the street.

For a few seconds, Clara simply stood there, staring blankly.

Then she looked up at the bakery sign.

Then back at the crowd.

Then at the sign again.

"...Did I get into the wrong place?"

She blinked several times before muttering to herself,

"Holy crap..."

"Did my bakery go viral overnight?"

"Why are there so many people?"

Her jaw nearly hit the floor.

She even rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

"Nope..."

"They’re still there."

She looked around suspiciously.

"Is someone giving away free gold?"

One customer happened to overhear her and laughed.

"No! We’re all here for your desserts!"

"My... desserts?"

Clara pointed at herself in disbelief.

"Mine?"

Just then, Lily spotted her from inside the bakery.

"Madam!"

Without wasting another second, Lily rushed out of the shop, weaving through the crowd at lightning speed.

By the time she reached Clara, she was completely out of breath.

"Madam..."

She bent over, resting her hands on her knees.

"There’s an emergency!"

Clara’s expression immediately turned serious.

"What happened?"

Lily grabbed Clara’s arm dramatically.

"We’re sold out!"

"..."

Clara blinked.

"...That’s the emergency?"

Lily nodded frantically.

"Everything’s gone!"

"The cheesecakes!"

"Gone!"

"The cookies!"

"Gone!"

"The brownies!"

"Gone!"

"The tiramisu!"

"Gone!"

She took a deep breath before nearly crying.

"And there are still forty-three customers waiting outside!"

Clara stared at her for a moment.

Then she looked at the long queue. Then back at Lily.

"..."

"...Is this what successful people feel like?"

Lily nearly burst into tears.

"Madam!"

"This isn’t the time to be emotional! We have nothing left to sell!"