Theodore Quinn, however, seed oblivious to her stare. He unhurriedly brushed a bit of lint from his sleeve and said to Seth Quinn, "Seth, you can go handle it."
Seth Quinn nodded. "Alright."
Since Theodore Quinn had spoken, Sienna Hale didn’t dare to object. She could only watch with lingering reluctance as Seth Quinn walked out the door without a single glance back.
Only after he was out of sight did she turn to her husband and complain, "Theodore, if you want to investigate Autumn, then fine. But you should be persuading Seth to divorce that Clara Grant right away."
Theodore Quinn glanced up at her and said coolly, "There’s no need. Don’t you know your own son? Ever since he was a child, once he sets his mind on sothing, how often has he ever listened to reason? Besides, there’s no rush. Let’s wait and see for now."
He might not have been in a rush, but Sienna Hale certainly was. "Wait and see what? How can the Quinn Family possibly welco a daughter-in-law with a background like hers? Just think about it, Clara Grant is an illegitimate child! And not just any illegitimate child, but one with an unknown father.
"Yes, it was a tragedy that Skylar Hayes was assaulted all those years ago. It wasn’t her fault; she was the victim, and Clara Grant is even more innocent in the matter. But her biological father... he’s a monster! So naturally, she’s dragged down by association, and her reputation is tarnished."
"People aren’t going to care about her beast of a father, who’s long gone. All the whispers and vicious rumors will be directed at her. And since she married into our Quinn Family, all that gossip is going to fall on us."
"The Quinn Family is one of the most prominent families in the city; all of Novaria has its eyes on us. How will we be able to show our faces then?"
"Then what do you suggest? They’re already married. It may be a secret marriage, but they’re legally registered. While the Quinn Family has no ancestral rule forbidding divorce, just look at our relatives. How many of those who’ve divorced have had a good outco?
"Let’s talk about the more distant ones first. My third grand-uncle divorced, and his business imdiately went into decline. He was bankrupt within a few years. And more recently, you know about my eldest cousin. After his divorce, not only did his business prospects worsen, but his sons ended up in car accidents, falling gravely ill, or getting hooked on drugs... His entire family was shattered."
"Conversely, all the ones who stayed married have continued to do quite well."
Sienna Hale knew all of this, of course, and her conviction wavered. She seed caught in a dilemma. "Then... what do you think we should do?"
Theodore Quinn looked at his wife and said, "You said it yourself just now. Both Clara and her mother are innocent in all of this. Why should we be the ones to rub salt in their wounds? Besides, the Quinn Family has weathered countless storms to get where we are today. Are we really going to let a bit of gossip bother us?
"So, the important thing now is to see what kind of person Clara is—whether she has good character, whether she can withstand the pressure, and whether she’s fit to be the matriarch of the Quinn Family."
As he spoke, he glanced at his wife, took her hand, and patted it reassuringly. He smiled. "But I have faith in Seth’s judgnt. The woman he chose... I doubt he made a mistake."
Although Sienna Hale couldn’t argue with his logic, she was still reluctant to concede. "But... no matter how you look at it, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Quinn Family must, at the very least, co from an untarnished background..."
"Yes, Autumn has a perfectly clean background. The proper eldest daughter of the Shelby Family," he conceded. "But what good did that do? Didn’t she run off without a word? Whatever her reasons were, she thoroughly embarrassed the Quinn Family back then."
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