The Billionaire's Secret Quartet

"Damn it," Alaric muttered under his breath, utterly annoyed by the interruption at the most crucial moment. He had just let go of Hertha, ready to lash out, when he turned and saw a familiar face. His irritation instantly turned into embarrassment and guilt.

There, standing before him, was none other than his mother-in-law, Kimberly!

He was caught red-handed kissing her daughter, about to lead her into temptation, and now he was about to snap at Kimberly. He felt like he was seriously asking for trouble.

The harsh words that were about to escape Alaric's lips were forcefully swallowed back down.

With a guilty conscience, he muttered a low, "Kimberly."

He had wanted to call her "Mom" but feared being rejected, so he reverted to using her first name instead.

Hertha, still dazed from the kiss, lay limp in Alaric's arms, oblivious to the unfolding situation.

Kimberly said with

the kissing game? I wanna play too!" a soft, adorable voice chimed

too, me too!" another equally cute voice

from the depths

lifted her head and saw her mother frowning at her with utter disdain. The sight was shocking enough, but then she glanced down to see two angelic little faces looking up at her with innocence and excitement, as if waiting to join in

pushed Alaric away, stepping back to distance herself. To cover her embarrassment, she bent down and picked up Julian, the closest to her, and gave him a peck on his cheek, saying,

tried to sound casual,

her mother, she could imagine the look

the scene they just witnessed, but her mother certainly did. After all, she had

could she not feel shy in front of someone so wise, especially when that person was

as if she was about to climb up Hertha's leg to

was about to put Julian down to pick up Helena, Alaric beat her to it. He knelt down, scooped Helena into his arms, and gently kissed her cheek, saying, "There, game over."