My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 1176

Amelia could see this coming. She reached out and gently rubbed Dennis’s back, her voice warm and calm. “I know, I know. But I’m not lying to you. I promise, I would never do that.”

Dennis wiped his tears with the back of his hand, sniffling. “But Grandpa won’t help me. Mom got taken away by bad people, and he just won’t do anything. Auntie, what should I do?”

Amelia’s eyes softened. She hugged him a little tighter. “Don’t worry. Wait until I get back, and I’ll help you figure something out, okay?”

Dennis looked up at her, his eyes all red and puffy. “But what else can we even do?”

She smiled gently. “Just keep talking to Grandpa. Like I told you before, don’t give up. When I come back, I’ll tell you what to do next.”

Dennis frowned, his little eyebrows scrunched together. “But Auntie, Grandpa is so strict… Do I really have to? I’m scared. What if he uses the family ruler on me?”

The Lane family’s “family law” was a thick, old ruler, passed down for generations. Every Lane kid who grew up in the main house had gotten a taste of it. Even Kevin and Andrew hadn’t escaped it. Dennis had always been a bit mischievous, so he’d felt its sting plenty of times, on his hands, on his back. He always cried a lot, but Kevin never let up. Dennis had always been terrified of that ruler.

This time, Kevin was clearly upset, and Dennis was scared he’d get punished again if he made too much trouble.

Amelia ran her hand over the back of his head, speaking softly. “Dennis, don’t you want to bring your mom home?”

He immediately sat up a little straighter. “Of course I do!”

“Then trust me,” Amelia said, her voice low. “Don’t be scared. It’s just the ruler. It’ll hurt, but you can handle it. Grandpa loves you. Even if he does use it, he’d never let anything really bad happen to you. Just think of this as a challenge. If you get through it, your mom will come back. Okay?”

Amelia shut the door and carefully walked to the edge of the upstairs landing, checking downstairs. Kevin was still sitting on the sofa with his back to her, exactly where he’d been before. He hadn’t noticed anything.

She let out a breath, smoothed her clothes, and headed down the stairs. When she got to the living room, she tried to sound casual. “Grandpa, I’m heading out now.”

Kevin made a sound of acknowledgment, then looked up from his newspaper and eyed her outfit. His brows slowly pulled together. “You’re going out dressed like that?”

Amelia was wearing a comfy tracksuit, a big puffer jacket over it, her hair in a high ponytail, and barely any makeup. She looked more like she was about to go jogging than to a matchmaking date.

Honestly, she couldn’t stand this whole surprise blind date thing. Just agreeing to show up was already more than enough effort. There was no way she was going to dress up for it, and she figured this outfit showed plenty of respect already.