Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 148

Chapter 132

Chapter 132

(Jake’s POV)

Granny Kate isn’t mean. Not really.

She just acts mean. I don’t know why.

But when she thinks nobody’s watching, she’s nice.

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She gives money to people who need it. She makes soup for sick people. She helps families. She hangs up drawings from kids.

And I have lots, and lots of videos to prove it.

Like the fifth clip from two days ago near the side garden where hardly anyone goes.

There’s a cat. Orange. Skinny. Obviously a stray because it doesn’t have a collar and looks hungry.

Granny Kate found it while she was walking. I was following her-not sneakily, just walking behind

her and recording.

The cat meowed. Loud. The hungry kind of meow.

Granny Kate stopped. Looked at it. The cat looked back.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she told the cat.

The cat meowed again.

“This is private property. For family members and invited guests. You are neither.”

Meow.

Granny Kate sighed. A big sigh. The kind Mom makes when ask for ice cream before dinner and she knows she’s going to

4 yes even though she shouldn’t.

She sat down on a bench. Right there. In her expensive dress. On a garden bench.

Pulled out her lunch-she’d been eating a sandwich while walking-and tore off pieces of chicken.

Fed the cat. Piece by piece.

“Don’t get used to this,” she told it. “This is a one-time thing. Tomorrow you’ll have to find food

elsewhere.”

But I saw her face. She didn’t mean it.

Later that day, I heard her on the phone with someone about bringing a vet to check on “the stray

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Chapter 132

orange cat near the south garden.”

And the next morning, I saw a little shelter had been built there. With a water bowl. And food.

The cat was sleeping inside. Fat and happy.

When I made my note for this one, I wrote: Granny Kate pretends she doesn’t care about things but she does. She acts tough but she’s secretly nice. Like a superhero with a mean disguise.

Now I sit back and look at all my notes. All my clips.

Forty-three hours of footage and these are the important parts.

Not the formal dinners. Not the business talk. Not the times she was testing Mom or being strict

The times she thought nobody was watching.

That’s when you see who people actually are. Mom taught me that.

“People show you who they are when they think nobody’s looking,” she said once. “Pay attention to those moments. They tell the truth.”

I’ve been paying attention.

And the truth is: Granny Kate is a good person.

Like Tommy at school. He used to push kids on the playground. Then I found out his parents were getting divorced and he was scared. Once I knew that, his meanness made sense.

Maybe Granny Kate is scared of something too.

So after making the project file “My Angry Granny,” I start selecting clips. The ones that show the truth. The ones that show Granny Kate being secretly nice.

I’m going to make a video. A good one. One that shows people who she really is.

Not for my followers.

First, for Mom. So she can see what I see.

Then for Ethan.

And lastly, for Granny Kate so she knows she can’t scare me anymore.

That I know she isn’t a villain. She’s just a person who’s had a hard time and doesn’t know how to stop being tough.

My tablet dings. Low battery.

I plug it in. Check the time. It’s almost dinner.

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Chapter 132

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I turn the screen around so Aunt Sophia can check for spelling. She’s quiet for a second. “Are you

sure you want to call it that?”

“Is it spelled wrong?”

“No. It’s spelled perfect. It’s just… I don’t think that’s a good title, Jake.”

“But I like it.”

“Jake…”

“Alright, Aunt Sophia. I need to edit my clips. You can go now.”

“You’re kicking out me after using me, huh?”

I giggle. Aunt Sophia just shakes her head and smiles. Telling me not to stay up late, she leaves me

to do my thing.

I go back to editing.

Cut the boring parts. Keep the good parts. Add transitions. Make it smooth.

This is going to be good. Really good.

There’s still so much to document. So much to draw. So much to record.

But I log into my account. The one with 1.2 million followers now. The one where Aunt Sophia helped me post my finding a new dad video.

The title: “My Angry Granny Isn’t Really Angry-She Just Pretends”

I write a description: “Everyone thinks my new granny is the ultimate villain like in the video games. So I did a research to find her weakness. Here’s what I found.”

My finger hovers over the post button.

400 views.

5,000 views.

Is. Goes live.

my project is out in the world.

The view count is already climbing.

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People are sharing it. Commenting. Crying in the comments like Aunt Sophia cried.

One comment says: “This kid is out of his mind!”

‘Does his granny know about this?”

“Hehe…if she did, it wouldn’t be on here now, would it?”

The view counter keeps climbing.

10,000.

20,000.

50,000.

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I watch it happen in real-time on my tablet. Numbers scrolling up so fast they blur together.

Aunt Sophia returns while I’m in the midst of replying to a comment.

She keeps looking at her phone, then at me, then at her phone again.

“Jake. This is… this is not good. You’re video is going viral. People are sharing it everywhere.”

“But that’s good. More people means more chance everyone sees Granny Kate’s good side.”

“More people also means more pressure. More attention. More-” She stops. Looks at her phone.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“News sites are picking it up. Look.” She shows me her screen.

There’s a headline: “Five-Year-Old’s Viral Video Reveals Softer Side of Business Titan Kate Hale”

Another one: “Watch: Child’s Emotional Appeal to Estranged Grandmother Goes Viral”

And another: “Jake Moore, the Kid Who Found His Mom a New Dad, Is Back-And This Time He’s Melting Hearts”

“Melting hearts? I’m melting hearts?” I ask Aunt Sophia/confused.

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< Chapter 133

Chapter 133

(Jake’s POV)

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“You’re destroying them, actually. In a good way. I think.” Aunt Sophia sits down hard on her cou “Your mom is going to kill me. Ethan is going to kill me. Your Granny is definitely going to kill the

both first and then come for our necks.”

“Nah! Granny is cool! She’s not going to kill us for just making a video!”

“Jake, this isn’t just a video anymore. This is a phenomenon. Look at the comments.

She scrolls. I read over her shoulder.

This kid understands human psychology better than most adults.

I’m sobbing. Who knew the famous Kate Hale also has this side as well?

All thanks goes to our boy Jake for showing us this side of her!

Yeah! Thank you, Jake! You deserve to be Granny Kate’s cute grandson!

The way he sees through her defenses to the lonely person underneath… this is the emotional intelligence we need in the world.

My own grandmother and I haven’t spoken in three years. This video is making me call her right now.

WHO IS CUTTING ONIONS IN HERE?

This kid is going to make an incredible therapist someday!

I second that!

Add me to the count!

“Jake,” Aunt Sophia says quietly. “This is an invasion of privacy. Kate Hale is definitely not going to take this easily. She’s going to get angry at you for filming her without permission.”

I didn’t think about this before. I didn’t ask Granny for permission before recording her. And now…the videos are already out there.

My tablet buzzes with a notification. Someone important shared the video.

Then another notification. And another.

Celebrities. Athletes. Authors. People with millions of followers of their own.

All sharing my video about Granny Kate.

Chapter 133

“Aunt Sophia? I think this might be bigger than my Finding A New Dad video.”

She laughs. It sounds a little hysterical. “You think?”

“Ahem. Can we…can we take it back?”

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“It might be too late for that.” Aunt Sophia points at the screen, and I look to see mommy’s social

media account name appear at the top.

Mom…she saw the video!

(Sabrina’s POV)

My phone wakes me up.

Not my alarm. My phone buzzing so continuously it sounds like a swarm of bees.

I grab it, eyes still half-closed, expecting maybe a work emergency or Sophia with news about

Jake’s sleepover.

Instead, I have sixty-three notifications.

All from the same app. All about the same video.

Jake’s video.

I sit up so fast I get dizzy.

The title makes my stomach drop: “My Angry Granny Isn’t Really Angry-She Just Pretends”

“Oh my God. Jake, what did you do?”

But Jake isn’t here. He’s at Sophia’s. Far from the wedding preparations. Safe from creating mischief. Or so I thought.

I click on the video.

Watch my six- Sons

Kate Hale’s psychology/ like he’s a trained therapist.

Watch footage of Kate-footage I didn’t know existed-doing charity. Consoling the parent of a

child admitted in a hospital. Being kind to even a cat.

Her sincerity and generosity shines through the camera.

The video is perfect.

It’s also a disaster.

I check the view count: 80,000. No-85,000. No-it keeps climbing even as I watch.

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Chapter 133

The comments are overwhelming.

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Supportive. Emotional. Thousands of people calling Jake brilliant. Calling Kate a hidden kind soul. misunderstood by the world.

But none of that matters because Kate is going to be furious when she sees this.

Jake filmed her without permission. Shared private moments and made her vulnerability public

She isn’t going to like this. Hell, I wouldn’t like it either, if I were in her shoes.

I call Sophia. She answers on the first ring.

“I know what you’re going,” she says immediately. “And I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him-”

“You were there?”

“I helped edit it. But Jake was very insistent. Very sure. And Sabrina, you should see him. He’s so proud, so convinced the world needs to see this side of Kate.”

“Convinced? Soph, this is an invasion of privacy! Kate is going to-“I can’t even finish the sentence. “Where is he? Put him on.”

Jake’s voice comes through. Small and nervous.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Jake. Baby. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking Granny Kate needed someone to understand her, So I showed everyone what I

saw.”

“By secretly filming her?”

“I documented her. It’s different.”

“It’s not different! Jake, you can’t just record people without their permission-”

“I only filmed her in public places. I checked the rules. That’s legal.”

1. Of course my six-year-old son researched privacy laws.

ways the same thing.”

Should read the comments. Everyone loves Granny Kate now. Everyone

She’s just strict.”

“I thought I was helping.”

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Chapter 133

The hurt in his voice breaks something in me.

I take a breath. Another.

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“I know you were trying to help, baby. But this is big. Really big. And I don’t know if Kate is going to

see it the way you do.”

“Then I’ll explain it to her.”

“Jake-”

My phone buzzes. A call coming through. Ethan.

“I have to go. Stay with Aunt Sophia. Don’t post anything else. Don’t do any interviews-”

“People want to interview me?”

“Even if they do, you’re not allowed to do them! I’ll call you back.”

I switch to Ethan’s call. “Have you seen it?”

“Just finished watching.”

“Kate’s going to kill us. She’s going to think we put him up to this-”

“She wants to see us. All three of us. Now.”

My heart stops. “She called you?”

“Ten minutes ago. She’s at the estate. Wants us there in an hour.”

“Oh God. Ethan, she’s going to destroy us. The wedding is off. The engagement is off. Everything is

“Sabrina. Breathe.”

I can’t breathe. Can’t think past the image of Kate watching that video. Seeing her private moments made public. Her vulnerability exposed.

“She’s going to sue us for invasion of privacy. She’s going to take this to the court. She’s going to-

“Or,” Ethan says carefully, “maybe Jake is onto something. He saw what I couldn’t. Gran isn’t all about status and family standing. In his video, I saw a side of her I never knew before. Maybe…maybe, there’s a reason for why she acts the why she acts.”

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