They weren't even married yet, and the elders of the Grant family were already starting to dictate her life, even pressuring her. Julia feared that after marriage, the Grant family would become even more overbearing.
Thinking about this, Julia felt even more supportive of her mother's attitude.
As the mother and daughter were having a private conversation, voices were heard outside the hospital room. Zackery and Lionel walked in.
Seeing Julia awake in bed, they looked delighted.
"Julia, you're awake."
Lionel quickly approached Julia's side. He wanted to hold her hand, but Julia pulled away.
Not only that, Julia pretended not to see Lionel and spoke to Zackery, "Dad, Mom and I were just discussing. Since some people in their family don't like my babies, we'll raise them in our family with our surname. Now that you're here, why don't you think of names for them?"
Zackery was momentarily at a loss for words.
He hadn't expected his daughter to be so forthright as soon as he returned. He instinctively glanced at Lionel beside him.
However, Lionel's face remained expressionless, still smiling, showing no signs of anger.
In fact, Lionel understood well that his parents had indeed gone too far this time. So Julia being angry and even the King family elders calling off the wedding was quite normal.
"Zackery, since Julia said so, I'll leave the naming of the babies to you."
"Are you really okay with me naming the babies?"
Zackery looked over in surprise.
Even Julia and Norah were quite taken aback.
Seeing this, Lionel smiled sincerely and said, "I'm serious. As Julia mentioned, my parents don't like the babies, so they certainly wouldn't want to name them either. I won't force them."
Upon hearing this, Julia and Norah's expressions softened a bit.
But Zackery didn't immediately agree. He ambiguously said, "Naming is a big deal. We can discuss it later. Right now, the important thing is to take care of Julia and the babies during their recovery."
"You're right. It's getting late today. I'll stay here tonight to take care of Julia and the babies. You both should go home and rest."
Lionel agreed with Zackery's words.
Norah wanted to say something but was stopped by Zackery.
Zackery pulled Norah along with a smile and suggested leaving, "Then we'll head back. We'll leave Julia and the babies in your care. We'll bring breakfast for you tomorrow morning."
"Goodbye, Zackery and Norah."
Lionel saw them out of the room and then closed the door.
Outside, Norah shook off Zackery's hand and glared at him angrily, questioning, "What's going on with you? You were so angry when we left, but now you're siding with him?"
"That young man is decent and has a sense of right and wrong. I've already addressed the issue with him, and he promised to handle it. There's no need for us to push him further."
Zackery spoke earnestly.
He continued before Norah could respond, "Moreover, they'll be settling in Cloudmere in the future. They might not visit his family often. We don't need to strain their relationship."
Norah listened, finding some sense in his words but still feeling uneasy.
"I'm not trying to ruin their relationship. You've seen how his parents are. Even if we consider their feelings, the Grant family won't necessarily do the same. If you don't want to be the bad guy, I will."
Julia and Lionel were unaware of this conversation.
They had intended to talk as well.
But just as they began to speak, the two babies suddenly started crying loudly.
"Why are they crying? Hush now, babies. Don't cry."
Lionel immediately forgot about talking with Julia and quickly went to the crib, trying to pick up one of the babies to soothe them.
But as soon as his hand touched the baby's blanket, he froze, feeling scared.
Julia watched anxiously from the side, "What are you standing there for? Can't you hear the babies crying?"
Lionel snapped back to reality and looked over nervously, "I... I'm afraid to hold them. They're so tiny."
Yes, despite taking a few parenting classes, Lionel still felt like a novice dad when faced with real babies. He was too scared to make a move.
Julia was speechless.
"If you're afraid, go get a nurse! The babies are crying so hard; aren't you worried?"
She shouted angrily, and Lionel finally reacted, quickly going out to get a nurse for help.
After some chaos, the babies were fed and fell back asleep in their crib.
Julia and Lionel were both exhausted.
Even though they hadn't done much, they felt very tired.
After resting for a while, Julia suddenly said, "We went too easy on Lance back then. We should have made things harder for him!"
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
Lionel was puzzled and looked over in confusion.
Julia glanced at him and snorted lightly, "When Deanna gave birth to Gregory and Chloe, it was just me and Grandma around. But I had to work, and Grandma had to support the family. So most of the time, Deanna had to take care of two kids all by herself."