Chapter 54
Liam stepped up to shield Isabel with his body. He answered Odell, “She brought us something to drink. Isabel was not expecting it to be so hot and accidentally lost her grip and dropped the cup on the floor, spilling the juice inside everywhere.” He transparently explained everything. Isabel backed her brother up. “He’s telling the truth.” Tara took a deep breath. Her eyes were turning red as she endured the pain and turned to Odell, “Odell, don’t be angry. I don’t think Isabel didn’t do it on purpose. She probably dropped it because it was too hot for her to hold.” Odell’s expression darkened. Perhaps it would have been better if she had said nothing at all. “This cup comes with an insulated cover. How is it that she got herself burned?” He glared at Isabel angrily again. “Isabel, tell me the truth. Did you do it on purpose?”
Isabel looked at him in utter disbelief.
Of course, it was intentional. The ugly lady intentionally explained things in a way that would mislead him to believe that she had done it on purpose.
She might be young, but she was not stupid!
She immediately winced, and only mere seconds after that, she began to cry. She frowned and sobbed weakly, “Sniff… My hand hurts so much. I want to go home. I want Mommy.”
Her bawling her eyes out started to cause a scene. She wrapped herself around her brother and sobbed into his shoulder. Liam hugged her and comforted her, “Let’s go back and find Mommy.”
Odell frowned.
Isabel’s cheeks were red from crying, and she felt horrible. At the same time, Liam wore an exasperated look. He felt like he had let his sister down in some way.
Odell calmed himself down and asked, “Did you get burned too?”
Isabel twitched her lips to one side and showed him her right hand. The tips of her fingers seemed to have sharper contrast in color compared to her other hand.
Odell frowned subtly and reached out to hold her hand. Isabel scowled and immediately pulled her hand away. She snuggled into her brother’s shoulders and cried, “I want my Mommy… Mommy wouldn’t give me something so hot to drink. She would’ve taken better care of me…”
Odell was lost for words.
The staff nearby that heard Isabel’s sorrowful cries interpreted the situation and realized that the child had been mistreated by her stepmother. Their eyes began to water at the scene.
She was such a cute child. Shame on the father who still took the side of the devilish stepmother. Shame on him!
Odell stiffened
The look in Tara’s eyes transformed as well. She was not expecting Isabel to pull a trick like this!
Her feet were blistering from the heat while Isabel’s hands were only slightly burned, and yet she managed to turn the situation around!
Tara was infuriated, but she quickly recomposed herself. She turned to Odell, “Odell, this was on me. I shouldn’t have bought something so hot for her to drink. You shouldn’t blame Isabel. She’s just a child and wouldn’t do something like this to me to hurt me.”
Tara was indirectly giving Odell a way out of this.
He sheathed his dark expression and turned to Isabel. “Don’t cry. I must have misunderstood
you.” NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
Isabel’s cries had reduced to soft whimpers now, but still, she clung to her brother and refused to acknowledge Odell.
Odell felt distressed upon noting her attitude toward him. He was crushed to know that he was the reason that his daughter was feeling this way. As a father, he felt like he had failed his duty.
He stepped forward and pulled Isabel into a hug.
Isabel still refused to speak to him. She buried her face in his chest so he could not see her. Odell gently patted her head before turning to Tara. “Tara, there’s a hospital nearby. I’ll take you there so that we can take a look at your feet, then we will send them home.”
Tara became very considerate and said gently, “It’s alright, Odell. Why don’t you take them home first? I can go to the hospital by myself. With my feet like this, I probably won’t be able to attend the ball tonight. I’ll just take a taxi home after I’m done at the hospital. This way, I won’t cause trouble and you don’t have to pick me up again.”
Odell frowned when he heard this.
He had heard her talking about the ball for the past few days. There were going to be many reputable members in her social circle joining the ball, and she had been looking forward to it. “You go to the hospital first, and I’ll come to pick you up after I send them home. We shall go to the ball together.”
Tara’s eyes glowed, but she refused, “It’s alright. I’ll only make a fool of myself if I go with my leg in this state.” “If I’m with you, nobody will dare to make fun of you.”