BuzzNovel“Lessie! What... what happened?” Karen's smile froze, her face draining of color. She didn’t even bother to take
off her shoes before hurrying over to sit in front of Alessia, wringing her hands, her expression a mix of panic and
helplessness.
Brendan and Zachary, who'd just been changing out of their coats in the hallway, heard the commotion and
rushed over too. In an instant, Alessia found herself surrounded by the three of them, still sitting there with her
hand awkwardly wrapped in gauze.
“It’s nothing, really. | just got a little careless,” Alessia said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden
outpouring of concern.
“Letsee. Is it bad? How did it happen?” Karen reached for her hand, but Alessia instinctively pulled away.
Zachary, however, was quicker-he gently but firmly took her hand, his face serious.
With a sigh, Alessia unwrapped the bandage herself. Karen's eyes widened in shock; she covered her mouth, her
gaze full of sympathy.
“Was it Ivan?” Zachary asked, frowning deeply.
There was no point in hiding it. Even if she wanted to, Alessia couldn't have claimed
she’d bitten herself.
“It was just a misunderstanding. | crossed a line without asking. It’s just a scratch, honestly, don’t worry about
ie.”
“No, you're coming to the hospital with me. That looks nasty-what if it scars?” Brendan stood up, brushing
invisible dust from his jeans.
“It’s not necessary. If it'll make you feel better, I'll stop by the pharmacy later and pick up sointment. It'll be
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtfine in a couple of days.”
Brendan let out a long sigh and turned toward Alessia’s room, a trace of anger clouding his face. Alessia was
quick, though, grabbing his wrist before he could storm off. Her left hand tensed, making the injury even more
obvious.
“Dad, where are you going?”
“I don’t care what the reason was-there’s no excuse for him to hurt you like that. He should at least cout
and apologize instead of hiding, in his room, Brendan said, his usual gentle demeanor replaced by a stern,
protective glare.
“That would only make things worse. Really, it’s better if we handle this ourselves.”
1/2
13:50
Chapter 43
They stood locked in silent standoff until finally Brendan relented, and Alessia let go of his hand.
“Doesn't it hurt? What are we going to do about this?” Karen's voice was gentle, her worry clear.
“I'm okay. It's just tough bandaging it with only one hand.”
Only then did Karen seem to realize, and she carefully wrapped Alessia’s hand herself, tying it off with a neat
bow, as if afraid she might hurt her daughter even
more.
Zachary watched quietly,
remembering how lleana had once
burst into tears just from bumping
her leg on the coffe table the whole
Anil fobsihg over her for hours.
Skids were so cherished, they
were fragile by default. Yet Alessia’s
injury looked like it could have used
stitches, and here she was, brushing
it off like it was nothing. The content
is on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
What kind of life had she lived before? Was she ever really the pampered princess everyone thought she was?
“Mom, do you think Ivan ever went through something... traumatic? Like bullying or... kidnapping? Anything that
could have left him with emotional scars?”
Alessia’s question snapped Zachary out of his thoughts. Brendan and Karen both paused, exchanging a look,
confusion written across their faces.
“No, nothing like that.” Karen shook her head, not understanding the sudden question, her hands never pausing
as she finished the bandage.
“Ivan’s always been quiet, but not like this-never completely silent. When we first
age. noticed something was off, we
even checked the preschool’s
security f There Sens anusual.
we teachers said h was
ell-behaved—focused in class,
spent breaks drawing at his desk,
sometimes played with the other
kids.” The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
“But it was strange. Once he moved
up to the next class, he stopped
spending twith anyone else He'd
just sit alone, igo g(ahyoné Who
Eh eee him. Things were
rough for us at hback then, so
we didn't notice right away. It wasn't
until he got into a fight with another
kid that we realized something was
wrong.” The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Karen's voice was thick with regret. “If only I'd paid more attention to him. Those years were tough, and | ended
up leaving Ivan alone at ha lot. | should have noticed sooner.”
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