Chapter 43
“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, whod 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. I just got a little careless, Alessia said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden outpouring of concern.
“Let me see. 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. I crossed a line without asking. It’s just a scratch, honestly, don’t worry about it.”
“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 stop by the pharmacy later and pick up some ointment. It’ll be fine 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?”
that. H
“I don’t care what the reason was–there’s no excuse for him to hurt you like that. He should at least come out and apologize instead of hiding in his room,” Brendan said, his usual gentle demeanor replaced by a stem, protective glare.
“That would only make things worse. Really, it’s better if we handle this ourselves.”
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
‘Tm 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 Ileana had once burst into tears just from bumping her leg on the coffee table, the whole family fussing over her for hours. Some kids 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.il
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 t 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 noticed something was off, we even checked the preschool’s security footage. There was nothing unusual. His teachers said he was well–behaved–focused in class, spent breaks drawing at his desk, sometimes played with the other kids.”
“But it was strange. Once he moved up to the next class, he stopped spending time with anyone else. He’d just sit alone, ignoring anyone who tried to approach him. Things were rough for us at home back 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.”
Karen’s voice was thick with regret. “If only I’d paid more attention to him. Those years were tough, and I ended up leaving van alone at home a lot. I should have noticed sooner
“Are you home alone? Did you hire any help?”
