6
“Ah! There’s blood!”
Max froze, his eyes wide with shock, completely at a loss for what to do. For a moment,
he reminded me of his younger self–terrified and guilty whenever he made a mistake.
The door to a nearby apartment burst open, and Danny came running out. He
immediately crouched next to me, inspecting my wound, then turned to Max and shouted through tears, “I told you Lauren was hurt! My dad did this! Why didn’t you believe me?”
“I… I…”
Max stammered, unable to form a coherent response. Tom stood rooted in place, his face painted with disbelief. After a brief moment, he snapped to his senses and hurried over to help me up.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said, his voice trembling.
11:43 Fri, Jan 31 BB
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At the hospital, the nurse frowned as she cleaned and dressed my wound. “You’re lucky this cut wasn’t deeper, or you might’ve lost your shoulder. How could you be so careless?”
I shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring her scolding. “What can I say? My husband and son didn’t believe me. They thought I was joking, so I didn’t bother to hold back when it happened.”
My words hit their mark. Tom’s face flushed bright red, and Max stood silently, staring hard at the floor.
When we got home, Max lingered at the door, fidgeting nervously. Finally, he muttered, “Mom, I…”
I pretended not to hear him. Instead, I grabbed my suitcase and gently took Danny’s hand.
“Danny, how about I spend the night at your place? Would that be okay?”
Danny’s face lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Grandma will set up a bed for
you. And you can show me how to play with that toy car again–I still don’t get how it
works!”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little car I’d given him.
Max’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it. He lunged forward, grabbing Danny’s hand and glaring at the toy like it was some kind of betrayal. Danny whimpered,
startled by the sudden aggression.
“What are you doing? Let go of him!”
I stepped between them, frowning as I pushed Max back. His face flushed as his
eyebrows furrowed into an angry “V.”
“That’s my car! Why does he have it?” Max growled, his voice low and accusing.
“I thought you didn’t want it anymore,” I replied calmly. “You left it lying around, so I gave
it to Danny.”
His reaction surprised me. The car had been collecting dust for years, and I assumed
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11:43/ Fri, Jan
he’d long outgrown it. I never would’ve guessed it still meant so much to him.
“Why would you do that? It’s mine! Give it back!”
D
Max tried to snatch it again, but Danny held on tightly, his small face set with a stubbornness far beyond his years. He reminded me so much of Max when he was little.
“Enough!”
Using my uninjured arm, I pushed Max away and shielded Danny behind me.
Max stared at me, stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what I’d just done. The look on his
face was almost satisfying–it mirrored my own disbelief all those times he and Tom had sided with Rachel over me.
“Do you have any idea how ridiculous you’re being?” I said coldly. “It’s just a toy. You’re throwing a tantrum over nothing. Danny’s never been this selfish.”
I didn’t wait for his response. Taking Danny’s hand, I led him into his apartment and
closed the door behind us.
A few minutes later, I heard muffled sobbing coming from the hallway.
The next morning, I arrived at Mr. Lewis’s new company.
Although the office was located in a remote area, the campus itself was state–of–the–art, equipped with everything from fitness centers to childcare facilities. The funding was substantial, and the research labs were world–class–far superior to the company Tom and I
had worked at before.
After completing my onboarding process, Mr. Lewis introduced me to the team. To my surprise, their primary focus was on developing robotic toys.
There were miniature cars, interactive dolls, and countless other prototypes, designed not just for children but also for adults.
It was eerily similar to the proposal I’d submitted years ago. The same proposal that had
been unanimously rejected.
<
And the person who had led the charge against it back then? None other than Mr. Lewis himself.
