Chapter 223: Chapter 231

Floretta’s expression darkened as she retorted, “What do you want? When you claimed that I didn’t have a mommy, I brought her to show you. And yet, you still haven’t apologized despite losing the bet!”

“Apologize?”

Mark took a step forward and shoved her back as he snarled, “Stop dreaming! My aunt says that Angeline is a woman who would do anything for money. Besides, she isn’t your real mommy. Your real mommy has still abandoned you.”

As the push caused her to stagger back, Floretta’s eyes reddened with tears welling up in them. Balling her fingers into fists, she lashed out at him.

“I’ve never done anything to you, so why do you keep bullying me? I don’t want to argue with someone as unreasonable as you.”

With that, she changed directions and attempted to head downstairs.

However, Mark’s two friends snatched the hair clip away from her.

“There doesn’t seem anything special with this hair clip, and yet, she holds it as if it’s a treasure.”

In a rare display of rage, Floretta gritted her teeth as she attempted to take it back.

“Give me back my hair clip, you clowns! I was going to give it to Angel as a present!”

“I’m not giving it back!”

The two boys made faces to infuriate her further before passing the hair clip to Mark.

“Return it to me!”

Nonetheless, a glint of vengeance flashed across Mark’s eyes. “I’m not going to. You’re just a child who was abandoned by her mommy!”

With that, he gathered his strength and hurled the hair clip down the stairs.

“Ah! No!” Floretta gasped as she lunged at the hair clip by reflex.

Unfortunately, she slipped on the ground, causing her to tumble down the steps like a ball.

When she finally crashed onto the ground, her head ended up slamming against a stone pillar. A loud groan was last heard before she lost consciousness entirely.

The sudden turn of events stunned Mark and his friends, who had watched the entire scene from the top of the staircase. Not expecting to have caused such a major accident, they burst into tears from the shock.

“What are we going to do? There’s so much blood! Is she dead?”

“I don’t know! My mommy said that Floretta’s dad isn’t someone we should offend. Will he get someone to beat us to death?”

Mark, too, was in a panic. At the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, he barked out anxiously, “Quick, let’s run!”

All he wanted to do was to vent his frustration on Floretta by bullying her. Little did he expect her to roll down the steps and lose so much blood.

Consequently, the only thing on his mind was to flee, for it was imperative that no one found out.

Otherwise, his father would definitely beat him to death.

Meanwhile, Angeline was having afternoon tea with Nancy at home, discussing a variety show she was about to sign on.

It was a singing competition named Come Dance with Me where older or currently popular actresses underwent two months of stage training.

Toward the end of the show, seven out of the fifty actresses would be chosen to form a female group.

Nevertheless, the theme was nothing but a gimmick, as there were plenty of male and female groups who were already wildly popular throughout the country.

That said, the audience was already sick of watching young celebrities and seemed to have developed a taste for groups that were formed by the most unlikely of people.

Obviously, that was a separate matter by itself. Despite the lucrative pay offered by the show, the two months required for training made her worry for Sebastian.

“Actually, Sebastian’s wounds are almost fully recovered, and if you keep locking him up at home, it will only make his autism worse. That’s why I think sending him to kindergarten together with Floretta would be a good idea,” Nancy suggested.

While peeling some nuts, she threw a glance at Sebastian, who was playing with toy blocks nearby.

“Of course I wish I could, but you’re well aware of Sebastian’s condition too. Considering how chaotic the kindergarten can be, I’m worried about him being bullied there.”

A hesitant look emerged on Angeline’s face as she pondered upon the matter. Finally, she let out a long and heavy sigh.

“I’ll wait for his condition to improve further before seeking his opinion about it. If he’s keen on going, I’ll arrange it with the kindergarten.”

Struck by a sudden thought, Nancy turned her head over and asked, “By the way, has Sebastian called you ‘Mommy’ yet?”

The question triggered a solemn look on Angeline’s face.

After throwing Sebastian’s silhouette a glance, she flatly replied, “Well, Sebastian is a special child, so I’m not keen on forcing anything on him. He can call me whatever he wants as long as it makes him happy.”

From the day she brought him back, Angeline never harbored any hopes for him to call her “Mommy.” To have him by her side was more than enough to satisfy her.

Ring! Ring!

Angeline answered her phone, which had started ringing abruptly.

“Hello?”

Soon, an anxious voice could be heard over the line. “Hello, I’m Floretta’s teacher from kindergarten.

May I know if I’m speaking to her parent?”

“Yes, I am.”

Angeline’s heart sank as her tone took a grim turn. “Did something happen to her at school?”

“I’m sorry that we didn’t take better care of her. She got into a fight with some students and rolled down the stairs. She’s lost a lot of blood and is currently in the emergency room in the hospital.”

“What!”

Angeline sprang up from her chair with her face devoid of color. Overwhelmed by anxiety, she spoke in an impatient tone.

“How could you have allowed her to get hurt?”

“I’m sorry—”

Before the teacher could even finish, Angeline had ended the call and was desperately rummaging in the living room for her car keys.

With her gaze fixed upon Angeline, the worried Nancy asked, “What happened to Floretta? Is she all right? Can you manage by yourself?”

“I don’t know, but it sounds serious.” Angeline’s voice was already sounding choked.

As she reached the door, she looked all over for her shoes. It wasn’t until she looked down that she realized it was right in front of her all this while.

Suddenly, sobs rang out in the house.

As if he could sense Floretta was in danger, Sebastian ran over and hugged Angeline’s thigh.

He then gave her a sincere look as if to tell her that he wanted to go with her to see Floretta.

“Be a good boy, Sebastian.” Angeline stroked his head. Despite the moistness of her eyes, she reassured him, “I’m in a hurry to see Floretta and don’t have time to take you along. You’ll have to behave by waiting at home for me.”

As though he understood her dilemma, the pouting Sebastian stopped making a fuss.

Thereafter, Nancy gently peeled him away from Angeline while asking the latter to hurry.

“Go now. I’ll take care of Sebastian. Call me if you need anything.”

Angeline was glad that Nancy was there for her. After flashing the latter a grateful smile, she put on her shoes, grabbed her bag from the closet, and left.

Along the way, she drove as fast as she could. She sped all the way to the hospital while suppressing her desperation to run red lights.