Chapter 5

Before I could even react, Julian had already hopped into a high-powered go-kart.

He floored the accelerator and drove straight at Alaric's wheelchair!

"Bang—!"

The massive impact shattered the wheelchair instantly.

Alaric was sent flying along with the wreckage, smashing heavily onto the hard concrete.

Blood gushed out immediately, staining his small, pale face crimson.

Julian jumped out of the kart, threw the imported ice cream—worth enough to feed my son and me for a week—onto the ground, and started wailing, playing the victim before anyone could accuse him. "Waa! That cripple tried to hit me! I swerved to avoid him and crashed! I was so scared!"

I had just gathered Alaric, who was covered in blood, into my arms when Caspian rushed over, drawn by the commotion.

Suddenly, Isolde let out a shriek. She threw her body back in an exaggerated motion, falling onto the soft grass.

"Ah! My ankle!" She clutched her foot, pointing at me while weeping beautifully, like a pear blossom bathed in rain. "Caspian... Ivy pushed me! She was angry that Julian accidentally bumped into Alaric, so she took advantage of the chaos to push me! It hurts so much!"

Caspian's face instantly turned pitch black.

He didn't even spare a glance at our dying biological son. Instead, he nervously helped Isolde up.

"Where does it hurt? Is it bad?" He asked gently, then turned his head to glare at me, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust and rage. "Ivy! Are you crazy? Julian is just a child; so what if he accidentally bumped him? Unlike you, Isolde is delicate and fragile. How dare you touch her? When did you become so venomous?"

I desperately pressed my hands against Alaric's wound, but I couldn't stop the blood from flowing.

"I'm venomous?" I screamed hysterically. "Open your eyes and look! Julian drove that car and hit the wheelchair on purpose! Isolde faked that fall! Alaric is bleeding! His head is broken! Are you blind?!"

Isolde sobbed even harder, burying her face in Caspian's chest. "Boohoo... Caspian, I didn't... Ivy must be jealous that you treat Julian so well, so she's taking it out on me. If my foot is broken, how can I dance with you in the future..."

Caspian roared at me, "Isolde wouldn't even hurt a fly, how could she fake a fall? Look at you, reeking of poverty. Over these past five years, you've become completely unreasonable! Jealousy has twisted you beyond recognition!"

Alaric was fading in and out of consciousness from the pain. His small hand weakly grasped my collar, his voice faint. "Mommy... it hurts... I can't see... why won't Daddy save me..."

I didn't want to argue anymore. I picked Alaric up, desperate to get to the hospital. "Move! I need to take my child to the hospital!"

"Stand down."

Caspian spoke coldly, blocking my path.

"Caspian!" I screamed in despair, looking at my son whose breathing was getting weaker. "Alaric needs a doctor! He's bleeding! You're going to kill him!"

"Apologize." He looked down at me from his height, pointing at Isolde, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Apologize to Isolde for your barbaric behavior just now. Otherwise, don't even think about taking a step out of here."

"I did nothing wrong!" I glared at him with red eyes. "We didn't do anything wrong! Why should I apologize?!"

"Unrepentant." Caspian's voice was cold enough to make one's blood curdle. "Ivy, it seems five years of slum life hasn't taught you humility; instead, it's turned you into an ungrateful shrew."

He pointed at the crocodile skin high heels on Isolde's feet and spoke every word with deliberate slowness:

"Kneel down. Lick the tip of Isolde's shoe to apologize. Lick the dust off until it's clean. Otherwise, I will call the insurance company right now and cancel all of Alaric's medical insurance."

I trembled all over, feeling like I had been struck by lightning.

In this country, without expensive commercial health insurance, the costs for an ambulance, surgery, and hospitalization were astronomical. The savings Alaric and I had wouldn't even cover the registration fee.

He was using our son's life to break me.

"Caspian..." I looked at him in disbelief. "He is your biological son... are you the devil?"

"You have three seconds to decide. Three, two..."

Alaric's body in my arms was growing colder, his breathing fainter.

I crumbled.

"...Fine." I gritted my teeth so hard I could taste blood. "I apologize."

Holding my child, my legs shook as I bent them. Under the gaze of the crowd, I fell heavily onto the hard, cold tiles.

I lowered my head, forcing back tears of humiliation, and moved my lips close to Isolde's expensive shoe.

"I'm sorry..." My voice was hoarse and broken, every word feeling like I was swallowing glass. "I shouldn't have... pushed you."

Isolde looked down at me. Just as my lips were about to touch the surface of her shoe, she pulled her foot back with feigned magnanimity, even wiping it on the grass in disgust.

"Oh my, Ivy, what are you doing? We're all friends here; just don't be so impulsive next time. I'm not one to hold grudges, so let's just forget about it this time."

Caspian looked at me kneeling on the ground, his brow furrowing slightly as if he felt a momentary flash of reluctance. "Enough. Since Isolde has forgiven you, get the hell to the hospital with the kid. Don't be an eyesore here; you've ruined my mood."

I picked up Alaric and fled.

Behind me, I could hear Julian's cheerful laughter and Caspian's gentle voice coaxing Isolde.

At the hospital, Alaric received eight stitches on his brow bone.

Because he was allergic to anesthesia, he had to be stitched up without any numbing.

He convulsed in pain, crying until his voice was hoarse. "Mommy... I didn't do anything bad... why is Daddy treating me like this... did I do something wrong..."

My heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife. I could only kiss his cold forehead over and over, my tears wetting his cheeks. "It's not Alaric's fault... it's Mommy's fault... Mommy is useless, I couldn't protect you..."

After hours of torment, Alaric finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

I went to get a change of clothes for him.

When I passed the VIP lounge, the door was ajar. Familiar voices drifted out from inside.

"Caspian, about what happened in the square today... was it too much for Ivy?" Isolde's voice sounded affected and probing. "Making her kneel and kiss my shoe in public... she must hate me to death. What if she gets angry and leaves you with the child? After all, she really did love you."

"Leave?"

Caspian scoffed nonchalantly. "She can't leave me. Isolde, you don't know her."

I watched as he turned around and gently scraped Isolde's nose, his tone tender yet cruel to the extreme:

"She loves me to the point of madness. Even if I told her to die, she wouldn't hesitate. For the past five years, I made her live in a basement and eat garbage, and I still couldn't drive her away. Today was just a little kneeling. As long as I crook my finger, she'll come crawling back like a dog."

"So, don't worry. In this lifetime, she will never escape the palm of my hand."