Chapter 4

Immediately, Clara rushed into the hospital room and pulled Sean away from Niamh. "How could you do that to your little sister?"

Sean promptly threw himself onto the floor and pointed at Niamh, screaming at the top of his lungs, "She's not my sister! She's your bastard child! My cupcakes are missing, so she must've stolen them! She's a bad kid nobody wanted at the orphanage!"

Monica hurried over after them. "Clara, kids are always fighting and roughhousing. It's perfectly normal. You're scaring Sean."

Clara checked on Niamh, who was trembling with hurt and indignation, too scared to even cry out loud.

"Sean is too young to know how to say things like that. I can only imagine what you've been teaching him over the last few days."

Monica caught sight of Luther approaching the doorway and immediately choked out a sob. "Clara, I know you're upset, but you can't take it out on Sean! Please just leave him alone, okay? I'm sorry. This is all my fault…"

Luther took in the scene the second he stepped inside. In a fit of rage, he kicked Clara to the floor. "I told you I'd make it up to you! What more do you want? How could you torment Sean?"

Niamh spread her little arms and stood between them, her tiny body still trembling. "I didn't steal anything. I didn't! You can't hit Mommy!"

It was the first time she had strung together so many words at once.

Clara felt as though a hammer had struck her in the chest. Her heart ached with bitterness and tenderness.

With red-rimmed eyes, she turned to Luther, disappointed. "So, Sean's your kid, but Niamh isn't? How can you even call yourself a father, Luther?"

Looking at the two of them on the floor, Luther felt a brief pang in his chest.

When Sean noticed his hesitation, he immediately threw himself back onto the floor, crying and throwing a tantrum.

That wisp of heartache within Luther vanished. His expression darkened further.

"Niamh grew up in an orphanage. She's probably picked up all sorts of bad habits, like lying and stealing. I watched Sean grow up. He'd never lie."

Monica forced a few perfectly timed tears. "If Niamh wants those cupcakes, I'll buy her some. Sean is still sick. Why did she have to steal from him?"

Luther held Sean in his arms to comfort him, then turned to Clara. "Go buy Sean another box. If he gets upset and his condition worsens, I won't let Niamh off the hook."

Clara clenched her fists. Not wanting to cause another scene, she lowered her head. "Fine… I'll go."

As she turned to leave, she heard Luther comforting Sean. "It's okay. Kids from the orphanage aren't as sensible as you."

By then, Clara didn't even have the strength to argue back. A gaping hole had torn open her chest, with cold wind howling through.

Clara hated that comment. After all, she had been an orphanage kid herself.

Back in high school, she was ostracized by her classmates because she was an orphan. Luther was the one who stood by her.

Her classmates had mocked them. "The lowest-ranking student and a girl nobody wanted from an orphanage. What a perfect match!"

To shut them up, Luther worked his way to the top of the class and became the number one student in his year.

Now, the same person who once promised to protect her had branded their own daughter with the stigma of being an orphan.

Worse, he had torn open Clara's deepest wound for someone else, exposing her pain to the world.

Those viral cupcakes from Northshire took two hours of waiting in line to buy. Standing under the scorching sun, Clara felt her vision fading in and out.

The first time she brought them back, Sean complained that the icing had melted. The second time, he said she had bought the wrong flavor. The third time, he said the shapes looked off.

On her fifth attempt, she finally bought a box of cupcakes that met all his demands.

But just outside the hospital, a car ran a red light and knocked her to the ground. Blood covered her hands. The driver fled the scene, leaving Clara no choice but to stumble back to the hospital.

"Here."

Suppressing the pain, Clara set the box down and turned to leave. When he took the box, Sean jumped in fright at the sight of the blood splattered across it.

Luther glanced at them, then scolded her. "How could you scare him with bloody cupcakes?"

Sean poked his little head out and shook it. "You slapped Mommy last time. If you slap yourself and make it even, I'll forgive you."

Clara trembled from pain after the hit-and-run, biting down hard on her lip. "She deserved that slap!"

Luther grabbed her wrist, disappointment written all over his face. "It's just a little request. What's the harm in just giving him what he wants?"

He lowered his voice and delivered a threat. "Don't make me send Niamh back to the orphanage."

Clara thought of Niamh in the room next door. Just one more day, and she could take her away from this place for good. She couldn't afford to let anything else happen.

At that thought, she slowly raised her hand and slapped herself. "I'm sorry. I was wrong."

Truly. She had been wrong to trust Luther again.

Ignoring them, Clara returned to the other room. Niamh was busy folding her own blankets.

After all these years with Luther, Clara had doted on Sean and given him everything he wanted. Meanwhile, her own flesh and blood had been forced to fend for herself in an orphanage.

All the hurt and resentment bubbling beneath the surface surged up at once. Tears spilled down Clara's cheeks. She bent down and pulled Niamh into a tight embrace.

Niamh hesitated before wiping the tears from Clara's face. "Don't cry, Mommy…"

It was the first time she called Clara "Mommy". Instead of stopping, Clara cried even harder. "I'll get you out of here. He may not love you, but I do."

Just then, the door behind her opened. Luther's deep voice rang out.

"Where are you taking her?"