Chapter 253
Isolde stood in the small kitchen, her right wrist encased in a sleek black brace, aching with a dull throb. She watched the milk froth in the saucepan, carefully holding the handle with her left hand. The warm, sweet smell filled the air, but it did nothing to thaw the ice in her veins.
She poured the milk into a small ceramic mug and walked into the living room — and stopped.
Effie was sitting on the wide windowsill, her knees pulled up to her chest, her small forehead pressed flat against the cold glass. She was staring down at the busy Manhattan street below.
Isolde glanced at the clock on the wall. It was past ten.
She walked over softly and set the mug on the side table. “Baby, what are you looking at?”
Effie didn’t turn around. Her breath fogged the glass. “Daddy said he would take me to the zoo this week. I know he got hurt today. But… do you think he will send a car for me?”
𝖣о𝗐𝗻𝗅𝗼adа𝘣𝗹е 𝖯𝗗𝘍s о𝗻 𝗀аl𝗇𝘰𝘃𝗲𝗹ѕ.𝗰𝗈𝘮
Isolde’s heart physically ached, as though someone had reached into her chest and squeezed until it bruised.
Effie was still holding onto a promise that Grayson had likely forgotten the second it left his mouth.
Isolde knelt down on the rug. She wrapped her arms around Effie’s small waist and pulled her gently off the sill, wincing as the movement put pressure on her injured wrist. “Effie,” she said softly, using her left hand to brush the dark hair out of her daughter’s eyes. “Daddy is very sick. He has to stay in the hospital for a while.”
Effie’s lower lip trembled. Her big, dark eyes filled with tears. “But Kaiden said Daddy got hurt because he hates me. Kaiden said I am a jinx.”
Isolde’s breath caught in her throat.
A surge of pure, violent anger rushed through her blood. Kaiden was a child, but the poison Belle was feeding him was turning him into a monster. Isolde forced her face to remain calm. She reached up and wiped the tears from Effie’s cheeks with her thumbs, moving her right hand with deliberate care.
“Kaiden is a liar,” Isolde said, her voice steady and absolute. “Daddy getting hurt was an accident. It had absolutely nothing to do with you.”
Effie sniffled, rubbing her nose. “But why did Daddy save that other lady first? Is it because she is prettier than you, Mommy?”
The question was a jagged knife sliding straight between Isolde’s ribs. She couldn’t breathe for a second. How was she supposed to explain the ugly, twisted reality of adult betrayal to a five-year-old?
She took a deep breath and decided, right then, that she was done lying. She was done protecting Grayson’s image.
“Effie, look at me,” Isolde said, holding her daughter’s face. “Some people have very small hearts. Their love is limited. When they give it all to someone else, they don’t have any left for us.”
Effie blinked, trying to process the words. “Because of Kaiden?”
“Maybe,” Isolde said. “But listen to me very carefully. Just because they don’t have love for us does not mean we are not important. It just means they are too blind to see how precious you are.”
.