“Ranita, how dare you hit me!” Chole held her cheek in disbelief, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at Ranita.
“Why wouldn’t I hit you? You started it!”
Chole’s eyes turned red with anger. “I’ll give your words right back to you, Ranita! You had to come back from overseas and now every time I see you, I hate it. What’s wrong with hitting you?”
“You bully! Don’t mess with my mommy!” Ayaan spoke softly but bravely as he slid down from Jedidiah’s arms and stood in front of Ranita. “If you hit my mommy, I’ll use my little fists to fight back!”
Chole looked at Ayaan coldly and sneered. “Ranita, is this the illegitimate child that was born outside of marriage?” She reached out to grab Ayaan by his collar.
“Don’t touch Ayaan!”
“Chole! Stop it!” Luckily Jedidiah stepped in before Chole could do anything else. “Ayaan is Ranita’s child and also your nephew. Don’t lay a hand on a child no matter what happens.”
“Jedidiah, why are you so biased towards Ranita? Have I ever laid a hand on him like she did?” Chole laughed coldly. “Jedidiah, dad got sick because of her and this wild kid.”
“Chole!” Jedidiah covered Ayaan’s ears and whispered softly to him, “Ayaan, this is your Auntie Chole; she is your mother’s sister and my younger sister.”
Ayaan felt wronged. He believed that someone who hit his mommy was a bad person, but his uncle said that this person was his aunt, mommy’s sister. He didn’t know what to do!
“Mommy… what is a wild child?”
“Ayaan, don’t listen to her nonsense! She’s sick!” Ranita said, and Chole became even more enraged, gritting her teeth. “Ranita, who do you think is sick?!”
“Chole! Watch your attitude! Ranita is our sister, our family! Ayaan is our younger generation. You not only physically assaulted her in front of the child but also said such irrelevant things. Aren’t you sick?” Jedidiah’s accumulated emotions finally erupted.
The main reason Ranita hadn’t returned to the Bowman family all these years was Chole.
“Jedidiah! How can you side with Ranita? I am your real sister…” Chole’s words were immediately interrupted by Jedidiah’s angry voice. “Chole, shut up! Go home right now or stay aside!”
Jedidiah, usually so gentle, lost his temper.
Chole was still somewhat concerned, but after harboring resentment towards Ranita for so many years, she couldn’t just let it go all at once. She retorted, “I’m not going back! The one who should leave is the main culprit who made Dad sick!”
“Chole, stop talking!” Jedidiah’s head was pounding from anger.
However, Chole seemed indifferent to the presence of the child. Her voice turned sharp, “I will say it! Ranita, when my brother came back, he told Mom and Dad about all the ‘good’ things you’ve done. Dad got so angry that he had a heart attack on the spot and was rushed to the hospital! And Mom, because of you and Dad being hospitalized, she cried until she couldn’t breathe and lost half her life!”
“Ranita, what kind of heart do you have? Do you want to torture Mom and Dad to death to be happy!? Since you left the family, you should never have come back to cause more trouble! Ranita, if something happens to Dad, it’s all because of you!” Chole’s words were like a murderous knife, cutting into Ranita’s heart with every word.