Chapter 8 Unworthy to Be Lilly’s Mother
Lilly looked around the garden and shouted, “Polly!”
A loud squawk was heard, followed by the flight of a colorful parrot out of the woods. However, after flying one round around Lilly, it quickly flew back into the trees.
“Polly is scared of you, Uncle Gilbert,” the little girl whispered, motioning for Gilbert to remain silent. Her large watery eyes and endearing actions made her look adorable. He looked at the garden and suggested, “Lilly, why don’t I send someone to catch Polly so we can bring it home?”
She frowned and shook her head. “No.” As though worried that the parrot was eavesdropping, she checked her surroundings, she added, “We can’t catch Polly because it will be scared. It’s a good bird.”
Even though Lilly’s rationale amused Gilbert, he nodded and agreed to her plan.
“Don’t move, Uncle Gilbert,” the little girl tapped on his shoulder and instructed. She then walked into the garden and called for Polly once more.
“A Dumb Dumb! A Dumb! Dumb!” Polly sat on the tree branch and chirped.
Lilly chided, “Uncle Gilbert isn’t a Dumb Dumb, Polly.”
“A Bad Dog! A Bad Dog!” Polly chirped once more.
“Uncle Gilbert isn’t a Bad Dog,” the little girl explained. Gilbert was speechless at the incredulous conversation.
Regardless of Lilly’s assurance, Polly refused to get off the tree branch. She found herself walking deeper into the garden. Suddenly, she heard a sound. When she turned to look at the source of the noise, she noticed a pair of familiar eyes staring back at her. When Lilly was about to flee, Debbie grabbed her arm and said, “You are finally here, Lilly.”
The woman covered Lilly’s mouth to muffle her cries. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Lilly?”
Debbie did not know that Gilbert was in the garden. She pinched the little girl’s face and said with a look of menace, “I don’t like that attitude of yours, Lilly. I’m still your mother, you know?”
The little girl struggled to break free from Debbie’s clutches. Debbie thought furiously, since when is the little brat so strong?
“You killed my baby, Lilly. Why are you treating me like this when I’m still willing to care for you?” Debbie hissed. She looked different from when she hit Lilly in the past.
Seeing that Lilly shook her head anxiously, Debbie continued, “You said you didn’t push me. But why would I fall if it weren’t for your sudden appearance? You should be responsible for my baby’s death. I’m in a miserable state. If your uncles asked about the incident, you need to say that you pushed me down the stairs. Do you understand?”
Debbie tried to coax the little girl, thinking it would be effortless to force her to follow instructions. However, Lilly bit her lip and remained silent. She refused to admit to a mistake that she did not commit.
Debbie scowled as she thought, Lilly is testing my patience. She’s such a useless brat who refuses to listen. This is so frustrating!
She threatened, “You’re a disobedient child, Lilly. If you continue to act so stubbornly, I’ll hit you.”
There was no footage of the incident, and no one observed what caused me to fall. The Crawfords will unquestionably believe Lilly’s story. I can’t let her ruin my reputation; I’m still planning to seduce my idol.
Debbie once saw a news article about a teacher who abused a student and threatened to use his binoculars to spy on him. He was so terrified because he thought the teacher could hear everything he said. Because of this, the teacher could keep the parents in the dark. Intrigued by the ingenuity of the idea, she cautioned, “I’m warning you, Lilly. It doesn’t matter if your uncles promise to protect you. I’ll be able to use my magic powers to find where you are.”
Lilly bit her hard on the hand, much to her astonishment. She let out a yell before immediately slapping the girl. Just as her palm landed squarely on Lilly’s face, the red string around her wrist glowed.
When Debbie saw the little girl’s hand approaching, she sneered inwardly, her limps is so short and powerless. Does she think she can hurt me?
Suddenly, Debbie was launched into the marsh before she realized it. Gilbert had arrived and picked Lilly up right away. The latter looked at her palm and then at Gilbert, wondering who was to blame for Debbie’s awful plight.
Gilbert asked himself the same question, as he did not feel like he kicked hard enough to knock Debbie to the ground. He wondered if his eyes had been playing tricks on him.
“How dare you hit Lilly,” Gilbert snarled. He fixed his gaze on Debbie as he carried Lilly and inched closer.
The woman panicked as she did not know that Gilbert was present. She waved her hand and said meekly, “This must be a misunderstanding, Mr. Gilbert. Why will I hit Lilly? I’m her mother too…”
Gilbert’s expression hardened as he yelled, “You aren’t worthy to be Lilly’s mother!” He covered Lilly’s ears and placed her on his chest so she would not see what happened next.
“Mr. Gilbert, please…” Debbie begged as she stared in dread at the approaching man. “Ahh!” she cried in pain when Gilbert pinned her face down on the ground with his shoe. The rough edges ripped at her skin and cut her flesh.
“Bad Dog! Bad Dog!”
“Dumb Dumb!”
Even though Debbie was on the verge of tears, Gilbert showed no signs of letting her off easy.
“Mr. Gilbert, please let me go! Please, I beg of you! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She sobbed, terrified that the man’s sheer force would crush her head.
The man decided to release Debbie as he thought using violence in front of a child was inappropriate. However, he could not help but give her a final kick, resulting in a broken nose.
“Get lost!” he ordered.
Debbie covered her injured face with her hands and ran to her room without saying a word. Silent tears were streaming down her face as she attempted to pull the rock shards free, her frustration mounting. She stared at herself in the mirror to examine her broken nose and bloodied face.
How could Gilbert bear to hit a woman! And with such brutality! I thought I could scare Lilly into lying for me. I never expected things to turn out this way. Not only did I fail to get that bastard to take the blame, but I was also badly beaten up by Gilbert.
When she lightly touched her nose, she felt tremendous pain. “My face! My face!” She had always been proud of her flawless face. However, she would now be disfigured, given that the cuts would leave permanent scars.
“Ahh!” Debbie screamed and smashed the mirror on the floor. She could not accept that her face was ruined.
