Love’s Cruel Stroke Chapter 28
Damian snuffled as he tried to swallow his bitterness. When his eyes were filled with tears, his sympathetic look somehow melted Rachel’s heart. It was then that she realized the boy would never bully Olivia despite his mischievous nature. Besides that, it didn’t seem to her that Jordan would get physical with a 4-year-old girl.
Damn, I must be out of my mind now. How the heck did it occur to me that Jordan and his son were bullying my daughter? Soon, Rachel pursed her lips and apologized in a soft voice, “Mr. Ford, Damian, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. Thank you for getting Olivia out of trouble.”
“So, her name is Olivia. What a nice name!” Damian blinked. “Miss Rachel, can I be like a brother to Olivia? I’ll protect her like how I did earlier tonight and make sure no one bullies her!”
She smiled and said, “Well, that depends on Olivia’s wish.”
“Olive, can I be your brother?” He seized Olivia’s hand, but his action wasn’t met with any response. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Jordan, her eyes filled with desire and desperation for attention.
In the meantime, Rachel had no idea why Olivia was so interested in Jordan, which made her recall her daughter’s similar behavior a few days ago when they were on
the road. She then hugged the child in her arms and calmly explained, “Excuse me, Mr. Ford. I’d like to tend to Olive’s wound now.”
“Miss Rachel, my hand is injured too. Can you also tend to it?” Damian seized the opportunity and raised his hand to reveal a bloody cut that he received when he was in the bed of flowers.
Knowing Damian had beautiful, fair skin, Rachel decided that she must do something about it. Thus, she smiled and responded, “Come with me then. Let’s head upstairs.” As they took the stairs in the courtyard that would lead them to the second floor, she suddenly sensed a presence right behind her before she entered the room. Then, she knitted her eyebrows and looked at the man who followed her. “Mr. Ford, may I know why you‘re following us?”
“I don’t feel safe leaving my son alone with a stranger,” Jordan replied coldly, pursing
his lips.
Fine. She shrugged her shoulders in an unconcerned manner as she opened the door and placed Olivia down. After that, she removed her daughter’s filthy clothes and carried the latter into the bathroom for her to take a shower. At that moment, the room was left with Jordan and his son while both of them stared at each other.
Jordan coldly asked, “So, you sneaked away from home time and time just because
you wanted to see this girl?”
“What does that have to do with you?” Damian grunted coldly.
“I suppose I’ve been too lenient with your punishment.” Jordan glared at his son. “Since you won’t learn your lesson from being grounded, I’ll send you abroad and make you stay there for a few good years until you know what your mistake is.”
“No!” Jordan objected by growling; he refused to be sent abroad because he would never be able to see Rachel again if that happened. After all, it was his first time liking someone so much that he wanted to see them every single day. Daddy is obviously trying to ruin my life!
On the other hand, Jordan reacted indifferently and wondered why Damian couldn’t be like his brother, Dmitri. After all, Dmitri was Damian’s elder twin brother, but thanks to Jordan’s strict parenting, he had become rather independent and mature unlike Damian, who was still acting like a 2-year-old kid. As his elder son grew more mature, Jordan was worried that Damian and Dmitri would eventually grow further apart, which could lead to an estrangement that would result in more arguments. Therefore, he believed it was time for him to take Damian’s upbringing seriously.
In the face of his father’s mean gaze, Damian froze, believing that Jordan was going to give him a hard time. While the father and son exchanged gazes with each other, the bathroom door was open, whereupon Rachel came out with Olivia in her hands.
Meanwhile, Olivia seemed as if she was an egg with its shell peeled off amidst the steam from the bathroom and it tempted onlookers to caress her cheek. With her wet hair covering her forehead, her beauty was breathtaking with her bright eyes and water droplets dripping from her eyelashes.
In the meantime, Jordan’s heart melted when he saw Olivia, wishing he could have a daughter aside from his two sons. If I had a daughter, I‘d make her a princess whom everyone envies. Despite his urge to hug her, he managed to restrain himself and suppress his impulse. This girl is Rachel‘s daughter. So, the daughter of a scheming lady like her may only just be pretty on the surface. At the thought of that, he reluctantly took his eyes off the girl and put his hands in his pockets, giving off a cold aura.
Nonetheless, Damian desperately approached Olivia and pinched her face as his urge topk over him, but the girl coldly and warily deflected his hand.
“Olive, I’m going to be your brother from now on, and I’ll protect you in all I can. Let me help you dry your hair, okay?”
While Olivia wouldn’t usually respond to any sound, she shook her head rapidly this
time.
Witnessing her daughter’s reaction, Rachel was stunned because she had never managed to get any response from Olivia, no matter what she did. Therefore, she
was surprised to see Olivia responding to a child she hardly knew. Olive seems to treat Jordan and his son differently. Why is that so?
Applying the medicine to Olivia’s injury, Rachel gently cajoled, “Don’t worry, this boy isn’t going to hurt you. Let him dry your hair, would you?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m going to be super gentle. I promise I won’t hurt you, but if I do, you could just hit me!” Damian swore to the girl.
A few moments later, Olivia nodded in response, which filled Rachel’s eyes with complicated feelings. Although she was expecting her grandmother to show her daughter more love so that Olivia would open up, she didn’t think the two people who changed Olivia were instead two strangers whom they barely knew.
Damian was beyond the moon as he grabbed the blow dryer since he had the chance to dry Olivia’s hair. As the three of them sat on the carpet near the bedside, it made for a harmonious familial scene.
In the meantime, Jordan stood from afar, watching the children’s interaction with slight discomfort. I‘m standing right here. So, is that lady not going to receive me with a little hospitality? What‘s worse is that I can‘t believe Damian has just left me in the cold after he‘s gotten himself a new sister.
Finding himself the odd man out there, he decided to make himself scarce, but at that moment, Olivia suddenly shot a gaze at him, warming his heart deep down like the sunlight that was shining on the thawing glacier.
In that instant, Jordan’s indifference dissipated as he began to feel peace in his heart with a smile on his face. While the room was filled with harmony and tranquility, there was a kid standing outside the room and watching them through the gap of the door that was left ajar. Not long after that, Casper took his eyes off them in surprise, finding it hard to believe that the man whom he deemed was his father had a son about his age.
If Mr. Ford is really the father of me and Olivia, that means there was probably another lady who was also pregnant with his child at the time Mommy was pregnant. A man who impregnated two ladies at the same time doesn‘t deserve to be Olivia‘s father, let alone have her love. We are better off without a father like him.
“At the thought of that, Casper took the ancestry DNA test kit from his pocket and
threw it into the trash can emotionlessly.
