14
Dalena and Cyril stood before Dmitry, their hair disheveled and damp from the rain, looking utterly miserable.
They had been in Austria for two weeks, searching tirelessly for Dmitry, and only now had they managed to find his address.
Dmitry said nothing, turning to walk away.
Dalena quickly chased after him. “Dmitry, don’t go!”
“Is there something you need, Ms. Dalena?”
“It’s been a month. Are you still refusing to come back?”
“Sorry, but I’m doing well here. If there’s nothing else, please leave.”
Dmitry’s tone was cold and detached, devoid of any emotion.
Dalena panicked. “Can’t we talk things through? Come back with me, and I’ll give you whatever you
you want.”
“You like this little yard, right? I’ll buy you a 1,000–square–meter garden and hire ten gardeners to tend it. Oh, and if you want to study music, I’ll brin the world’s top instructors to you.”
“Dalena”
bur fi
Dimitry interrupted, his voice calm but firm. “We’re divorced. Stop bothering me.”
At this, Quinn clung to Dmitry’s leg, glaring at Dalena and Cyril with defiance. “Don’t come back! You’re not welcome here!”
Cyril, watching the scene, felt a surge of jealousy.
The man who used to obey his every whim now treated a stranger’s child with such affection,
“You’re nothing! Let go of him! He’s my dad!”
Cyril ran over, his frustration from weeks of searching boiling over. He grabbed Quinn’s arm, pulling her away with all his strength “He’s not yours! You’re not allowed to take my dad!”
“Ow! Ow!”
Quinn’s arm turned red from the force, and tears streamed down her face, but she refused to let go of Dmitry.
She clung tightly, sobbing “If I let go, I’ll lose everything! Uncle Dmitry, I’ll protect you. I don’t want you to suffer anymore!”
Her cries struck a chord deep in Dmitry’s heart,
For the first time in ten years, he lost his temper. “Slap!!”
A crisp slap landed squarely on Cyril’s face.
Cyril stumbled back, clutching his cheek, and burst into loud sobs, “You… you hit me! For this brat!”
“Slap!”
Another slap echoed through the yard, leaving Dalena stunned.
“Watch your mouth!” Dimitry’s voice was sharp, his anger barely contained.
“I’ve loved and cared for you for six years, and this is what I get? A spoiled brat who bites the hand that feeds him. If I don’t teach you a lesson now, someone else will beat you to death later.”
“Let me tell you something–you’re a Brown, not my son.”
“The day you raised your hand against me, the day you disrespected Ime, the day you called someone else your father, our relationship ended.”
Cyril cried even harder, his sobs growing louder.
Even though he didn’t fully un
lly understand Denitry’s words, he realized one thing–Dmitry no longer wanted him.
“L… I don’t have a dad anymore…”
Cyril ran toward Dalena, walling, “Mummy, Daddy doesn’t want me anymore!”
But what awaited him was another slap
“Slap!”
“Now you know how to cry? When Fabio bribed you with fried chicken, you were happy to turn against your real father!” Dalens grabbed Cyril: “Now, you’ll apologize to your father!”
always did everything for my sake. I shouldn’t
