Chapter 11
Chapter 11 Odell shot her a look. “Weren’t you going to the gallery today?” Tara answered, “The exhibition has ended. Besides, I haven’t seen Liam for some time, so I figured I might as well come to see him on such a rare occasion where you’re taking him out.” She turned to Liam and then noticed Isabel who was next to him. She was slightly startled. Why does this fat kid look so much like Liam? “Odell, who’s the little girl?” she turned to ask Odell while smiling.
“She’s Liam’s friend.”
This surprised Tara again.
How was it that this loner brat managed to make friends?
She studied Isabel again.
Isabel frowned and responded to her gaze with indifference.
This must be the awful lady that Aunt Tonya mentioned!
Tara quickly detected Isabel’s hostility towards her, and she felt a wave of discontent rising inside her. Still, she formed a smile and addressed Isabel, “What a cute little girl. What’s your name?”
She approached Isabel and appeared to want to hug her.
Liam immediately stepped in between Isabel and Tara, glaring icily at Tara. “Go away. Don’t come near her.”
Although his voice was still childish, there was a trace of superiority in his tone.
Tara’s face darkened for a moment, and she cursed the boy in her heart, ‘This damned brat, just you wait! Let’s see how I’ll take care of you after I marry Odell!’
She proceeded to sigh and explained her actions, “Liam, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t have any ill will towards her.”
She spoke to him as if her feelings had been wounded. Nevertheless, Liam ignored her and continued shielding Isabel from her. Tara twitched her lips and looked at Odell almost pleadingly.
Clearly, the children had a bad impression of Tara. He had been spending the day trying to bond with them and figured that there was nothing he could say to make them change their mind about her. He decided she would have to prove herself with her actions.
He shifted the topic instead. “It’s getting late. Let’s go get something to eat.” Tara could not say anything and merely had to swallow her rage. She promptly clung to Odell’s arms and announced with satisfaction, “Odell, I already got us a reservation at the Elysian House. Let’s go eat there.”
Odell nodded and glanced at Liam and Isabel to say in an imposing tone, “Come on, let’s go.”
Liam tugged at his lips and followed behind them with Isabel.
At Sylvia’s home, she had returned from the woodcarving studio for some time. It was already getting dark, yet there was no sign of Isabel. She rang Isabel worriedly. After a few rings, the call was connected. She immediately asked, “Isabel, where are you now?”
On the other end of the line, Isabel was seated with Liam.
They were placed in the children’s seat which restricted their range of movement. Meanwhile, there was a feast of nutritious kids’ meals laid out in front of them.
Her cheeks were stuffed with food.
When her phone rang and she saw that it was her mother calling, she was delighted. She babbled, “Mommy, I’m eating with Liam, the suspicious uncle, and the ugly aunty at a restaurant.”
Odell and Tara who were seated right next to her were rendered speechless. Odell frowned whereas Tara seemed horrified. Isabel pouted again and voiced her grief, “Mommy, I want to go home. The food here tastes horrible. Then, there’s the ugly aunty who is too hideous to flirt but still keeps trying to hit on the suspicious uncle. I’m losing my appetite.”
Liam patted the back of her head and tried to console her, “It’s my fault. I won’t let you eat out with her next time.”
Tara clenched her fists, boiling with fury.
Odell clicked his tongue. Then, he got up and went to Isabel and proceeded to yank the phone out of her hand.
Sylvia was just about to answer Isabel when she heard the raspy, low voice of a man coming from the receiver, “Sorry, I have been a poor host and have troubled her. I will bring her back as soon as I can.”
She felt her hands trembling.
Instead of answering, she promptly hung up.
After not hearing a response for several seconds, Odell glanced suspiciously at the phone screen.
He saw a girl with chubby cheeks and a wide grin on her face; it was Isabel. Meanwhile, the caller had already hung up.
Perhaps she was too infuriated.
He handed the phone back to the upset Isabel who immediately stuffed the phone into her bag.
Odell then lifted her and Liam out of their seats in turn.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
The two children walked out hand in hand, and moments before they stepped outside, Isabel made sure to turn to Tara and scoff in her direction.
Immediately, Tara’s entire face turned beet red with anger.
She could not lose her temper in front of Odell, thus she only cast a wounded look at him.” Odell…”
Odell answered, “Head back first. Don’t wait up for me.”
He had no intention of comforting her.
Isabel was Liam’s best friend and was only three years old. Even if she was rude, it was more due to poor parenting than anything else.
The main priority was to get her home safely.
With that, he left.
Tara was so infuriated that she slammed her chopsticks on the ground and cursed, “Damned brat! Insolent, uncultured, disgusting brats!”
Twenty minutes later, Odell brought Liam and Isabel to Isabel’s neighborhood.
Odell was the first to step out of the car, followed by Liam and Isabel.
Isabel turned to Liam. “Bro, I’ll go up by myself. There’s no need to send me.”
There was a knowing look in Liam’s eyes as he simply replied, “Okay.”
He knew that his sister was doing this so that Odell would not follow them. After all, t would be terrible if he saw their mother.
Isabel waved to him again. “Bye-bye, bro.”
“Bye-bye.”
Isabel turned to Odell and met his gaze, only to find him staring right at her. Isabel scoffed at him before shuffling her short legs toward the elevator. Her scoff was short and sounded almost unintentional, sounding like a cat’s sneeze.
The way she carried her body while she walked away was an adorable sight.
Despite her audacity, Odell found that it did not rouse anger in him. On the contrary, he formed an amused smile.
He wondered why the little brat held such contempt for him.
Meanwhile, Sylvia was hiding around the corner by the elevator.
There were less than ten meters away separating her and Odell.
She held her breath and waited until Isabel came running.
“Mommy!” Upon seeing her, Isabel jumped toward her immediately.
It was a good thing that Sylvia was ready for her. Otherwise, she would have been sent tumbling down and rolling on the floor.
After that, she picked Isabel up and entered the elevator.
Odell was just approaching them at that very moment. He heard Isabel calling her mother, so he presumed that Isabel’s mother must have come to pick her up.
He wanted to explain what had happened at dinner.
By the time he reached the elevator, the doors were just closing, and all he caught was the faint glimpse of a shirt.
Liam was rapidly sprinting after him as well. He silently heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that the elevator doors had shut. He quickly told Odell, “Dad, I want to go home.” “Alright.” Odell took his hand and strolled back with him.