Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Maxine stood there, watching as Sebastian walked up to her.
“It’s been a while,” Sebastian said to her.
Honestly, it hadn’t been that long. Just yesterday, when he dropped Brian off, Sebastian had secretly watched them from the shadows. It had been over
a month since they’d actually met, and only then did Sebastian realize just how much he’d missed her.
So today, he left work early, gave Charles the day off, and came to pick up Brian himself. He knew Maxine would definitely show up too.
Maxine asked, “So you left Brian with me yesterday, and now you’re suddenly here to pick him up?”
Sebastian pretended not to notice the edge in her voice. “Brian missed you. He heard about what happened and wanted to come keep you company?
Thinking about how Brian always acted all awkward but still tried to stick close to her, Maxine could just barely buy his excuse,
Brian walked out of the school, backpack slung over his shoulder. He spotted both of them and looked a little confused, only snapping out of it when he reached Maxine. “Dad, what are you doing here?” he finally asked.
Sebastian looked at him, deadpan. “I was worried your mom wouldn’t show up to get you.”
Listening to the two of them go back and forth, Maxine couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
Sebastian walked over to the car and opened the door. “Come on, I’ll drive you both home.”
Maxine’s car was still in the shop, so she’d had to catch a ride over today. Having a free driver was definitely a plus. She’d already given up on trying to keep her distance from Sebastian. With Brian staying with her, there was no avoiding him anyway.
They reached the kindergarten gate just as school was letting out. Jessica came dashing out and ran straight into Maxine’s arms. “Maxine!”
Maxine gently patted her head and noticed she wasn’t wearing her backpack. “Where’s your backpack?” she asked.
Jessica shook her head, still clinging to Maxine. Sensing something was off, Maxine asked, “Did something happen today?”
But she just buried her face in Maxine’s arms and stayed quiet.
Brian frowned and said, “Tell us.”
It was obvious Jessica’d been picked on at school. If she didn’t speak up, she’d just keep getting bullied.
Jessica lowered her head, wiped her tears, and whispered, “The other kids… they all said Maxine is a bad person. I tried to explain, but they wouldn’t listen. They even said I don’t have a mom or dad, and they drew all over my dress.”
As she spoke, Jessica turned a little, and everyone could see her favorite floral dress was covered in ugly, colorful scribbles from markers.
Jessica had always treasured her little dress. She’d get upset over the tiniest speck of dirt. Now, seeing it ruined like this, she was so sad she couldn’t even speak.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. Maxine’s face darkened as she took Jessica’s hand. “Come on, let’s go talk to your teacher.”
While the kids were still here, they might be able to find out who was responsible.
Brian stepped forward, grabbing Jessica’s hand. “Come on, I’m going in too. I want to see who’s got the guts to pull something like this!”
When they got to the classroom door, Maxine realized their class wasn’t even dismissed yet. Jessica was the only one who’d run out. The teacher spotted her at the door, her face darkening as she walked over and scolded in a low voice, “Everyone else is still at the activity. Why are you running around by yourself?”
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Chapter 121
Brian shot back coldly, “You clearly weren’t watching the kids. All the others are still here. There’s no way Jessica could’ve left, right broker venst
there?”
The teacher’s face grew even more unpleasant. Brian looked at Jessica. “Why did you run out?”
