The sound of footsteps coming downstairs startled the people in the living room. Lila , carrying a strawberry cake, ran to the top of the stairs. The moment she saw Clara , she didn't hesitate to throw the cake at her. Cream and strawberry jam smeared onto her off-white skirt, sticky and glaring.
"Why are you back, you fat woman!" Lila frowned, her tone full of disgust. "You're so fat and ugly, just looking at you ruins my mood for practicing! Where's Teacher Vanessa ? I want Teacher Vanessa with me, I don't want you, you fat mom!"
Clara felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart with an ice pick, a sharp, persistent pain.
daughter, whom she gave birth to after a night of struggling on the operating table at the risk of severe bleeding .
To save Lila's career , she gave up her rising ballet career, underwent hormone therapy, and was forever separated from her slender figure.
But now, this child, whom she risked half her life for, is using the most vicious words to express her disgust at her appearance.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the sob in her throat, and said in a calm, even voice, "This is the house I bought. If you don't want to see me, you can leave."
"How dare you talk to a child like that?" Liam 's voice came from upstairs. He had straightened his clothes, his face still showing lingering lust, but his eyes were full of displeasure as he looked at Clara . "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't come back before Lila finished her piano lesson?"
Clara was stunned.
She bought the house with the prize money from a ballet competition years ago , personally oversaw the renovation, and even raised the initial capital for Liam's business by selling the jewelry left by her mother.
She carried the child for ten months, risking her life to give birth, and she single-handedly took care of all the household chores and meals. But now, she even needs the permission of this father and daughter to go back to her own home.
“Now that you’re back, go make dinner.” Liam ’s gaze swept over her plump figure, his disdain undisguised. “ Vanessa must be tired taking Lila to class, so we need to make something nourishing. You don’t know anything else, so all you can do is run around in the kitchen.”