Three days later.
Nydia's head and hand injuries had improved a bit.
Her life had been very simple these days, eating and sleeping while being scrutinized by Jesse.
She knew she was behaving abnormally, but she couldn't control it. She had to make changes and investigate what had happened in the past. She knew that sleeping with Jesse had been Willette's plan, but she wanted to know the specific design process.
Her parents' sudden accident also seemed suspicious at the time, and after the accident, most people chose to keep their distance from her. Only the Malones stepped forward to adopt her at this critical moment. Looking back now, she felt like she was under a huge conspiracy.
Today, Jesse had a social engagement and wouldn't be back home soon.
Nydia wanted to take this opportunity to bond with the two children. When Jesse was at home, she didn't have a chance to get close to them, and the children didn't pay much attention to her either.
Especially Tavish, who was full of hostility towards her.
Nydia carried two glasses of milk and went to the children's room.
The two children slept in one room with two small beds. Since they were twins, Jesse planned to let them sleep together until they were six years old before separating them into different rooms.
"Molly, Tavish, drink your milk," she said as she entered the room.
When the children saw her, they were both surprised, but Molly took the milk and prepared to drink it. Tavish immediately took it from her hand and looked at Nydia warily. "Did you poison the milk?"
Nydia's face turned pale at his words, and she felt a dull pain in her chest. She took a deep breath and said seriously to Tavish, "If you think there's poison, you can ask the butler to test it!"
Apologizing and feeling guilty all the time wouldn't help. She had to show them with her actions that she wouldn't hurt them anymore.
But Tavish just sneered, "Just because it's not poisoned this time doesn't mean it won't be poisoned in the future. This could be your plan!"
He no longer trusted Nydia.
Before, he still had some hope that if he behaved well, mommy would like him and treat him well. So when mommy suggested taking him out to play, he had some doubts but still followed her. He just didn't expect mommy to be so cruel!
"Tavish, I absolutely did not plan for you to fall into the lake. At the time, I was distracted by someone else and when I turned around to look for you, you had already fallen. I immediately jumped in to save you."
She knew that both Molly and Tavish were very intelligent, despite their young age, and especially Tavish, who was more mature and perceptive than what was expected at his age.
Seeing Tavish's disbelief, she continued to ask, "How did the bad person do it? What did he say to you?"
As soon as the incident was mentioned, Tavish involuntarily became scared and a hint of fear appeared in his cold, emotionless eyes. His hands tightly gripped the chair next to him, as if he had returned to the feeling of suffocation in the water.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you recall that scene!" Nydia was startled by Tavish's reaction and immediately wanted to hug him, but Tavish forcefully pushed her away.
"I don't need your fake kindness," he said coldly, his eyes already red, but he stubbornly gritted his teeth and refused to cry. "You said you saved me, but why did you fail to save me?"
"That bad person said that mommy doesn't want me and told him to drown me!"
"Why do you hate me so much?!"
With his final sentence, he roared in anger, his eyes completely red. He leaned forward, his hands clenched into fists, staring straight at Nydia.
Nydia saw her own pain in Tavish's watery eyes. She watched big tears fall from Tavish's eyes and took a deep breath, trying to hold back her own tears. Her nose felt sour and her eyes were red.
"Tavish, it was mommy's fault before, not yours. I was wrong and will change. It's okay if you don't believe me now, I will prove myself to you."
She showed Tavish a gentle smile. "The milk isn't poisoned, and I won't poison anything." She spoke slowly, word by word.
She stood up, but her legs were numb from crouching for too long, and she was also feeling dizzy. She stumbled and couldn't stand steady.
Molly immediately went to support Nydia. "Mommy, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thank you, Molly." She smiled softly and reached out to touch Molly's hair.
Meanwhile, Tavish quietly retreated the small step he had taken in a panic earlier and pretended that nothing had happened. "Molly, come over here, stay away from her." He pulled his sister to his side.
Nydia looked at the two of them with a gentle smile on her lips.
"I'll go out first. If you still think the milk is poisonous, then go ahead and pour it out. Goodnight, my darlings." She left the children's room, and as soon as the door closed, her smile couldn't hold up anymore. She leaned against the door, her left hand holding onto the wall, her right hand covering her chest where she felt her breathing was difficult.
Tavish's words kept replaying in her mind.
Who was the person who held him and threw him into the lake? And why did they say it was at her command?
When she jumped into the lake, someone clearly restrained her and hit her head against a rock. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been unable to save Tavish and almost died herself.
Who wanted to put her and her son in danger?
Wait, if she and her son were in danger, how did Tavish get saved?
Too many questions were swirling in her mind, and she wanted to ask the servants for answers. But when she looked up, she met a pair of icy, angry eyes.
"You're back," she greeted Jesse's gaze calmly.
"What did you do?" Jesse drove his wheelchair closer to her, even though she stood taller than him. But the oppressive aura he exuded was overwhelming.
"I didn't do anything. I just gave the children some milk." She didn't avoid his gaze and remained composed.
Jesse scoffed. "Remember what I said. If anything happens to the two children, you know the consequences."
"Okay." Nydia went around Jesse, pausing to consider that it might be better to ask him directly about the drowning incident instead of asking the servants.
"By the way, did they catch the person who threw Tavish into the lake?" Jesse turned his wheelchair to face Nydia, a sneer playing on his lips.
"What? Are you scared?"