Chapter 148 Old Tricks Reapplied
Windy's smile vanished from her face in an instant. She put on a pitiful look, her eyes turning red like she'd been wronged badly.
"Olivia, I didn't mean to pry into your private life. I just... just thought it's tough for you to raise a kid alone." Her voice choked up as she walked toward Olivia step by step. "I really had no bad intentions. Don't treat me like this."
As she spoke, she reached out, like she wanted to grab Olivia's arm and explain things clearly.
But she used too much force, and Olivia had always been wary of her. Olivia instinctively stepped back half a step, not letting her touch at all.
Windy's grab missed, and her body stumbled forward two steps, crashing right into Olivia.
Olivia's eyes went wide. Her body jerked back hard, and the back of her head hit the edge of the decorative flower pot behind her with a dull thud. The sound was so sharp that people around stopped in their tracks.
"Mommy!" Leo screamed in fright, tears filling his eyes instantly. He rushed to Olivia's side like crazy and hugged her leg tight. "Mommy, are you okay? Don't scare me!"
Olivia's vision went black. She slid down along the flower pot and sat on the cold floor. Blood soon seeped from her forehead, trickling down her cheek and dripping onto her clothes, looking extra shocking.
She clutched her head, shaking all over from the pain. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't say a full sentence. Tears fell uncontrollably, and her vision started to blur.
Luca's face changed completely. His heart felt gripped by an invisible hand, a chill shooting from his feet to his head. He rushed over, squatted down, and gently held Olivia's shoulders. His voice trembled. "Olivia! Are you okay? Your head?"
"My head... hurts so much..." Olivia gritted her teeth. Her voice was weak like a mosquito's buzz, and her mind was starting to fade.
Windy hadn't expected things to backfire like this. Seeing the blood on Olivia's forehead made her panic a bit, but she still forced an innocent look. Her eyes reddened, and tears fell. "Luca, I didn't mean it. I just wanted to pull her and explain properly. I didn't know she'd be so clumsy..."
"Shut up!" Luca's voice was ice-cold, his eyes burning with rage as he glared at Windy. "If you weren't stirring trouble and faking it here, would she have gotten hurt?"
He hated himself right now, wishing he could slap himself. How could he have been so blind back then, fooled by this woman's act, letting Olivia get hurt and wronged over and over?
Luca ignored Windy. He carefully picked up Olivia, holding her gently like a fragile treasure, afraid to hurt her wound. "Leo, come with Uncle. We'll take Mommy to the hospital."
Leo nodded, clutching Luca's clothes tight. He cried as he ran toward the mall exit, his little face full of fear and worry, mumbling nonstop. "Mommy, don't be okay, you can't have anything wrong!"
"It's okay, baby..." Olivia leaned in Luca's arms, weakly lifting her hand to touch Leo's head. As soon as she finished, she blacked out completely.
People around watched the scene and started pointing at Windy, whispers growing louder.
Windy's face went pale, then flushed, embarrassed and angry. She felt like everyone's stares were needles stabbing her. She couldn't stay, covered her face, and pushed through the crowd, running off fast.
Luca carried Olivia quickly to the parking lot. He gently put her in the car, even padding his jacket under her to keep her back from hurting more on the seat.
"Hang on, we'll be at the hospital soon. It won't hurt much longer." Luca started the car and floored the gas, speeding to the hospital. Every red light on the way felt torturous; he wished he could fly there.
"Mommy, wake up!" Leo sat beside her, gripping her uninjured hand tight. Tears kept falling, hot on her skin. "Mommy, I won't fuss with you anymore. Please be okay?"
Luca glanced in the rearview mirror at Olivia's paper-white face and the blood on her forehead. Guilt and self-blame filled him. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
It was all his fault.
If he hadn't sided with Windy back then, believing every word she said and hurting Olivia so deeply, she wouldn't be so guarded against him.
If he hadn't been tricked by Windy into coming to the mall today, this wouldn't have happened.
If he'd seen Windy's true colors sooner, Olivia wouldn't have suffered so much.
He was a total jerk, hurting the person he should cherish most, time after time.
The car reached the hospital fast. Luca carried Olivia into the ER and yelled, "Doctor! Help her! She hit the back of her head! She's bleeding a lot!"
Doctors and nurses rushed over, put Olivia on a bed, and checked her while asking quickly, "How did she hit it? How long ago? Any nausea or vomiting?"
"About ten minutes ago, hit a flower pot in the mall. She's passed out now, no vomiting yet." Luca answered fast, sounding desperate, sweat beading on his forehead. "Doctor, is she okay? No long-term issues, right?"
"Don't panic. We'll do a head CT to check. Stop the bleeding first." The doctor said it while telling nurses to prep. "Hurry up, no delays."
A nurse came with iodine and gauze, carefully cleaning the wound on Olivia's forehead. Olivia frowned tight in pain, her body twitching a bit.
Luca watched her suffer, his heart aching like needles. He wished he could take all the pain for her.
The nurse wheeled Olivia for the CT. Luca held Leo's hand as they waited on the bench outside.
Leo kept crying, his face red and puffy. He stared at the ER door, fists clenched white-knuckled.
He'd wipe his tears now and then, shoulders shaking, looking so pitiful.
Luca saw how upset he was and felt even worse. He wanted to comfort him, but words stuck in his throat.
He owed this boy too much.
"It's all your fault!" Leo suddenly looked up at Luca, eyes full of hate, voice thick with sobs, almost yelling. "Mommy got hurt because of you!"
Luca froze, mouth opening, but no words came. Guilt and blame washed over him, drowning him.
"I hate you!" Leo's tears fell harder, chest heaving, little body shaking with anger and sadness. "If it wasn't for you, Mommy wouldn't have met that bad woman, wouldn't have hit her head!"
Luca's heart felt sliced by a dull knife, pain spreading so thick he could barely breathe.