Chapter 266 Protection

Chapter 266 Protection

Lily glanced at Noah on her left, then at Faye on her right, and finally looked down at the pair of hands still wrapped around her waist.

David hadn't let go yet.

She felt those hands tighten slightly, then loosen, as if he'd hesitated for a moment before finally, reluctantly, releasing her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw David slowly sit up straight. The heavy, restrained look on his face from before had faded into something like quiet resignation.

Only then did Noah notice there was someone else sitting beside Lily.

He lifted his tear-blurred eyes, and the moment he recognized the face, he froze completely.

"David? What are you doing here?"

Noah's little mouth crumpled, and his tears fell even harder. But instead of throwing himself at David, he gripped Lily's hand tighter, as if he was afraid someone was going to take her away from him.

"David, why are you here?" Noah sobbed, his voice muffled and thick with that particular kind of grievance only little kids can pull off. "Did you hear Lily got hurt too? Did you come to see her?"

Faye was the first to catch on. She sat up straight and looked between David and Lily, her eyes going back and forth a couple of times. The tear tracks on her face hadn't even dried yet, but the corners of her mouth were already curving up into an "I get it now" kind of smile.

"David." Faye's voice still had a slight wobble to it, but her tone had lightened considerably. "You got here faster than we did."

David didn't respond. He just turned his head slightly and gave her a look.

It wasn't harsh. It wasn't even really a warning. But Faye immediately dropped the smile and quietly looked away.

Noah was pulling at Lily, and she'd slid a little toward the edge of the bed. She wanted to reach up and ruffle his fluffy hair, but remembering her injuries might scare him, she pulled her hand back and kept her voice as gentle as she could. "Noah, it's okay. I'm fine. I just scraped myself a little. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Liar!" Noah shot back loudly, eyes swimming with tears. "That mean lady pushed you. I saw it. Mommy wouldn't let me look, but there's blood everywhere. It must hurt so much!"

Lily looked around the room. It really was a mess. She had to admit it did look a little scary.

"It really doesn't hurt," she said again.

Noah didn't believe her. He stuck out his lip, tears dripping steadily down his face. He scrubbed at his cheeks with his sleeve, then turned to David and tilted his little face up. "David, did someone hurt Lily? Tell me who it was. I'll go beat her up!"

David looked down at his son. That face of his, always so cool and unreadable, finally cracked just a little.

He reached out and gave Noah's cheek a gentle pinch.

"It's already been taken care of," he said, and smiled slightly. "No need for you to beat anyone up."

Noah wasn't satisfied with that answer and looked like he wanted to push further, but Faye had already walked around the foot of the bed to Lily's other side and sat down on the edge. She took Lily's other hand and looked at the injuries, her eyes going red again.

"Lily, what's the deal with that Mia?" Faye kept her voice low, like she didn't want Noah to hear. "I saw the livestream. The things she said... how did she even dare? Did she hurt you anywhere when she pushed you? Did you hit your head when you fell?"

Lily shook her head. "No... it's all over now..."

Faye bit her lip. A flash of something fierce crossed her face, looking out of place on her usually gentle features. "Don't worry. It'll all get handled. You can talk about it if you want, or you don't have to. Either way, we'll deal with her."

Lily looked at Faye's expression, so serious it was almost stubborn, and couldn't help but laugh.

She reached over and patted the back of Faye's hand. "Okay, okay, Faye. Everyone's making such a big deal out of this. I'm not made of glass, you know."

"Yes you are," Noah said from beside her, sniffling, eyes still red, his voice firm with conviction. "Lily is made of glass. The prettiest kind. You can't let her break. When I grow up, I'm going to marry Lily, and then nobody will ever dare hurt her again."

Lily paused. She looked down at Noah's big, round eyes, red and wet, full of worry and lingering fear.

She reached down and lifted him up off the floor, ignoring the pain from her injuries, and settled him onto her lap.

Noah immediately leaned into her, his small arms wrapping around her neck, his face buried in the curve of her shoulder. He sniffled quietly, and his tears slowly began to stop.

David sat nearby, watching Lily hold Noah, his gaze deep and unreadable.

Faye looked at David, then at Lily. Her lips moved like she was about to say something, but in the end she just let out a quiet sigh and swallowed the words.

Lily patted Noah's back, her chin resting on top of his fluffy head. But her eyes drifted over toward David on their own.

David was already looking at her.

Their eyes met. Lily quickly looked away, but her ears had gone red without her permission.

She could feel David's gaze still resting on her face, light as a feather, impossible to ignore.

Noah shifted in her arms and mumbled something. Lily didn't catch it and leaned down. "What did you say?"

Noah lifted his face from her shoulder, tear tracks still on his cheeks, his expression completely serious. "Lily, promise me you won't fight bad people anymore, okay? You can't win. If you want to fight someone, bring me. I'll fight them for you."

Lily laughed. She reached up and pinched his chubby little cheek. "Deal. Next time I need to fight someone, I'm calling you."

Noah gave a satisfied nod and buried his face back against her.

"We definitely can't let Chase find out about this. He'll worry like crazy."

Faye watched the two of them and finally let herself smile.

She stood up and walked over to David. She leaned down and said something in a voice low enough that only the two of them could hear.

David's brow furrowed slightly, then smoothed out. He didn't say anything back. He just gave Faye a look.

The look said it clearly enough: you can go now.

Faye made a face, mouthed something silently, then straightened up and patted Lily on the shoulder. "Lily, I'm going to go get Noah some warm milk. He heard the news and came straight here without even having a drink of water."

Lily nodded. Faye turned and headed for the door. She stopped just before she reached it, looked back at David with a meaningful glance, then pulled the door shut behind her.

The room went quiet again. Just the hum of the air conditioning and the steady sound of Noah breathing.

Noah had worn himself out crying. He was sprawled against Lily, already half asleep.

Lily held him and didn't dare move, afraid of waking him. Her arms had been hurt to begin with, and after holding him for a while they were starting to ache, but she kept quiet and pushed through it.

Then a hand reached over from beside her and gently supported Noah's back.

Lily turned her head. David had gotten up at some point without her noticing. He was standing next to her, leaning down slightly, one hand under Noah, the other arm around her shoulders, carefully taking both her and the child she was holding.

"I've got him," he said softly, like he was trying not to wake anyone.