Chapter 134
I was lying in my hospital bed with nothing to do, flipping through a parenting manual.
Sunlight streamed through the window onto the bedsheets, warm and comforting, which put my mind at ease.
I slowly turned the pages, studying carefully.
Truth be told, this wasn't my first time reading books about raising children. I'd read tons of theory, but I had no idea how it would work out in practice.
I was filled with anticipation for the birth of the baby in my belly.
The hospital room door was shoved open roughly, accompanied by hurried footsteps as a little girl burst in.
"You shameless woman!" Isabella stood with her hands on her hips in front of the bed, her small face full of hostility beyond her years. "My dad already broke up with you, and you're still clinging to him!"
"You made my mom upset and hurt her feelings, you bad woman, why don't you just die!"
My fingers paused on the manual as I frowned. "Isabella, who taught you to talk so rudely?"
"If you keep spouting nonsense like this, don't blame me for disciplining you on your mother's behalf."
Isabella stepped forward, slapping her little hand on the edge of the bed. "Mom said you've been seducing Dad all along, making Mom so upset that she almost lost the baby. You're a bad woman!"
Her voice was shrill and loud, drawing sideways glances from nurses outside the room.
I took a deep breath, pushing down my irritation. "Isabella, I'm cutting you some slack because you're young and not arguing with me, but leave this room right now, or you'll regret it."
I don't hit children, but Isabella was really being too disobedient.
"I'm not leaving!" Isabella stamped her foot. "I came here today to get revenge for Mom."
With that, she raised her hand to hit me.
But she wasn't tall enough, and her arms weren't long enough to reach me—she could only hit my legs.
I grabbed her hand and warned her, "Isabella, if you keep being so disrespectful, I don't mind disciplining you in front of your parents."
Isabella had already been corrupted by Amelia, using foul language at such a young age.
Though I said I'd discipline Isabella, I didn't dare and couldn't actually touch her.
If I laid a hand on her, Amelia would use it as an excuse, and I couldn't be bothered to argue with her.
Isabella froze for a moment, then became even more arrogant. "Go ahead and hit me! My dad won't help you, you bad woman! He loves me and Mom the most!"
I ignored her provocation and dialed James's number directly.
The call connected quickly, and James's deep voice came through. "What's wrong?"
"James, Isabella is currently causing trouble in my hospital room, insulting me and even hitting me." I calmly stated the facts. "But if you don't want to see her get beaten up, please come get her right away."
"I'll be right there."
After hanging up, Isabella kept chattering away beside me, calling me "shameless" and a "bitch."
She tried to hit me again, so I grabbed her hands and pinned them to the bed to stop her from moving.
I closed my eyes and pretended to rest, letting her yell and curse, cry and curse.
About ten minutes later, the hospital room door opened, and James strode in quickly.
When Isabella saw James, she started wailing. "Dad, you're finally here! This bad woman bullied me; you have to get revenge for me."
Seeing Isabella still throwing a tantrum, his face immediately darkened. "Isabella!"
Isabella was startled by his presence; her crying stopped abruptly, and she pouted pitifully. "Dad, she's the wrong one. Why are you yelling at me instead of her?"
"Don't you like Isabella anymore? Now that you have a new baby, you don't like me. I know, I'll go home and pack my things and leave, so I won't be an eyesore at home."
"Isabella, is this how I taught you? Threatening adults with running away from home at the slightest disagreement? And you came here to cause trouble—who told you to come?"
Isabella looked pitiful, pouting and crying loudly.
James walked to the bedside, his gaze falling on me with a hint of apology. "Sophia, I'm sorry for the trouble."
"If you know you're causing me trouble, hurry up and take this trouble away," I said flatly, releasing Isabella.
James turned to look at Isabella, his tone stern. "Isabella, apologize to Sophia."
"I won't!" Isabella stubbornly turned her head away. "She's a bad woman, I won't apologize to her!"
"Apologize!" James raised his voice a bit, his eyes sharp. "You just cursed at her and hit her. That's very rude behavior. You must apologize!"
Isabella was scared into tears, with tears and snot running down her face. "Dad, you're yelling at me! You're actually taking this bad woman's side and yelling at me!"
"Mom was right, you're bewitched by this woman now. You only care about her and don't care about Mom and me and Mom, or the baby in her belly."
"I hate you!" She pounded her little fists on James's legs.
"Isabella, I never taught you to avoid problems and change the subject when you do something wrong." James's face grew even darker. "I'm asking you one last time—are you going to apologize or not?"
Looking at James's dark expression, Isabella finally got scared.
She sniffled, cautiously studying James. Seeing that his expression hadn't softened, she reluctantly said, "I'm... I'm sorry, Dad. I know I was wrong."
She deliberately didn't apologize to me.
"You shouldn't be apologizing to me." James corrected her.
"I'm sorry, Sophia." Isabella turned around and repeated in a small voice, tears still falling.
Only then did James soften his tone and say to her, "Don't you dare come cause trouble for Sophia again, understand?"
"If you don't behave and act like this again, Dad will have to punish you."
Isabella nodded, not daring to speak anymore.
James had his assistant take Isabella back first, and the hospital room finally quieted down.
"She's still young and doesn't know better. Amelia corrupted her, but she's not really a bad kid." James sighed, his tone helpless.
"I know," I said flatly. "But children's behavior often reflects how adults have raised them."
"James, if you really want to be with Amelia, I hope you can educate Isabella properly and not let her turn out like her mother."
"I won't be with Amelia, but rest assured, I will definitely educate Isabella properly. After all, she's my older brother's only child. I won't let her be raised wrong." James looked at me with a complicated expression. "Get some rest, and call me if anything else happens."
I said nothing.
James gave a few more instructions before turning to leave.
A while after he left, the hospital room door was pushed open again. This time, it was Isabella and Amelia together.