Chapter 37 Regret After Loss
Lily stood still, her slender figure radiating an air of calmness.
"Yeah!"
"Alright!"
Austin yanked the IV needle out of Sophie's arm and scooped her up. "We're outta here. No way we're staying for treatment!"
Sophie clung to Austin's neck, feeling a bit triumphant inside.
As Austin reached the door, he noticed the heavy rain outside. His umbrella was tiny.
He glanced at the large umbrella in Lily's hand and demanded, "Hand over yours. You can manage with the small one."
Lily found it amusing. "Why should I?"
"Because Sophie got sick because of you. You should give up the umbrella."
Dennis, with a stern face, stomped on the small umbrella Austin had kicked over, smashing it.
His eyes were cold. "She doesn't want to. So what do you think you are?"
Austin was livid. "Lily, do you have to make a scene and ruin everything for everyone? Messing around with him and causing trouble at home?"
Lily said nothing, holding the large umbrella, and walked towards Austin.
Her gaze was clear and direct as she opened the umbrella, shielding herself from the rain.
Austin's expression darkened. "If you come to your senses now, it's not too late! That school nurse is no good. He's just trying to take advantage!"
The next moment, Lily slapped him hard.
Austin was stunned, feeling the sting on his cheek. He couldn't believe she actually hit him.
Holding Sophie, he couldn't dodge, but he never expected Lily to strike.
Sophie quickly intervened, "Lily, how could you hit Austin? If you don't want to switch umbrellas, fine, but you can't just—ah!"
Lily slapped Sophie, too.
Finally, there was silence.
Her eyes glinted with a hint of red, her voice cold. "So what if I hit you? You can talk about me, but not about him!"
Lily stormed over to Dennis. "Let's go."
Dennis hadn't expected her to stand up for him.
He took the umbrella from her, and they walked into the rain together.
Austin took a moment to gather himself before chasing after them, rain pouring down on him and Sophie.
Already feeling sick, Sophie was even more miserable now.
She was annoyed, thinking, 'What is this idiot Austin doing?'
She didn't want to be soaked!
Too afraid to lash out, Sophie feigned a cough. "Austin, I feel dizzy and awful."
Austin finally snapped out of it, realizing he was holding Sophie. "I'll take you back first."
By then, Lily and Dennis were already out of sight.
Back in the car, Lily noticed Dennis's shoulder was wet from the rain.
He must have tilted the umbrella towards her, getting himself soaked.
Dennis started the car. "That was pretty brave back there."
Lily looked a bit uneasy. "I didn't want them talking about you like that."
"That angry?" He asked.
Lily paused. "You're my first friend. I don't want people talking about you like that."
She didn't care what Austin thought of her. But she wouldn't let him talk about Dennis.
Dennis smiled slightly as he focused on the road ahead.
Back at the apartment, Lily's phone kept ringing. She saw it was Michael calling.
Lily switched her phone to silent and didn't answer.
Michael stared at the unanswered call, then looked at Austin. "She didn't pick up."
"Michael, I've told you she's been led astray, but you keep indulging her. Today she even dared to hit me and Sophie!"
Michael sighed. "Didn't you hit her before? It's even now."
"That's different! And Sophie didn't provoke her!"
Michael sighed again. "I know, but Lily isn't as easy to pacify as she used to be. If you didn't have an umbrella, you could've had the driver take you. Why insist on hers?"
Knowing Lily has issues with them, yet forcing her to compromise—wasn't that asking for trouble?
"I was just trying to save time. Besides, Lily couldn't handle such a big umbrella alone. But she refused and even hit us!"
Austin was fuming. "I need to send her a message."
[Lily, where are you now?]
The message was rejected as soon as it was sent out. Austin's face turned pale. "She deleted me! How dare she!"
Michael was exasperated. "I've warned you not to act rashly. You're in quarantine and can't see her. If she calls the police, you'll be in trouble."
"Afraid of her? I don't consider her my sister anymore!"
Austin angrily threw his phone.
He felt humiliated by being deleted.
"Don't be foolish. She's going through a rebellious phase and has been hurt before. That school nurse might have influenced her. But she's our sister, and that won't change."
Michael's gaze was firm. "I'll find a way to bring her back. If you don't want to lose her, don't do anything else."
Austin finally relented.
At dinner, he took a bite of the Honey Glazed Ribs and put down his fork. "Who made this? It's awful. Where's the previous chef?"
Barry hesitated. "Ms. Roberts used to make this herself, adjusting the seasoning to your taste. No other chef can replicate it."
Austin was stunned, staring at the dish, lost in thought.
He hadn't noticed these details before.
Since Lily left, his life and team competitions had been a mess.
Realizing he was deleted, he felt more panic than anger.
He hadn't expected Lily to have such a significant impact on him.
The next day, Lily went to school as usual, but Sophie took sick leave.
Michael stood in the hallway, watching Lily in the classroom.
Her posture was straight, and her profile was intensely focused.
Seeing this, he felt a pang of confusion.
Lily had changed a lot recently.
Michael hesitated. "How has Lily been doing lately?"
Alex replied, "Lily has made great progress. I hope you can give her more support and avoid negative influences. Her previous poor performance might have been due to your influence, causing her to not take things seriously."
Michael was puzzled. "Our influence? What do you mean?"
"Sophie's grades have always been average, but Lily is naturally smart. Maybe you focused too much on Sophie, causing Lily to intentionally underperform to avoid putting pressure on Sophie. I shouldn't be the one to say this, but Sophie can be a bit petty. Maybe that's why Lily's grades have been poor for the past three years."
Alex spoke gently.
Michael's face fell.
Could Lily have been intentionally underperforming to avoid pressuring Sophie?
He thought of Lily's recent changes and her sudden academic improvement, feeling a sharp pain in his chest.
Michael was almost unsteady. "Mr. Taylor, can Lily come out for a moment?"
He needed to ask Lily if this was true.