Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1823

Summer, listening in from all the way back in the dining room, guffawed so hard she choked on her food. “Ha—uh, uh hem! Cough, cough, ptooey! Hahahahaha! Jesus Christ, Lil’ P! How old are you again? That little boombox of yours can really say the most outrageous things! If you were a few years older, your mom would have whacked you right now! C’mon, you rascal, your sister’s only gonna be ugly for now—when she grows older, she’s only gonna get better, you can bet on that! The tables might turn by then and she would be the one who doesn’t want to play with you anymore!”

Tiffany thought of her daughter’s challenge in cognitive abilities and lowered her head as a sharp pang stabbed her chest. Every time Lil’ P started running his mouth and throwing all sorts of disparaging remarks at his sister, the anger that he fanned within Tiffany was genuine and real. Had Cynthia not suffered enough? Why must she still be treated with contempt?

Tiffany knew Lil’ P was, at his core, just a little kid with equal maturity to boot. But it did not stop how much her heart would ache, did it?

People outside her family could belittle her daughter as much as they wanted, but she would not brook hearing it from her own people. Cynthia was not just any girl—she was the daughter she almost traded her life for. Intelligent or not, Tiffany did not care; her life’s purpose was to protect Cynthia and be by her side forever.

Tiffany’s silence was deafening; it was so stark that Summer thought she had crossed the line. “Oh, Tiffie, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I was just joking, Tiffie. I would never think Cindy’s ugly—in fact, I think she’s quite a cutie too, a-and she will only grow up to become even more beautiful, I know it. She’s my granddaughter, so there’s no way I won’t love her. So, don’t take my ribbing to heart, all right, sweetie?”

“No, it’s okay, Mom. I wasn’t mad at you. But…” Tiffany inhaled sharply. “Plato West, you little brat, listen to me closely. If you dare call your sister an ugly monster or anything like that again, I am not. Letting. You. Get Away with this. You know your sister’s born with some disabilities; you know s-she’s… imperfect… But her own older brother kicking her to the curb like that? Plato West, how… How d-do you expect her to l-live?!”

It ended in a choked sob.

Seeing her reddened eyes, Lil’ P took a few fearful steps back, spun on his heels, and sprinted back into the dining hall where he could dive into Atticus’s hands for protection. Going for his grandfather as his asylum was the boy’s go-to strategy for any impending spanking, which really showed how much Atticus doted on his grandson.

Summer loved her granddaughter, but she loved her grandson too. Right now, all she could do was to rub Lil’ P’s little head comfortingly without a word.

“Hey, babe. You all right?” he whispered gently. “You were really pissed just now, weren’t you? What’s eating you, Tiffie? If there’s pain in there, you must tell me, okay? Don’t bottle it up and suffer it alone. I know it’s more than Lil’ P being a brat treating his sister with contempt.”

Tiffany sniffled. “I… I don’t know what’s eating me either. I just feel… like I can’t hold it in anymore. Every time Lil’ P does this... when he disparages Cindy like that, it just twists the knife that’s been lodged in my heart. Cindy’s misfortune is torment enough, Jackson, so why? Why won’t her brother let up?! I know what y’all think. ‘He’s just a kid! He ain’t mature enough to understand what he’s doing!’ But I don’t want this… thing to be a recurring shadow that haunts Cindy since her childhood, okay? I don’t! J-Just l-l-look at her when I was feeding her; she looked like a goddamned normal kid, no different from anyone else! E-Even I still can’t believe… that I’m looking at a cognitively-challenged child…”

Everything that hurt Tiffany hurt Jackson too—he was just better at concealing what he really felt.

He lifted his hand and patted Tiffany in a featherlight manner. “Hey, hey. It’s all right, babe. That no-good twerp’s gonna get a taste of his Pop’s medicine for sure. But you, though! How can a fierce mom like yourself be bullied into crying by her own son, hmm? That’s kinda embarrassing, ain’t it? Hee hee…”