The little girl was afraid of Sonia's descent into insanity again, and she was even more scared that she would be detested by this thin but grumpy woman.
But Sonia just smiled at her, "How long have you been waiting here?"
Shivering, she answered, "Three hours..."
Sonia would not care about Elinor too much, and she could only tell herself rationally that this girl was innocent, so she should not loathe Elinor because of her mom. Even so, she could not restrain her feelings.
"Why did you stay here? Why not going to your mom?"
"My mom does not want me..." Elinor still stood at the corner, her eyes suffused with both a desire to approach her and fear of her. Victor would not look at her as this way, because he was beloved by Sonia.
Dixon looked back and said indifferently to Elinor, "Come here."
She was so scared of his punishment that she burst into tears, "Dad, please don't punish me..."
She did nothing wrong, but she habitually apologized to protect herself from being hurt.
Sonia clenched her fists in sympathy. She knew she should not worry about Maria's daughter, but she was still sympathetic to Elinor's expression.
After all, she was a mother. This girl might have psychological problems when she grew up.
Dixon still repeated his words, "Come here."
Elinor moved closer, trembling. "Dad, don't hit me... I won't show up in front of this sister..."
She was scared to cry. Dixon went into a sulk, questioning her, "When did I hit you?"
Elinor hugged herself, saying, "Mommy always hit me and burned me with cigarette butts. She was always furious. She didn't love me at all... Dad also never cared about me... I know you all don't like me... Don't hurt me, and I'll apologize to you."
Dixon was shocked by her tears and words, asking hoarsely, "Who said Dad didn't like you?"
Elinor was indeed not her biological daughter, so he intentionally gave no attention to her and allowed her to call him Dad just because he did not break up with Maria.
After all, Elinor was obedient. He knew she was innocent, but he was so sinful that everyone relevant to him was to blame.
"Dad, you don't gonna beat me?" She apologized, with tears still on her little face, "I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally think you are so bad..."
Fearfully, she thought she made mistakes again, so she had nothing to do but say sorry. Dixon did not know what Maria had done to Elinor so that she was so self-abased.
Sonia took a deep breath and tried to act kindly. "Your dad didn't mean to beat you. Instead, he wants you to have a meal with us. Do you?"
Her words struck Dixon dumb, but he responded immediately after casting a glance at her, "Yes, just dine with your auntie.”
"Thank you, auntie. You're so nice." Elinor was innocent. She would feel grateful to who was nice to her. She asked with tearful eyes, "Can I call your sister?"
Sonia could not restrain herself and touched Elinor's forehead.
Dixon thought that Sonia would hate Maria's kid, but she accepted her. Children were born in white, and they would be painted by adults and their surrounding environment when they grew up.
Sonia had a warm heart, so did Victor.
Dixon knew that Elinor would become shy and depressed in the future because Maria had a negative effect on her. He ignored her as long as he thought Maria cheated him.
But Elinor... was really innocent.
He did the same thing now as he previously vented his anger on Victor. He came to realize that he should not have done that.
Hearing Sonia's words, Dixon kept silent for a while, and then responded. "Okay."
After Elinor kept Sonia company to finish the soup stewed by Helena, Dixon took her outside the room and crouched down, saying to her, "When I bring soup here next time, can you help me to finish it with Sonia?"
"Yeah!" Dixon was finally willing to talk to her. As long as he did not ignore her, she would try her best to do as he said. She was so happy because her dad did not loathe her anymore.
After saying goodbye to Dixon, Elinor made her way to Old Mrs. Borris' room pleasantly, but she was stopped by Maria on the half way. Maria hit her head against the wall heavily, shouting,"How dare you just eat with Sonia Donald? Damn it! You're an ingrate!”
Elinor wanted to yell, but she dare not, because she would only be beaten more heavily by her mother as long as she really did. As if she woke up from a dream, she was dragged into the cold and cruel reality again. Her mother tore her hair in a wheelchair, her eyes full of tears.
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