Chapter 3 The Scalding Heat
The next morning started wonderfully. I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Liam. After the bath last night, a silent trust had formed between us. He wasn't growling at me anymore; he opened his mouth when I offered the spoon.
However, this peace was interrupted by the kitchen door swinging open harshly.
It was Seraphina. She made a sharp gesture to the maids behind her, and everyone cleared the kitchen. Liam and I were left alone with this woman.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself," Seraphina said, leaning against the other end of the counter. "You know Leo keeps you here because he pities you, right? But when he gets bored, he'll put you out the door. Just like the others."
I didn't answer. I wiped Liam's mouth. When Seraphina couldn't provoke me, she got even angrier. Her eyes caught the teapot on the stove. It was herbal tea I was making for Liam; the water was boiling. Seraphina approached the stove with a sly smile.
"Tea time?" she said.
She didn't walk toward me, but toward Liam. Alarm bells started ringing inside me. I stood up quickly. "Don't get close to him."
"Are you giving me orders?" Seraphina reached for the handle of the teapot. "I am the mistress of this house."
Then everything happened in seconds. Seraphina lifted the teapot, looked into my eyes, and tilted her wrist slightly. "Oops," she whispered.
The boiling water poured directly onto Liam’s left arm and leg.
The scream that came out of the child shook the kitchen windows. This wasn't a sound of anger, it was pure pain. Liam started crying, shaking violently.
I screamed and lunged forward, pulling Liam off the chair and into my arms, running immediately to the sink to hold his arm under cold water. But Seraphina acted before me. She let out her own scream:
"HELP! HELP! SHE BURNED THE BABY!"
The kitchen door slammed against the wall. Leo burst in. His mother, Beatrice, was right behind him.
The scene they saw was terrible: Liam was screaming in pain in my arms, his arm had turned bright red and was blistering. The floor was soaking wet. Seraphina was pointing at me, covering her mouth in horror.
"LEO!" Seraphina shrieked, shedding fake tears. "She did it! I swear she did it! She got angry because Liam wouldn't eat his food and poured boiling water on the child! I tried to stop her but I couldn't reach her!"
Beatrice gasped. "Oh God... I told you, Leo! I told you this girl was unstable!"
When Leo saw his son's condition, he went pale. Then that whiteness was replaced by a pure, primal rage. There was no logic. No asking questions. There was only his suffering son and the nanny who "burned" him.
He walked toward me, snatching Liam from my arms. His hands shook when he looked at his son's burned arm. Then he turned to me. His eyes had lost their humanity; there was only a wild wolf in front of me.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SON?" he roared. His voice was so powerful I cowered where I stood.
"Leo, I didn't do it! I swear she poured it!" I pointed at Seraphina.
"Liar!" Seraphina shouted. "She's still denying it! Throw her out immediately, Leo!"
Leo grabbed me by my arm. His fingers dug into my flesh. He dragged me out of the kitchen, toward the living room.
"Get out," he said through gritted teeth. "If I see you on my lands again, I won't let you live. Pray that my son doesn't have a scar."
He pushed me toward the front door. He threw my bag after me. I looked at Liam one last time through my tears. The child was writhing in pain in his father's arms.
"Goodbye, little star..." I whispered to myself.
Just as I was about to open the door and leave, that sound was heard.
"No..."
Leo stopped. His hand froze on the doorknob.
Seraphina’s crying cut off like a knife.
That voice was Liam.
We all turned to him. Liam stopped crying. He held his father's shirt tightly. His face was beet red, he was in so much pain, but his eyes were on me.
"Da-da..." he said with difficulty. His voice was hoarse but clear.
Leo looked at his son in shock. "Liam?"
Liam lifted his trembling hand. He just reached out toward me.
"Ivy... didn't," he said.
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Seraphina lunged forward in panic. "Leo! The child doesn't know what he's saying from the pain! He's delirious!"
But Liam shook his head. He looked at his father's face and said those two words.
"Mama... don't go."
This word destroyed Leo’s world. He stumbled. He looked at the child in his arms, then at me, waiting to be kicked out in front of the door.
Liam repeated, "Ivy... Mama..." and continued reaching for me.
Leo took a deep breath. His anger hadn't faded, but its direction had changed. He was confused. If Ivy did it, why was his son calling her "Mama"? Why did he want her?
He didn't turn to Seraphina, he didn't blame her. Because his son hadn't said "Seraphina did it." He had only cleared Ivy.
Leo walked toward me. He closed the door.
"She stays," he said harshly, not looking at anyone. "She stays because my son wants it."
Then he turned to Seraphina. "Call the doctor. Now."
He didn't give Liam to me, but he didn't kick me out either. As he headed to the stairs with his son in his arms, Liam looked at me over his shoulder. His green eyes made me a promise: I won't let you go.
