Kyle and Juan realized they had been played when they saw Nicole accept the gift.
You lied to us, Levant! Didn’t you say you were going to take it back just a few minutes ago?
Nicole opened the box and was shocked to see that it was the exact same necklace as before.
Is such a coincidence even possible?
She thought to herself as she shot the two a suspicious glare. Juan simply lowered his head and smiled while Kyle had a somewhat awkward expression on his face.
Nicole noticed their abnormal reactions and quickly found herself an excuse to reject the gift.
“I don’t feel safe wearing such an expensive necklace, Levant. I think you should hold on to it instead.”
Levant frowned. “But this was designed by your favorite jewelry designer, Nicole. It really suits you!”
“Just hold on to it for me, okay?”
With that, Levant decided not to push her any further and walked away with the box after a brief exchange.
The moment Levant left, Nicole questioned the two troublemakers.
The two exchanged glances, and Juan stepped up to apologize.
“We’re sorry, Mommy. We shouldn’t have lied to you.”
“Sorry, Mommy.” Kyle apologized too.
Nicole gave them a pat on the head for their honesty and said, “All right, just remember to be honest kids from now on, okay?”
The two nodded their heads in response.
“I’m the most honest one, Mommy!” Maya spoke up all of a sudden.
“Yes, you are. You should all be like Maya.”
Nina pouted when she heard that. “Maya got abused and kept quiet about it, Mommy! I don’t wanna be like her!”
Her words shocked Nicole greatly as they came unexpected.
Then, Nicole turned to look at Nina in confusion. “What did you say? What do you mean by abused?”
“Oh, you have no idea, Mommy. Maya was stabbed with needles, strangled, and bullied in all sorts of ways! Because she wouldn’t tell anyone about it, we only found out when she fainted and was sent to the hospital!”
After hearing that from Nina, Nicole turned to look at Maya, who was rubbing her chubby palms together with tears in her eyes.
If Nina hadn’t exposed the incident, she wouldn’t want to remember those horrific moments either.
Nicole gave Maya a hug and asked softly, “Will you tell Mommy who did this to you, Maya?”
Maya began crying loudly with tears streaming down her face.
“It was an old and mentally ill maid, Mommy. She killed herself by smashing her head on the wall for fear of Daddy’s punishments.” Nina answered.
“An old maid?”
Nicole was confused. What kind of old maid could possibly abuse a child like this?
Kyle tugged on Nicole’s sleeve and motioned at her to have a word in private. Nicole understood his intentions and went into the bedroom with him after coaxing Maya to stop crying.
“Did you want to tell me something, Kai?”
Kyle nodded.
“I think the old maid wasn’t the one who abused Maya. She was probably just a scapegoat.”
Nicole frowned. “What do you know about this, Kai?”
“I think Ms. Susan was the one who abused her, Mommy. Maya’s just too scared of her to say it.”
Nicole was shocked.
Susan? Why would she abuse Maya?
“Daddy asked Maya who did it, but she refused to tell. She then shouted ‘I’m sorry, Mommy!’ all of a sudden. Could it have something to do with you, Mommy?”
Nicole was even more surprised when she heard that.
Did Susan abuse Maya because of me?
