Chapter 5 Fight Back
Lailah turned to Krish, who stood just behind Zayden.
Krish was talking to her, but his eyes stayed on Tamara, full of concern.
Zayden and Krish always overreacted the moment Tamara seemed uncomfortable.
Once, the four of them went to the park.
Tamara suddenly collapsed, possibly from heatstroke or some other cause.
Zayden and Krish rushed to her at the same time.
In his panic, Zayden shoved Lailah aside, knocking her to the ground.
No one even noticed.
The irony was that when Zayden saw her bandaged hand, he asked how she had gotten hurt.
Tamara’s soft, breathy voice interrupted Lailah’s thoughts.
“Krish, I just lost my balance. It wasn’t your mother’s fault.”
Tamara shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked heartbreakingly fragile. “Sorry, my body is just too weak…”
Krish pouted. “But I saw Mom push you.”
He turned to Lailah with a serious face.
“Mom, you always say if we mess up, we should own up to it. You wouldn’t go back on that, right?”
Back
Lailah had done everything to make sure Krish grew stronger.
But when it came to his studies, she barely ever had to step in.
At just five, he already spoke three languages. His words were clear, his thinking sharp.
And he had a way of winning arguments against adults.
Zayden’s mother often said he was just like his father had been as a child.
And now, he was turning Lailah’s own lesson against her.
As his mother, she was supposed to set the example.
“If I don’t stick to what I said, how can I expect Krish to? He won’t take me seriously if I mess this up now,” Lailah thought.
Lailah looked at Zayden and Krish, standing close to Tamara.
For the first time, she felt they looked more like a family.
She had stopped expecting anything from Zayden and Krish long ago, but Krish’s words still cut deep.
Lailah looked him in the eye and said, “You’re right. I did say that, but…”
She paused, keeping her voice firm. “But I didn’t do anything wrong. So why would I apologize?”
Before, she would have given in for Krish’s sake.
But not today.
“But I saw you push Tamara,” Krish blurted.
Lailah didn’t argue. She gave a faint smile.
Chapter 5 Fight Back.
“Just because I pushed her, that doesn’t mean I was in the wrong.”
“But you say hurting people is wrong,” Krish insisted.
“Yeah, and I also told you not to let people push you around. Standing up for yourself isn’t the same as hurting someone. If someone keeps crossing the line, you don’t have to just let them,” Lailah replied flatly.
Krish was sharp, but he was still just a kid.
He hadn’t expected her to say that. For a moment, he didn’t know what to
say.
Then, Jamir’s voice broke the silence.
“Krish, that’s not how you talk to your mother.”
Zayden and Krish both turned at the sound. They seemed surprised to see Jamir here.
Krish blinked. “Uncle Jamir?”
Zayden frowned. “Jamir? No way.”
He knew Jamir’s relationship with Lailah. She had told him a lot about Jamir, and he had met him many times.
Lailah had once told him how Jamir lost his parents and was raised by his grandparents,
When Jamir was in middle school, both of them passed away, leaving him. completely alone.
Back then, her mother saw his musical talent and took him in as her student.
Jamir was quiet, distant, and unwilling to let anyone in.
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It took Lailah three years to get him to completely open up and befriend him.
From the moment Zayden met Jamir, he had disliked him, though he could never quite say why.
“You meet with your ex, but Lili having dinner with someone she grew up with is a problem?” Jamir said sharply.
Jamir’s voice was steady, but his words were laced with scorn.
They cut through the pretense, hinting at something between Zayden and Tamara.
Zayden’s face darkened.
“Lailah, come home with me,” he snapped.
“No. Jamir and I haven’t finished our dinner,” she said, unfazed.
His voice hardened. “I’ll say this one last time. Come with me.”
Lailah knew he was furious now.
If she didn’t listen, it wouldn’t just be silence
Zayden had ways of making her bow.
She would never forget that stormy night.
Rain soaked through her clothes as she knelt at his feet, begging him to give Krish back.
He looked down at her and asked, “Do you see your mistake now?”
Her tears fell, and she agreed to apologize for Tamara’s fall.
Zayden always found a way to make her submit.
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But this time, Lailah smirked faintly.
“No.”
Zayden glared at her, his lips pressed together.
“Lailah, think carefully about the consequences.”
“Just do what you want, Mr. Walter.”
Her weakness had always been Krish.
But now,
she didn’t care about him anymore. Zayden had nothing left to hold over her.
Lailah turned to Jamir. “The air here isn’t great. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Jamir thought about it and then nodded. “Alright.”
Lailah picked up her purse from the table and turned to leave.
Behind her, Krish’s voice rang out, insistent.
“Mom, you’re really not gonna apologize to Tamara?”
Lailah paused for a moment but didn’t look back. Then, she walked out.
Zayden watched her go with a sulky look on his face.
Krish felt lost, still staring after her.
“Mom seems different,” he muttered to himself.
Tamara got a bit upset, seeing their focus on Lailah.
Suddenly, she let out a low cry.
Their attention snapped to her.
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She went pale, her body trembling like she was about to faint.
An alarmed look crossed Zayden’s face, and without hesitation, he scooped her up.
