Untitled Part 16
I had never seen her this out of control before.
Her voice was nearly hoarse when she shouted.
"Daisy!!"
"Are you really going to keep taking her side and breaking your mother's heart?"
"Didn't I tell you? If we drive her away, Mommy can come home, and then Mommy and Daddy can both be with you again!"
Daisy's shoulders shrank in fear.
I pulled her behind me.
"What exactly have you been teaching this child?"
"She's only five. Do you even understand how wrong it is to say things like that to her?"
"What business is that of yours?" Vanessa snapped.
"She's my daughter!"
Her eyes were wild.
"You stole my husband, and now you want to steal my daughter too, is that it?"
She yanked Daisy over.
"You're coming with me."
"From now on, you are not seeing her again."
Vanessa left fast, not slowing down once for the little girl stumbling behind her, practically being dragged along.
I was afraid she might hit Daisy.
I was just about to go after them when Daisy seemed to sense it and turned back to look at me.
She gave me a tiny wave and mouthed the words silently:
Don't worry. I'm okay.
Daisy had one of those kids' smartwatches with calling on it.
That evening, she called me from it.
I asked if Vanessa had hit her.
She said no.
"But Mom called Dad," she told me, "and said you fed me peanuts on purpose because you wanted to kill me."
She paused.
"Did Dad fight with you?"
Ethan hadn't come home in days, and he probably wouldn't be back tonight either.
Besides, I didn't really care anymore whether he came to interrogate me.
After comforting her for a bit, I reminded her again,
"Don't eat anything with peanuts in it anymore, okay?"
"And one more thing—you're a little allergic to mango too, so eat as little of it as possible. Better yet, don't eat it at all. And don't drink milk on an empty stomach in the morning. It upsets your stomach. Got it, Daisy?"
She sounded stunned.
"You remember all that?"
"Of course I do. Those are the most important things, and the easiest to remember. We've lived together for over a year. How could I forget?"
Her voice dropped, and her words came out a little blurred.
Even through the phone, I could picture her curled up on her side in bed, her soft cheek squished into the pillow until it pushed her mouth out of shape.
"But... Mom still doesn't remember that I'm allergic to mango."
"There was mango in the fruit she gave me tonight. I picked it out myself."
"And when she cooks, she still always uses peanuts. The only thing without peanuts is steamed eggs. She says Dad likes them, and I have to think about Dad's feelings too. She tells me to just be careful when I eat the other dishes and not accidentally eat any."
Ethan did like peanuts.
But it wasn't as if he couldn't live without them.