Chapter 13 I Hate Him

Courtney had no choice but to put down the plates for the time being. She looked back and caressed the little boy’s head, asking, “You want me to stay here and keep you company, is it?” The little boy nodded. “Alright, I’ll stay.” The little boy was stunned for a moment, as if he never expected her to comply so readily. “But we can’t sit on the floor any longer. The floor is cold, so you’ll get sick. Let’s sit on the sofa, okay?” The little boy nodded obediently at once. Courtney smiled with satisfaction before bending down to carry him to the sofa and sit down. Turning a blind eye at the mess on the floor, she told the little boy several jokes in a row until his gloomy expression was replaced by a smile. In the end, he giggled continuously. However, this kid never spoke. When his mood lightened, Courtney sounded him out by asking, “Can you tell me why you were so upset? Was it because nobody was playing with you?” Her questions seemed to hit the little boy’s sore spot, and he made gestures for a long time before Courtney finally figured out that he wanted some papers and a pen. When she looked back, she happened to see a pen and a stack of papers on the nightstand. They seemed to have been prepared long ago since many words were written on the papers. She immediately took the pen and papers and handed them to the little boy. The little boy then wrote a line on the paper that read, ‘Daddy is bad. Promised to take me outside for fun but didn’t.’ Courtney was surprised that such a little kid could write so many words. After being stunned for a long time, she came to her senses and figured that his parents must have taught him so on purpose, for it seemed that this kid really couldn’t speak. “Do you mean that you were angry because your Dad didn’t take you to have fun outside after promising to do so?” The little boy nodded angrily with a frown of indignation. Courtney let out a sigh before stroking his hair and comforted him. “Perhaps your Dad is really very busy. He wants you to live a better life, so he gets so busy that he has no time to rest or play with you.” The little boy didn’t buy her excuse, though. He let out a snort and wrote on the paper, ‘Didn't see Daddy for many days. He didn’t come back. I hate him.’ How could he leave a kid behind in the hotel for so many days? Courtney frowned as well. This parent of his sounds so careless! “I’ll help you talk to your Dad when he comes back.” Courtney held the little boy’s hand. “How could he let a child stay alone at home? Moreover, this is not your home; it’s a hotel. What if something happens?” The little boy nodded repeatedly. “Have you been staying alone in the room these days?” The little boy nodded again. At the sight of his response, Courtney pondered for a while. “Would you like me to take you out for a walk so that you can get some fresh air?” The little boy nodded at once. It is indeed in a kid’s nature to be playful and active. The hotel suite is large, but even adults couldn’t stand staying in the room all day long like this, let alone a kid. Upon that thought, Courtney immediately decided to take him outside. “By the way, what’s your name?” Courtney asked before they left. Then, recalling that he couldn’t speak, she paused in her tracks in the living room. “Wait a minute while I take a pen and some papers so that we can talk to each other while we’re outside.” With that, she left the little boy in the living room and went back to the bedroom to take the pen and papers. Most of the crowd that gathered outside the door had dispersed at this moment, leaving two attendants on standby and Courtney’s assistant, who hadn’t left as well. Those behind them were about to leave. Suddenly, a clatter was heard, and someone among the crowd screamed, “The chandelier!” Upon hearing the scream, Courtney—who had just left the bedroom with the pen and papers—looked at the chandelier. To her horror, she saw the crystal chandelier clattering right above the little boy. The sound of the chains rubbing against and knocking into each other caused the crystal chandelier to shake vigorously. “Aaaah!” Those outside the door turned pale with fright, but they could only watch helplessly as the chandelier fell with a clatter!