Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 88

"Lily's mom, during recess this afternoon, Lily was running around in high heels, which caused her to severely twist her ankle. Thank goodness we got her to the emergency room in time."

Seraphina frowned deeply.

She looked over at the little leather shoes discarded by the bedside table.

They were shiny metallic silver, with stiletto heels as thin as forks, easily an inch or two high.

She then looked down at the clothes her daughter was wearing.

A white halter top that fully exposed her back and belly button.

Paired with ultra-short denim hot pants made of fabric so thin it was practically see-through.

A five-year-old child, dressed like she was hitting a nightclub.

Seraphina's throat tightened painfully.

She took a deep, steadying breath, crouched down, and looked her daughter right in the eye.

"Lily, you're still way too young for this. These kinds of shoes aren't safe for you to wear. You can get seriously hurt in them."

Lily sniffled loudly, heavy teardrops still clinging to her eyelashes. "Cynthia bought them for me. Cynthia said they look gorgeous, and she said girls are supposed to dress up and look pretty... She told me I looked exactly like a little princess in this outfit."

Seraphina's lips twitched as a violent flare of anger ignited in her chest, but she forced the rage down, keeping her voice completely level.

"These clothes aren't appropriate for someone your age either. When you grow up, I'll take you shopping and let you pick out whatever you want, okay?"

Lily immediately pouted, her eyes turning red all over again.

Mom was always so annoying. She was constantly picking on her—no candy, no cartoons, no pretty clothes, no kicking the cat.

Cynthia never acted like this.

Cynthia bought her gorgeous dresses, got her shiny leather shoes, and told her she was as stunning as a real princess.

But the second Mom showed up, the word 'no' became her entire vocabulary.

"What do you know!" Lily forcefully yanked her hand away from Seraphina's grasp, violently turning her little face away.

"This is called fashion! Cynthia says girls need to look beautiful! Not like you, wearing depressing clothes every single day. You're so ugly!"

The last three words were screamed loud and clear.

She sobbed hysterically while violently shoving Seraphina's arms away.

Pushed backward, Seraphina stared at her daughter's tear-contorted, furious face, feeling as though a jagged blade was slowly carving through her chest.

She closed her eyes briefly and took a half-step back to give her space.

The sudden movement yanked at her injured lower back, causing her to grimace in pain as she desperately grabbed the edge of the mattress to keep from collapsing.

Lily jutted her bottom lip out and stubbornly faced the window, refusing to show her mother anything but the back of her head.

Ms. Lyons was appalled and stepped forward to intervene again.

Just then, the attending doctor pushed the door open.

As he walked into the room, a nurse trailed right behind him, flipping through a thick medical chart.

The doctor glanced down at the sobbing child on the bed, then looked up at Seraphina, his brow furrowing sharply.

"Are you the child's mother?"