Gazing at her sleeping son, Ella fell into a daze, holding her cheeks in her hands.
Why had Jerry been crying? DIdn't he like Emma? No, it couldn't be that. He hadn't cried when Emma held him at the old house the last time.
Suddenly, the door of the baby's room was opened from outside. Surprised, Ella stared at the man in the doorway.
She glanced at her cell phone. It was just about 12 o'clock. 'Had he returned home for lunch?'
"Samuel…" She stood up and began to walk towards him. After entering the room with a few heavy steps, Samuel walked directly to his son's crib.
Ignoring Ella, he pulled the child's clothing down to have a look at him.
From the front, baby Jerry seemed fine. However, as Samuel turned him over and pulled down his freshly-changed diaper, he was shocked to find a large bruise on his son.
By the look of it, Catherine seemed to be telling the truth. As expected, Emma had told the truth.
Ella noticing the bruise for the first time, finally understood why the child had been crying so insistently. 'Emma had pinched my son! How heartless! How could she dare hurt a child.' thought Ella.
"I'm going to pinch your whole body!" Gnashing her teeth in anger, Ella went to her son and moved to pick him up.
"Liar!" Samuel's single utterance caused Ella shudder and stop.
With a bad feeling in her stomach, Ella felt her skin crawling as she saw at the icy-coldness in Samuel's eyes.
"Samuel, what are you talking about?" She seemed to have heard Samuel calling her a liar.
Seeing honest confusion on her face, Samuel almost believed her again.
"Ella, where did this bruise come from?" The question was rhetoric. Samuel just wanted to hear her explain herself.
Seeing his expression, Ella was becoming worried. Emma and her sister must have been spreading lies behind her back.
"Samuel, I did not hurt Jerry! It must have been Emma! Jerry wasn't crying when she first came over, but a little while later, I couldn't get him to stop."
"Enough.." Having been betrayed by her before, Samuel no longer had any faith in Ella.
Listening to her hurried explanation, Samuel felt only that she was making an excuse.
At that moment, Ella felt her heart drop. Then she frowned. "If you were never going to believe me, why did you even ask?" She was shocked that Samuel had believed the sisters.
Samuel picked up the sleeping child and walked towards the bedroom door.
"Samuel, what are you doing?" Anxiously, Ella stood in front of Samuel. 'Where is he trying to take the boy?'
Samuel looked at her coldly. "This is child abuse! If you don't want me to press charges, then get out of the way now!" Child abuse not being his legal forte, Samuel was uncertain of the exact process for determining abuse, though he knew he could at least press charges for wounding with intent.
Child abuse? Ella stared at Samuel in disbelief. "Samuel, are you stupid? He's my son. How could I ever do something like that? You're crazy!"
Ella's rebuke made Samuel feel gloomy. "I know that the death of your mother and father was a terrible shock. I will ask my grandmother to look after Jerry for the short term. It would be better if you don't see him for now." With this, Samuel pushed Ella aside and walked out the door.
Ella felt frozen to the floor and watched silently as Samuel walked away. Was this somehow related to the divorce?
Regaining her composure, she quickly ran after him and caught up to him. "Samuel, you can't do this!" He is my son, and he needs me!"
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