Chapter 586: How About... Giving Up Custody
Grace's face went all wide-eyed and freaked out when she heard that, "You regret it? You wanna take Candy back? Are you seriously not gonna let me see her anymore?"
"Susan, please, don’t do this to me, alright? You already took Caleb, and now Candy’s all I got left. If I can’t see her, I’m done for. You’ve got Caleb, Oliver, and now you’re pregnant. Isn’t that enough? Why you gotta keep me from my daughter?"
"Caleb listens to you so much. One word from you and he’ll never let me see Candy again... Susan, I’m begging you, don’t be so heartless, okay? Have some pity on a woman who’s got nothing left but her kid... Susan... don’t be so cold."
"Do I need to get on my knees for you?"
She was all worked up, clearly putting on a show!
Susan couldn’t stand people who played the victim, "Grace, cut the act. I’m not buying it. What you’re doing is just gross."
"You’re the gross one, you old witch, devil! Devil!" Candy charged at Susan and shoved her hard. "Old witch! Bad woman!"
"Candy..." Susan stumbled back a few steps, almost falling, totally shocked.
"Mom, don’t beg her. Let’s go. I promise, I’ll never leave you, no matter what. They can’t take me away! Let’s go... Mom..."
"Yeah, yeah, I only have you."
They left, leaning on each other.
Susan couldn’t even speak, her throat felt like she’d swallowed a bug.
She knew Grace was faking it, but she couldn’t do anything about it, which was super frustrating!
In the car.
Candy used a tissue to wipe Grace’s tears, "Mom, don’t cry. It hurts me to see you cry."
"Okay, I won’t cry," Grace choked up. "Candy, I shouldn’t have brought you to see Susan. I’m sorry for putting you through that."
Candy quickly shook her head, "No, Mom, I wanted to see that bad woman myself. I wanted to beg her to leave Dad, but she wouldn’t. She even bullied you. She’s really bad. Why does Dad like such a bad woman? Is he blind?"
Grace gave a bitter smile, "Because she can act. Haven’t you seen it on TV? Men always get taken in by these evil women who can act."
"But I didn’t think Dad would be so stupid. I’m really mad!"
"There’s nothing we can do. Your dad’s heart is totally with Susan now. She got pregnant probably just to make sure you’re out of the picture."
"She’s so bad. I almost believed her," Candy clenched her fists. "Mom, don’t worry. Even if I can’t get Dad back, I won’t go with him. I want to stay with you. I don’t want to see Susan."
"Okay, as long as you say that, I’m relieved," Grace hugged Candy. "My dear daughter, remember what you said. Don’t leave me."
"Of course, I’ll never abandon you, Mom."
At night.
"The pot’s boiling!" A sudden reminder came from behind Susan.
Susan, snapped out of her thoughts, lunged for the pot, grabbing the hot metal before she realized her mistake.
Caleb quickly turned off the stove and grabbed her hand, "Does it hurt a lot?"
"It’s nothing, just a little burn on my fingertip," Susan quickly pulled her hand back, not wanting him to see her wound.
"Who bit you?" Caleb immediately noticed. "Candy bit you?"
Such small teeth marks, it had to be a kid, and only Candy would bite her.
Susan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
"Did she come to see you?" Caleb pressed.
"Yeah, she showed up alone. Grace said Candy ran off when she wasn’t looking, but I’m pretty sure Grace sent her."
"She’s asking for it!" Caleb looked ready to storm off and confront Grace.
"Caleb... let it go, don’t go. Candy’s already super resistant to us. If you go, it’ll just make things worse," Susan advised. Grace had gotten really sneaky, always pulling the kneeling and crying act at the drop of a hat. Susan was beyond frustrated.
Caleb frowned, "Let me put some ointment on you first."
They sat in the living room, and Caleb gently dabbed the ointment on with a cotton swab.
"Does it hurt?" Caleb asked.
Susan shook her head, "Not anymore."
But when she first got bitten, it hurt like hell. Who knew a kid could bite that hard? It just showed how much Candy hated her.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit down. All her efforts had been for nothing. Being a stepmom was seriously tough.
"Looks like Grace hasn’t changed a bit. We can’t let Candy see her anymore and get influenced by her."
"But..."
"But what?" Caleb asked.
Susan sighed, "Honestly, I’m not feeling great about Candy living with us. I used to think if we all tried hard enough, she’d come around. But the more I see, the more I worry she’ll end up like May, all messed up in the head."
"Candy won’t be like that. She’s different from May!"
"But their situations are kinda similar, and they both feel like outsiders," Susan cautiously suggested, "Caleb, have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, Candy would be better off with Grace?"
"No way!" Caleb’s hand holding the cotton swab shook, and he immediately stood up. "You know Grace isn’t a good person, and you still want Candy to stay with her? That’d be hurting Candy!"
"But Grace is Candy’s mom; she wouldn’t harm her. In the future, we’ll have two kids. Have you thought about Candy’s feelings? She’ll think she’s the only outsider in our family. Caleb, you know I care about Candy and want the best for her. If there was any other way, I wouldn’t ask you to give up custody."
Caleb shook his head, "Susan, I get your concerns and know you mean well. I can agree to anything except giving Candy to Grace. It was because I had this idea before that Candy got abused by Grace. I can’t let her go through that again."
"She resists you because of Grace’s influence. As long as Grace is out of the picture, you two can get along. Didn’t Candy accept you before?" Caleb continued.
"But she still has a wall up," Susan emphasized, "I’m afraid she’ll have psychological issues."
"She’ll only have psychological issues if she stays with someone like Grace!" Caleb growled, "She’s my daughter, and I won’t let her suffer anymore. That’s it, we’re not discussing this anymore. I won’t let Candy stay with Grace."
Susan moved her lips, "Okay, you’re right. Maybe I didn’t think it through. We need to take this one step at a time."
"Yeah, sorry, I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you."
"It’s okay, I know you’re worried about Candy. Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll finish cooking."
"I’ll do it, you rest."
"Okay," Susan practically collapsed onto the sofa, her eyes fluttering shut as she felt the weight of all the stress bearing down on her.
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