Chapter 585 Don't Want to Be Called a Bastard
Yvette rushed to the kindergarten, her heart racing when she spotted BoBo and CiCi standing apart from another child who was crying.
She hurried over, taking in their defiant, indignant expressions with mixed emotions. A flash of panic and worry crossed her eyes, quickly replaced by determination and composure. She embraced both children, one in each arm, trying her best to calm them.
"It's alright, my darlings," she whispered, gently rubbing their backs. "Whatever the problem is, I'll help you solve it, okay?"
Her words seemed to provide infinite comfort to BoBo and CiCi. The children softened instantly, their previously stubborn and angry expressions melting away as they clung to her neck, tears welling in their eyes.
"Mommy," BoBo's lips quivered. "Did we get you in trouble?"
Seeing Yvette arrive first, the other child—without backup—began crying even harder.
Seraphina quickly embraced him. "Eric, don't cry, sweetheart. Your mother will be here any minute!" She turned to Yvette with apologetic eyes. "Eric is the child they had the altercation with. Would you like to take a look at his forehead?"
After comforting BoBo and CiCi with a few more pats on their backs, Yvette approached to examine Eric's injury. His forehead had been treated, with a slight indentation where he'd been hurt, surrounded by reddened, slightly bruised skin. Fortunately, there was no open wound or bleeding.
"Eric, I'm so sorry," Yvette said remorsefully, gently touching his forehead.
Eric's eyes were red from pain, tears threatening to spill. Hearing Yvette's apology seemed to calm his crying somewhat.
Behind her, however, BoBo and CiCi were visibly dissatisfied. CiCi burst out, "Mommy! Why are you apologizing to him? He bullied us first!"
Yvette felt a headache coming on. From what Seraphina had mentioned on the phone, though not in detail, she understood the gist of it. Eric must have heard something about the Valdemar family from somewhere and deliberately said hurtful things to BoBo and CiCi. Her children were well-behaved but sensitive.
"How did Eric bully you?" she asked softly.
At Yvette's question, CiCi, who had been so vocal just moments ago, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon. She stubbornly turned her head away, refusing to elaborate.
BoBo furrowed his brow, his expression serious. "Mommy, he said really mean things. We don't want to tell you because we don't want you to feel bad too."
Yvette felt a tug at her heart, a lump forming in her throat.
Seraphina sighed. "Mrs. Valdemar, it's true that Eric may have spoken thoughtlessly and said some unkind things. I'll discuss this with Eric's mother later. But I hope you understand—they did push Eric down, causing him to hit his head on the table corner."
"Ms. Everly! They hit my hand too!" Eric thrust his slightly reddened hand toward Seraphina. "It hurts! I'm telling my mom!"
Not wanting to put Seraphina in a difficult position, Yvette said quietly, "When Eric's mother arrives, I'll apologize on behalf of my children."
"Thank you for your understanding and support."
Yvette turned back to her children, kneeling down. "I want to ask you both something."
"What is it?" they asked in unison.
"If he said hurtful things, you could have told your teacher or me. We would have spoken with his parents. But look—you hit him and pushed him, and his head is swollen. It's going to hurt for quite a while. Are you willing to apologize to him?"
"But he really said awful things!" CiCi's eyes filled with tears again, though she clenched her teeth, refusing to let them fall. "He shouldn't say such things! His head hurts, but BoBo and I hurt in our hearts!"
"Him saying bad things was his mistake. You pushing and hitting him was yours," Yvette said, her voice firm despite her sympathy for her children. "Acknowledging your mistakes is what responsible children do. Do you understand?"
BoBo and CiCi looked crestfallen but lowered their eyes, finally recognizing their error.
The atmosphere grew tense for a moment.
After a while, BoBo suddenly asked, "But if we apologize to him for pushing him, will he apologize for saying those things about us?"
Yvette bit her lip, her resolve softening. "I'll do my best to help you talk to him, okay? We can't change others, but we can be true to ourselves. Right?"
BoBo and CiCi exchanged glances, both still somewhat reluctant.
The two children held hands as they finally looked back at Yvette.
CiCi, still clinging to her last bit of defiance, said, "Mommy, can he apologize to us first, and then we'll apologize to him? He started it by talking about us."
"Alright!" Yvette sighed with relief, nodding. "I'll go ask him."
She turned toward Eric and knelt down in front of him.
Just as she was about to speak with Eric, a woman burst through the classroom door. She shoved Yvette aside, clutching Eric tightly to her chest, eyeing Yvette warily. "What are you doing? Your kids hit my child, and now you're going to get physical too?"
Yvette, already feeling weak, nearly fell from the sudden push.
BoBo and CiCi gasped, rushing to steady her. "Mommy!"
Seraphina, clearly caught off guard by this development, quickly positioned herself between the two parents.
"Ms. Hernandez, please calm down. Mrs. Valdemar is very reasonable and would never harm a child."
Yvette's demeanor turned icy as she slowly rose to her feet. Normally gentle and mild-mannered, her face now hardened, her presence suddenly commanding.
"Ms. Hernandez, you've put your hands on me without asking what happened. Are you trying to escalate this situation?" Yvette enunciated each word with precision. "I came here believing that children's disputes could be resolved with mutual apologies and us covering Eric's medical expenses."
She fixed her gaze on the other woman. "But if you insist on getting physical, there are security cameras in this classroom. We can take this to the police station."
"So what if we go to the police! Your kids hit first—I'm just protecting my child!" Eric's mother, Willow Hernandez, retorted belligerently.
"Yes, we pushed him first, but Eric was saying horrible things!" CiCi finally burst into tears, unable to hold back any longer. "BoBo and I didn't want to be called bastards! We told him to shut up, but he kept getting in our faces, so we pushed him away!"
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