Chapter 256 Heart, Hurt
His question was too sudden.
The child's voice was crisp, and it floated in the dining room, like a bronze bell.
The room was quiet. Giorgio's inquisitive and deep gaze fell on Anna's face; it was sharp and complex, as if he could see through her soul.
Anna clenched her palms, averted her gaze, and quickly raised a smile to Charlie, squeezing out a few heartbreaking words, "Sara and Anna were saying how you and Penny are like real siblings. Come on, eat your food. It won't taste as good once it's cold."
"Oh," Charlie responded, taking a troubled bite of his pizza.
Strange, what Anna said didn't match what he just heard.
Anna didn't want to linger. After finishing her pizza, she immediately went to Penny, "You've seen Charlie, and you've had your pizza. Isn't it time to go home with Mommy now?"
She was really in a hurry to leave.
Giorgio's lips curled into a cold sneer, and his aura became ice-cold once again.
Although Penny was reluctant, she knew her mommy had been very tolerant of her. She nodded, "Mmm. Charlie, Giorgio, see you next time."
Charlie responded with a soft hum to Penny and looked at Anna. He seemingly wanted to say something but closed his lips without uttering a word.
Watching him, Anna thought that Charlie would probably miss her.
Anna reached out and gently touched Charlie's head, "Be good. I will be livestreaming every day from now on; we can see each other in the chatroom, okay?"
"Ah... It hurts!" Charlie cried out unexpectedly.
Anna's eyebrows furrowed, "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
Charlie said, "Mom pushed me, and I hit the corner of the table."
What? Katherine pushed him?
"Is it serious? Have you seen a doctor?" Anna anxiously and carefully checked Charlie.
Giorgio's face darkened.
Last night Katherine said the child was sick and had hit the corner of the table in a fit of emotion.
After Charlie woke up, he specifically asked him, but Charlie didn't mention anything. Why did he suddenly change his story today?
Guessing that the child wanted to make Anna worry for him to replace Katherine, Giorgio frowned.
He could tolerate the child using some small tricks for matchmaking, but he didn't want him to develop a habit of lying.
"Charlie, you can't lie."
"I'm not lying; it really was mom who pushed me!" Charlie defended himself.
Giorgio didn't believe him, "I asked you last night; why didn't you say it then?"
His calm counter-question carried an invisible pressure.
Charlie was speechless.
He...
Last night...
Since Charlie was unable to give a straight answer, Giorgio naturally believed he was trying to lie and lowered his gaze.
He could deny everything about Katherine, but there was one thing he couldn't, and that was the fact that Katherine was Charlie's biological mother.
Charlie should know this too. Katherine fell ill because she gave birth to him, so Charlie should feel grateful.
He told Charlie, "Anna can never replace your mommy."
His tone was steady and firm, hoping he wouldn't tarnish his biological mother.
But to others, the meaning was completely different.
To Charlie, he was showcasing his distrust of him; he seemed to only trust Katherine.
To Anna, it was like a knife to her heart.
He knew Charlie was trying to foster a relationship between him and Anna, to keep her, so he told Charlie the truth so definitively.
In his heart, Katherine was the only Mrs. Vittorio; that was unchangeable.
It seemed that he didn't dislike Katherine as much as she thought. At least in terms of identity, background, ability, and other issues, he approved of Katherine very much, which was why he gave Katherine such an important position in his heart.
And she, as Katherine said, was at most a toy that interested him for a while.
When he wanted to flirt, he flirted, when he didn't, he ignored her. She became even more unfamiliar than a stranger when he wanted her to be.
How could a small toy like her possibly replace Katherine?
But she never thought about replacing Katherine, did she? Then why did her heart feel so bitter at this moment?
Anna quickly suppressed her emotions, leaned into Charlie's ear, and whispered softly, "Be good, I will be working in Crownhaven from now on. When there's a chance, I will arrange to meet you, okay? Don't be upset." She also believed he was lying.
Charlie's small lips pursed, "Anna, I'm not lying. You and Penny should go home."
Then, he got up, turned around, and went upstairs alone. His small figure exuded loneliness. Anna felt uneasy.
She wanted to stay and comfort Charlie, but what Giorgio had just said was so clear that she had no position to stay.
She said to Giorgio, "Mr. Vittorio, please take care of Charlie. If he's not feeling well, you can send him to me, I'll take care of him. At least as an aunt, I still have the right to care for him."
Afterwards, she left with Sara and Penny.
Giorgio watched her departing figure with his eyebrows furrowed. When did he say that she had no right to take care of Charlie? And why was her tone so icy?
Outside the community.
Sara didn't know what to say to comfort Anna. She didn't understand why he would be so heartless, even though it seemed that Mr. Vittorio had special feelings for Anna? Them sharing a slice of pizza together exuded affection so why was he being like this?
Could it be... just like Anna said, Mr. Vittorio was a womanizer, a professional flirt?
"Sara." Anna’s heavy voice sounded.
Sara came back to her senses. She looked at Anna's complicated face and opened her arms, "If you want to cry, just cry. My shoulder is always here for you, come!"
"Cry? Why would I cry?" Anna looked puzzled.
"About what Mr. Vittorio said; aren't you upset?"
Anna fell silent.
Upset? But wasn't that the reality? Why should she be upset about something she already knew?
This train of thought was how she kept her composure.
"Why would I cry? I want to say, I don't believe Charlie was lying. You help take Penny back and wait for me in the dorm, I'm going to see Katherine."
Oh... So it was because of that...
Sara was speechless, "Alright, I'll take good care of Penny. You go ahead."
…
At exactly three in the afternoon, a stretch limousine pulled over at the side of the road.
The car door opened to reveal Katherine, who was elegant, fashionable, and stunningly beautiful.
She had mentioned during their phone call that she was quite busy, and it was not appropriate for them to be seen in public, hence they agreed to meet outside the residential area, by the roadside.
"Speak up, are you regretting it? Or do you want to take money from me and return to Vista Heights? It would have been easier if you had done this earlier," her tone was filled with a sense of superiority.
She extended her slender hand, offering her a bank card. "There's a million in there. Take it, it should be enough for you to deliver takeout for the rest of your life."
Anna clenched her fists, her gaze fixed on Katherine. "You're mistaken. I came to question you about why you laid a hand on Charlie. You pushed Charlie, didn’t you? Just because he's not your biological child, you treat him like this?!"
Katherine's face tightened, "Who said I pushed him? Look at the injury on my hand; he bit me during one of his episodes. If you don't believe me, you can ask Little Tony. Is he not often acting out, even biting Giorgio's butt? He's like a rabid dog! That damned child always causes trouble, causing me to be unable to work. It's so annoying."
Her tone was filled with evident irritation and annoyance.
Anna was taken aback. A rabid dog? Damned child? So annoying? These were the words she used to describe a child? And that child was Katherine's son in name?
Suddenly, Anna saw through Katherine's cold-heartedness, which was beyond her imagination.
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