Chapter 170

Inside Bright Star Kindergarten's Sunflower Classroom, chaos reigned.

The teacher was nowhere in sight.

Instead, a fat boy with a smug grin tugged on a rope like he was walking a dog. Except it wasn't a dog-it was a little girl, crawling helplessly on her hands and knees, the rope tied around her neck.

"Move it, mutt!” the pudgy boy snapped. “You're my dog, Mia! Bark! Now!"

Mia, no older than four, dragged herself forward, her dress dirty, her cheeks stained with chalk and dust. Her lips trembled. Tears streaked down her grubby face as she gasped for air.

But she didn't bark.

The boy yanked the rope harder. "I said bark, stupid b******! You don't have a daddy, do you? That's what you are. Say it! Say you're a b******!"

"No..." Mia choked out through quiet sobs, her tiny fingers digging into the cold floor. "I'm not a b-b******..."

A circle of children watched with wide, entertained eyes. None of them stepped in. They laughed like this was just another cartoon show.

"I'm the king here!" the boy barked. "When I say bark, you bark. Or I'll make everyone beat you!"

The door swung open.

Jaden and Selena stepped inside.

Selena froze mid-step. Her vision blurred, heart stalling in her chest. For a split second, she didn't move.

Then her instincts took over.

"Mia!"

She bolted forward, scooping her daughter into her arms like she was saving her from a burning building. The rope came off with a sharp tug, and she tossed it aside like it was a venomous snake.

Her voice cracked. "What happened to you, baby? Who did this?"

Mia buried her face into her mother's chest, her sobs breaking into trembling gasps. "Mama... Robin said I'm a b******... he said... if I didn't bark like a dog, he'd get everyone to beat me..."

Selena's blood ran cold. Her jaw clenched. Rage burst inside her like wildfire.

Robin Krane. That name hit her like a punch in the gut.

That nasty little brat. The son of that wretched woman who paraded around town like royalty just because her husband ran a dealership.

Selena held Mia tighter. "No, baby. You are not a b******,” she said firmly. "You have a papa."

Mia sniffled, confused. "But... Mia doesn't have a papa..."

Jaden stepped forward, his voice low but full of resolve. "You do. I'm right here."

Mia blinked at him. "You're... my papa?"

Selena nodded, her voice catching. "Yes, sweetheart. He just came back from the army. He's your papa."

Mia's face lit up like sunrise over a war-torn field.

"Papa?"

She reached out with trembling hands, and Jaden picked her up, holding her tight. It was like something inside both of them clicked into place father and daughter, finally reunited.

Mia sobbed again, but this time with joy. "Papa... papa..."

She clung to him like a koala, her small arms around his neck, her tears soaking into his shirt.

Selena watched, a lump in her throat. For a moment, she saw a family-her family. Real. Warm. Whole.

Mia looked up at Jaden with teary eyes, then turned to the fat boy with a newfound fire in her gaze. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and straightened her tiny spine.

"I do have a papa! You're wrong! I'm not a b******!” she shouted. “See? That's my papa!"

Robin blinked in disbelief, his smirk dropping. Then, he scoffed. "He's not your papa. My mommy said your mama sleeps around with men. She said you don't even know who your. rear daddy is. Youre still ab*********

Silence.

Selena's face turned to stone. Jaden's eyes darkened. The air grew heavy, suffocating.

Jaden took a deep breath, but the tension in his jaw betrayed his fury. One more

word from the kid, and he might've lost control.

But Selena got there first.

She turned to Robin, voice sharp as a knife. "Listen to me, little boy. Keep that filthy mouth running, and I'll make sure your teacher knows. exactly what's going on here, you think bullying my daughter is fun? You think slandering her mother makes you a man?"

Robin's eyes widened.

Selena stepped closer, her glare cutting through him. "I don't care whose spoiled brat you are. If you ever touch my daughter again, I swear I'll make this school, and your parents, regret ever crossing me."

Robin backed up. “You—you're mean!"

He started wailing. Loud. Over-the-top. Like a siren.

Right on cue, a shrill voice shrieked from outside the door.

"What happened to you, my sweet baby?! Who bullied my Robin?!"

A woman barreled into the room like a rhinoceros in heels. Her perfume hit the air like poison. Her hair wasza disaster of curls and extensions, and she looked like shed just stepped out of a counterfeit fashion magazine. Diamond rings on finger, a fake Chanel bag on her arm, and enough foundation on her face to coat a wall.

She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Selena.

every

Her son pointed, still fake-crying. "It's her, mommy! She hit me! She bullied me!"