Faced with Leo’s desperate question, Sofia’s tearful expression instantly hardened, a flash of panic darting across her eyes. She looked down, bit her lip, and then violently shoved Leo away.
“Shut up!”
Her voice was sharp and piercing, a complete departure from her usual sweet, gentle persona.
“I told you to stop talking nonsense! Why are you being so disobedient?”
The force of the shove sent Leo stumbling backward, and he fell hard onto his bottom. He froze for a second before his mouth puckered, and he burst into hysterical tears. This time, he wasn’t throwing a tantrum—he was genuinely terrified.
The blood in my veins rushed straight to my head.
Without a single thought, I lunged forward and slapped Sofia hard across the face.
The banquet hall plunged into absolute silence.
“He’s just a child!” My voice shook violently, but it rang out clearer than ever. “What did he do wrong? Every single word he said came out of your mouth! What right do you have to hit him?”
I turned my head, glaring at Luca, and then at my parents.
“This is that kind, innocent younger sister you all kept talking about?” My tears finally broke free, but my voice remained eerily calm. “This is the sweet, sensible child she raised?”
My mother’s lips trembled as her eyes darted guiltily between Sofia and me. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She just stared at Sofia with deep disappointment, as if seeing her true colors for the very first time.
Luca stood rooted to the spot, his face dark with rage as he stared intently at Sofia. His Adam’s apple bobbed before he finally spoke.
“Sofia, how exactly have you been raising this child? Why has Leo turned out like this?”
Sofia clutched her burning cheek, her eyes bloodshot, her lips quivering. She looked at Luca, then turned her gaze to me. I was already kneeling on the floor, gently reaching my hands out toward Leo.
“Leo, come to Mom… Mommy won’t push you away. Mommy won’t force you to do anything…”
“It was all Mommy’s fault before. I was useless, and I didn’t protect you.”
Leo was still crying, but his sobs had quieted down. His tear-filled eyes locked onto mine, his tiny face a mask of confusion and fear.
Seeing this play out, Sofia’s expression twisted into something sinister. She straightened her posture, her voice rising several octaves into a screech. “I get it! It was you! You set this up with Leo, didn’t you?”
“You did all of this just to ruin my wedding! You met with Leo beforehand and taught him to say these things just to humiliate me in front of everyone!”
The more she spoke, the more hysterical she became, pointing her finger directly at my face as tears poured down. “Nina, how can you be so malicious? You couldn’t keep your own man, so you just can’t stand to see me happy, can you? You’re even using a child. Are you even human?”
I knelt on the ground, looking up at her without a single word. I wasn’t speechless because she had cornered me; I just found it incredibly pathetic. I didn’t even have the energy to argue anymore.
But Luca spoke up.
“Enough.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a bucket of ice water poured over the room, freezing the entire banquet hall into silence.
“Nina has never met this child before today.” He spoke each word deliberately, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion. “You were the one raising Leo. You wouldn’t let her see him, and you wouldn’t let me bring Leo to see her either. You told me yourself that the child was too young, and that seeing her too much would be bad for his development.”
He paused, his eyes rimmed with red, his voice turning raspy. “Sofia, I trusted you completely. I thought you raised Leo well, and I thought you truly loved him… But look at what you showed me today.”