The Day I Stopped Being Mr Nice Guy

CHAPTER 4

The hospital garden was a breath of fresh air, but there was a disturbance in the middle. Dante’s heart was in his throat as he followed Nurse Amy frantic steps to where a small crowd had gathered around a flower bed.

In the middle of it were two children, screaming and throwing limbs. One was Jasper Lockwood, with his face squeezed up in a sneer. The other, to Dante’s disbelief, was his Daisy. Her usually pale face was flushed with deep, angry red anger, and she was clinging to Jasper’s arm with a ferocity he never knew she had.

“Give it back!” Daisy shrieked angrily. “It is mine! My Mommy gave it to me!”

Jasper laughed and held the delicate gold necklace high above his head, way out of her reach and jeered. “Your Mommy? You are so dumb! You are nothing but a beggar! An insect bothering my new mommy!”

“That is a lie!” She cried. “My mommy gave this to me because she loves me!”

“This?” Jasper waved the necklace over his head and laughed. “This is nothing! An ordinary chain! Mommy Clara bought me a necklace on my birthday and they gave her this iron chain as a freebie. She didn’t even buy it for you!”

To prove his point, Jasper pulled out a different chain from his shirt, with a shiny gold pendant that glittered in the sun and dangled it at her face. “See? This is the real one. The one she actually paid for.” he sneered and shook Daisy’s necklace. “While this is trash!”

Daisy’s heart sank. The hope, the joy she had felt just minutes ago evaporated like smoke. “You are lying! My mommy would never give me trash! She loves me!” She cried.

“She abandoned you!” Jasper jeered. “She is my mommy now! You are just a powerless, sick little girl who doesn’t want to stay out of my way!”

With a cry of rage, Daisy flew at him again as she pounded against his chest with her small fists.

“That is enough!” Dante called out sharply and surged forward with his heart breaking as he gently but firmly pulled his daughter away. She hugged him with hot, angry tears streaming down her face.

Mason who had followed at a lazy pace, being eager to watch the drama unfold, suddenly realized the other child was his son. His sly expression vanished instantly and it was being replaced by feigned shock and embarrassment. He rushed forward to quickly play the part of the responsible parent.

“Jasper! What is the meaning of this?” he boomed and grabbed his son’s shoulder. “Acting like a common street stray! Apologize to Daisy right now!”

The fact that his father publicly reprimanded him which was so unlike his father’s true nature, was the final straw for Jasper. His scrunched up his face in betrayal and fury.

“Why are you scolding me?” he screamed, his voice carrying through the gardens. “It is all her fault! She started it! She hit me! Why do I have to apologize?!”

Then, he did what he knows best. He threw himself on the grass in a fit, kicking and rolling in a full-blown tantrum. “I hate you! I hate her! I hate everyone!”

Mason’s irritation transformed into genuine anger. This was not the subtle manipulation he normally enjoys, this was a messy, public display that made him look bad. He leaned down and lowered his voice so only his son and Dante could hear.

“Get up! You shameless little brat! You can’t even hit a sick girl properly, and here you are acting spoiled.” He hissed contemptuously, and narrowed his eyes in disgust.

Dante’s blood ran cold. He slowly turned his head to face Mason with his eyes red with fury. “What did you just say?” he asked coldly. “Repeat it, I dare you.”

Mason straightened up with a crooked smile on his face and turned to Dante. “You heard me. Your sickly weakling of a daughter started a fight she couldn’t finish. Just like her father. You are both pathetic burdens Clara is too kind to shake off. A useless house husband and his dying—ARGH!”

Mason felt a jolt of sharp pain flew up his hand. Daisy, been unable to string two words together due to anger, had sunk her teeth into the back of his hand with every ounce of strength she had.

“You fox!” She yelled and released his hand with her small body shaking with fury. “You home wrecker. You seduce my—”

Mason looked down at the scratch on his skin and pushed her away from him violently. “You little beast!”

Daisy staggered backwards and fell hard on the grass. Dante quickly gathered her into his arms as he checked her for bruises. Then he saw red.

Before he could unleashed his fury on Mason, an horrified shriek was heard from the entrance of the garden.

“What in God’s name is going on here?”

Clara stood at the edge of the garden with her face pale with shock as she took in the spectacle before her. Her eyes scanned the scene…her husband cradling their crying daughter, Mason clutching a bleeding hand, and his son wailing on the ground.

Mason was faster. He quickly changed his sour expression into a pained and injured one. “Clara! Thank goodness! The child… she just bit me! For no reason at all!”

Clara’s eyes landed on Daisy, who was glaring defiantly through her tears at Mason and without a pause, without asking a single question, Clara hurried forward and slapped her hard across her face.

The sound echoed across the silent garden and Daisy’s head snapped to the side with a stunned, heartbroken expression etched on her face, leaving a bright red mark visible on her cheek.

Dante stared frozen in shock.

“How dare you!” Clara hissed, her voice trembling with rage. She was looking at her daughter as if she was a stranger. An insect. “How dare you behave this way! Apologize to Mr Lockwood right now!”