I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 116

"Nora!"

The tears simply wouldn't stop falling.

Nora's heart painfully tightened. She wrapped her arms securely around the little girl, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Bonnie, why are you out here all alone? Where's your dad?"

Xander was absolutely not the type of man to leave his daughter unattended. For Bonnie to run off to such a secluded place, there was only one explanation: she had suffered a massive injustice and had run away on her own.

Nora gently rubbed her back, offering soothing strokes until Bonnie's sobbing quieted down to sniffles. She then led Bonnie to the stairs, taking off her own jacket to lay it over the cold steps so Bonnie could sit comfortably.

Bonnie continued to hiccup and sniffle. Her eyes were red and swollen, her nose was flushed, and her eyelashes were clumped together with tears. She looked utterly heartbroken.

In all the time Nora had known Bonnie, she had never seen the child in such a state. Bonnie had always been cheerful, radiant, and energetic around her. Seeing this miserable little face made Nora's heart ache fiercely.

She pulled Bonnie back into her arms and patted her back gently, her tone soothing. "What happened, Bonnie? Tell me. I'm right here."

Bonnie lifted her face from Nora's chest, her lips drawn into a tight pout. "Nora, my dad yelled at me."

Nora paused. Xander yelled at Bonnie?

She pressed softly, "What happened? Tell me everything."

Nora paused for a second before slowly shaking her head.

"I don't think you were wrong. I know you just didn't want someone touching you, and I know you were trying to protect me."

She pulled the little girl a bit closer, gently pressing their foreheads together. "But I do think you could have handled it differently. We shouldn't let our bad moods and anger show so easily in front of others. Because the moment people see you losing control and getting upset, they can use it against you."

She lightly tapped Bonnie's pouting lips. "Like just now, when you ran away crying in front of everyone. Your dad definitely got even angrier, didn't he? And what about Seraphina? She probably didn't look mad at all; instead, she looked mature and forgiving, right? By showing all your anger to your dad, you ended up giving her the upper hand. Do you understand?"

Bonnie blinked, a solitary tear clinging stubbornly to her eyelashes. She stared at Nora for a long time, her little brain working in overdrive to process the lesson. Slowly, she nodded. That did seem to be exactly what had happened.