Chapter 41: My Daughter

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: My Daughter

Rona Langdon emerged from the side. "Zachary, you’re back just in time. Teach Vera Xavier a good lesson! It’s bad enough she’s so ignorant from growing up in the countryside, but she’s also vicious! She actually tried to hit me and set me up!"

Before she could finish, Zachary Preston, who had never hit anyone before, backhanded her across the face. "That’s enough!"

Rona Langdon was stunned. "You... you actually hit me for that little bitch!"

Zachary Preston said, his patience completely gone, "Vera is our daughter!"

After he said this, he turned to Vera Xavier. "I’ll take you to the hospital."

Before Vera Xavier could even agree, Rona Langdon shrieked, "We’ve been married for so many years and you’ve never hit me! Today you actually hit me for her! Don’t you know? She isn’t our daughter at all!"

Vera Xavier’s eyes narrowed. She asked, "If I’m not your daughter, then whose am I?"

Rona Langdon knew she had misspoken. Her face paled, and she forced down her anger to say to Zachary Preston, "She just paid Grandma Dixon two hundred yuan, so we’re out of money. No hospital!"

To Zachary Preston, her words, "Vera Xavier isn’t our daughter," just meant that since Vera hadn’t grown up with them, Rona had never truly considered her a daughter.

Because of Rona Langdon’s vehement opposition, Zachary Preston ultimately didn’t take Vera Xavier to the hospital.

Of course, Vera Xavier didn’t want to go either. She knew her own injuries better than anyone; they just looked scary. Aside from a few pinch marks, there was no real damage. So she took Zachary Preston’s hand and said she wouldn’t go to the hospital to save the family money.

This attitude from Vera Xavier made Zachary Preston feel even guiltier. He thought she was sensible and well-behaved, just a bit too stoic.

He went to a nearby pharmacy to buy some povidone-iodine and a bottle of safflower oil, which he brought to Vera Xavier’s room. On his way back, he passed by a restaurant and got her a large order of chicken noodle soup to go.

When Zachary Preston knocked and came in, Vera Xavier had already changed out of her "bloody" clothes and was wearing an old, pilling outfit. She called out softly when she saw him enter.

Zachary Preston glanced at her pitifully small room and frowned slightly.

He knew Vera Xavier’s room was small, but he had rarely managed household affairs before. Rona Langdon had been the one to set up Vera’s room. He had thought that even if Rona had a bad temper, Vera was still their daughter, so Rona wouldn’t mistreat her.

Now, it seemed he had been wrong.

But in front of Vera Xavier, he couldn’t bring himself to criticize Rona Langdon, so he just said, "If anything comes up in the future, tell Dad. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside."

Vera Xavier tilted her head up slightly, looking at him with wide, watery eyes. "Dad, you’re so good to me."

Zachary Preston wanted to reach out and pat her head, but she hadn’t grown up with them, and she was a young woman now. He pulled his hand back. "Silly girl. I’m your dad. Of course I have to be good to you."

Vera Xavier gave a sweet smile, and he smiled back. "Get some rest. You have school tomorrow."

Vera Xavier nodded. Just as he stepped out, he heard the front door open. Cara Preston was back.

Zachary Preston asked, "Cara, why are you back so late today?"

Cara Preston gave her usual excuse: "I went to a classmate’s house to study, so I got back late."