The Bound Between Us

Chapter 142

Penny had always wanted to get rid of Pattie. With her tight budget, an extra mouth to feed was just an added burden that sat uncomfortably with her. She wasn’t some kind of saint, just an average woman.

When she gave birth to her son, she tried to have Leo return Pattie to the orphanage, but they wouldn’t take her back. It was part of the deal when they adopted her

Penny and Leo were Pattie’s guardians, so Pattie wasn’t an orphan and couldn’t just be dumped. That would be abandonment. Penny attempted several times to lose Pattie in crowded train stations, but Leo always found her.

Penny was pissed. With so many child traffickers out there every year, why wouldn’t anyone snatch Pattie away?

Herman shot Penny a stern look, then gently asked Pattie, “Would you like to come home with me?”

Pattie said nothing, her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Penny She didn’t understand why her mom didn’t love her.

Penny glared at Pattie angrily, muttering, “Ungrateful brat! Go with this man and never come back!”

Pattie shivered in fear, her tear-filled eyes quickly avoiding Penny and hiding in Herman’s arms.

Just then, Penny’s son started crying Penny ignored Pattie, sarcastically telling Herman, Take this little miss away, pronto! You do-gooders love to meddle! You better take care of her, and not just talk the talk If you actually do it, school fees and all, I’ll be damned impressed”

In Penny’s eyes, those who took care of other people’s kids were idiots. Back when she couldn’t get pregnant, she wouldn’t have adopted a girl to drag her down if it wasn’t for the fortune teller saying she

had to adopt first to have her own child.

Penny stormed off to tend to her son, not giving a damn about Pattie

Herman was shocked at the sight of such a cold-blooded woman, Holding Pattie, he said, “Let’s go home.”

Herman didn’t know if he’d stick his nose in if it was another child, but seeing Pattie in front of him, he just couldn’t ignore her. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Back at home, he wiped Pattie’s tears and checked her injuries. The marks clearly came from a beating, some areas were swelling up. Herman frowned, fetched a first aid kit, and tended to Pattie’s wounds.

She was a tough little girl. Even though disinfecting her wounds hurt, Pattie bit back the pain and didn’t cry out.

Seeing Pattie’s resilience made Herman even more upset. Just as he finished tending to her wounds, Anastasia came home. Seeing Pattie still there, she asked Herman, “Didn’t you say you were taking Pattie back?”

As Herman grabbed some fruit from the kitchen for Pattie, he replied, “Pattie was beaten again, so I brought her back.”

Hearing that, Anastasia dropped her bag in alarm, checked Pattie’s injuries, and turned to Herman, Did Penny do this?’

This was outrageous, downright child abuse. How could anyone treat a little girl like that?

“Yes.” Herman sat down on the sofa. ‘Anastasia, what if we let Pattie stay with us for a few days?*

“Sure.” Anastasia hugged Pattie. 7 hope Pattie can stay here from now on.”

Anastasia was a kind-hearted person. She wouldn’t think much of it if she didn’t know about Pattie’s situation. But knowing that Penny abused Pattie and the community couldn’t do anything, she felt sorry for the girl and wanted to help

Herman nodded “It’s late, Anastasia. You take Pattie to bed.”

Kids should sleep early for their growth. But since Pattie was a girl, it might not have been appropriate for Herman to tuck her in.