When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 165

“Watch out!” Nelly yelled, panic in her voice.

April and Carrie were sitting together. If the tea spilled, both of them would get soaked. Without thinking, Nelly threw her arm in front of them.

The hot tea splashed everywhere, but most of it landed on Nelly’s hand and arm. Almost instantly, the back of her hand turned bright red.

Victoria stood there, stunned for a few seconds. Nelly fought through the pain, grabbed the teacup from Victoria’s hand, and slammed it down on the table.

“Are you out of your mind? That’s your own daughter!”

“Yeah, she’s my daughter. I’ll handle her how I want. What does it have to do with you? You’re just an outsider. None of your business.” Victoria didn’t even realize she’d been holding a cup of hot tea. She didn’t feel guilty at all. In her mind, Nelly was just pretending to be the good person, showing off in front of her and April, probably with some hidden agenda.

“How can you talk about my mom like that?” Carrie’s voice shook. She’d already been scared, but seeing Nelly’s swollen, red hand made her heart ache even more.

“What’s wrong with what I said? Your mom has her own daughter. Why does she need to butt into other people’s family business?” Victoria shot back at Carrie without a hint of kindness.

April rushed over, worry etched all over her face, but she was too scared of her mom to do anything except cry and beg her to go home.

Carrie’s eyes filled with angry tears. “You don’t even care about your own daughter. My mom just wanted to do something nice for her birthday, and you’re acting like this. How could you be so unreasonable?”

Nelly had always been brave enough to protect Carrie, and now Carrie wanted to stand up for her mom.

Nelly couldn’t hold back anymore. When Victoria yanked April, trying to leave, Nelly stepped in and blocked her path.

“Victoria, is this really how you treat your daughter?”

Nelly glanced at April, who was crying so hard she could barely breathe. She was beginning to wonder if April was being hurt at home, but she couldn’t see any bruises or marks on her.

“I’ll take care of my own daughter. Can’t you just stay out of it?” Victoria’s voice was sharp, her attitude just as nasty as ever.

“She’s right, you shouldn’t treat a child like that,” someone nearby spoke up.

“She’s just a kid. You’re scaring her…” More customers had turned around to watch. Some were whispering, others were speaking up for the kids.

Victoria could feel the stares and the judgment. She didn’t want to make things worse or keep arguing with Nelly. She grabbed April’s arm, trying to drag her away.

Ignoring her own pain, Nelly reached out and grabbed Victoria’s arm.

Nelly was stronger than she looked, and Victoria couldn’t shake her off. That only made her angrier. “You already took my kid today and now you’re still hanging onto me? What do you want from me?”

“You burned my hand. That’s assault. I’m calling the police.”

Nelly looked Victoria straight in the eyes, her voice calm but commanding.

Victoria’s mouth opened and closed, lost for words. The restaurant manager rushed over to see what was happening, and after hearing both sides, tried to smooth things over. But Nelly stood her ground. She was calling the police.

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