"Whose child is this?!'" A sharp voice sounded.
Anika immediately turned to the voice and saw someone pointing to Adelaide.
She hurriedly stood up and ran to her daughter.
Yes, today's event was less formal. It was a casual banquet, so they took Adelaide with them.
Currently, the ladies are having tea in the outdoor garden.
Who knew they would immediately encounter a problem?
"Is this your daughter? How do you teach her? She hurt my granddaughter!" The elder woman with a luxurious fur coat said in a strict voice.
She had an undeniable majesty around her. It could be seen that her identity was not trivial.
Anika hurriedly kneeled to level with Adelaide and asked her.
"Sweetheart, what happened?"
Adelaide pouted and hugged her doll.
"She wanted to take my doll," The child answered softly.
Anika rubbed her back and turned to the elderly lady.
"It's, it's not my daughter's fault," She tried to reason out.
"What do you mean? Your child pushed my granddaughter!" The elderly angrily pointed.
Anika turned to Adelaide and saw the child shaking her head pitifully.
"No, no, she didn't," Anika defended again.
"Liar! That child is a liar! As well as you! How do you teach your child!" The Madame scolded.
"Who are these people? What's your identity?" She asked in a heavy voice.
Someone whispered in the woman's ear, and she raised her brow.
"So, it's the newlywed wife of the Albrecht? Truly wasting such a talented young man to have a wife like this. Who knows where she comes from!" She scoffed and said loudly.
Adelaide became scared and buried her head in her mother's neck.
"You really can't buy class. No matter how you dress a nobody, they will always be a nobody!" The old lady continued to scold, her later words becoming worse.
Anika could only hug her daughter tight, her heart clenching in pain. There was nothing she could do but receive the latter's harsh scold as she continued, spitting venom as she spoke.
"Enough!" Suddenly, a girly but harsh exclamation sounded.
Seraphina went in front of Anika and stood up to face the elderly woman.
"Not because you're old, you could bully others like this!" She said fearlessly.
The old woman was shocked.
"Old?! How rude! Do you know who I am?!" She scolded back, furious.
Seraphina crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, I know who you are. And you opened my eyes. The high society of this city is just like this, bullying distinguished guests. No class at all," Sera mocked boldly.
The old woman could only hold her chest in anger.
"You! I won't let this slide. Just watch, your group wouldn't have a chance on this bidding at all!" She said in anger before walking away in a huff.
The people looking at the farce were watching in gossip. They knew the old Madame was a high personality in the high society. Seeing these young people offend her, they don't know what would happen to them.
Slowly, the crowd dispersed, leaving only Anika with her child and Sera.
"Hey! Are you just going to cry there?" Sera said to Anika, dissatisfied, seeing them still cuddled on the ground.
Anika swallowed the bile in her throat and tried her best not to let her tears fall. She stood up and carried her daughter, patting her back.
"I'm sorry, baby. It's okay now." She comforted her lightly.
She turned to Sera and gave the latter a grateful look. If she were not here, she wouldn't know what to do.
"Anika! What happened, dear? I heard about the commotion," Nanny Rose called as she hurried over.
She was also brought here to help watch over Adelaide, and she was fixing the assigned guest lounge for them in case the child got tired and needed to rest. Who knew something like this would happen?
"Nanny, can you please take Adie to the lounge first," Anika passed Adelaide to Nanny Rose after whispering some coaxing words to her.
The nanny accepted the child and went to the lounge to settle her there.
Anika then turned to Sera.
"Thank you for defending us earlier.." She said, her voice trembling a bit.
Sera stood there with furrowed eyebrows.
"And what were you doing just staying there while they bullied you? You need to fight back!" Sera nagged her.
Anika pursed her lips and fumbled with her fingers. She couldn't do the bravery Sera did just now, and she felt bad for her daughter. She can't even protect her.
Sera saw Anika being like this and was frustrated. She grabbed the other's hand and exclaimed.
"I'll teach you! Just say, get lost!" Sera demonstrated.
Anika blinked in fluster.
"Get, get lost.." She copied softly.
"No! Make it angrier! Get lost!" Sera corrected, making a fierce face.
"Get lost!" Anika suddenly exclaimed.
Sera heard this and was satisfied. She nodded confidently.
"Yes. Like that."
Anika stared at the young girl. She was not used to shouting like this, but she couldn't help but have a light feeling. Like the heavy load she was carrying was thrown away with this shout.
She smiled softly at the other, hoping that someday she would be as brave as this little girl.
..............................................................................
When Leon and Alexander heard what had happened, they immediately went to find them.
They were now in the lobby of the guest house prepared specifically for the event's distinguished guests.
While Anika was in the room, coaxing little Adelaide to nap.
"How could you be so impulsive? Do you know who that woman is?" Alexander scolded Sera.
But Sera was unresigned and looked at him stubbornly.
"I know, but so what? Hey! Don't tell me business is more important than your family?" Sera replied with a grudge.
Alexander only felt his temple ache because of this brat.
But Leon patted Alexander's shoulder.
"It's fine, man. She's right." He turned to Sera.
"Thank you for being there for my wife," He thanked solemnly.
It was a rare occurrence that this little miss's brattiness had done them good.
He nodded to them and said.
"I'll check on them first,"
Leon then hurried over to the room.
"Baby," Coming inside, he called softly. He saw their daughter sleeping peacefully in the bed while Anika sat beside her.
Anika turned to him and was relieved to see him.
Leon approached them first giving a kiss on Anika's forehead and to Adelaide's.
"Were you afraid?" Leon asked softly, a bit distressed in his heart.
"Sorry I was late," He collected his little wife and held her body in his strong arms.
Anika hugged Leon's waist and shook her head.
"We're fine," She answered and then worriedly looked up at Leon.
"Did we.. cause trouble?" She couldn't help but ask, being anxious in her heart. She remembered the threat of the elderly woman and feared Leon would face some problems.
Leon smiled and pecked her on the lips.
"No, baby. Don't be scared. I'll fix this, okay? And remember, there is nothing more important than you and Adie," He said in a coaxing voice.
Anika buried her head in her husband's neck, finding comfort in his scent.
The family spent a moment in a comforting silence.
...........................................................................