Chapter 16 A Tantrum Throwing Spoiled Brat
Back in Lilly''s room, Polly was snuggled in Lilly''s hands while she was snuggled in Bettany''s arms.
Lilly was sad seeing how shaken the parrot was after almost being strangled to death. She failed to
protect Polly in an environment that was new and foreign to the parrot.
Seeing Lilly slowly calmed down, Bettany said, "Do you feel better now? This was indeed Hannah''s
fault, not yours, Lilly."
Hugh also chimed in, "Yeah! You are a very good and obedient girl."
Bettany continued, "You are my lovely little gem!"
Both of them kept praising her one after another.
It was the first time for Lilly to be praised in such a way that she shyly fiddled with Polly''s wings and
said, "Grandpa and grandma are lovely little gems too!"
The old folks were taken aback for a moment before they let out a heartyugh.
Just then, Anthony was done with his meeting in the study and walked out. He furrowed his brow when
heard about the fight between Lilly and Hannah.
His heart ached as he looked at Lilly from outside the door quietly.
Seeing Liam walk past, Anthony quietly said, "You need to settle this as soon as possible, Liam."
When Winona was married into the family, her rtionship with Liam was shaky, but they were able to
get by rtively peacefully because they already had their son by then.
It was only until the birth of Hannah did the Crawford family find out the whole truth. When Liam asked
for a divorce, the Jackson family refused to let it happen.
The whole issue with Winona was dragged on for so long because the Crawford were too preupied
with searching for their missing sister, Jean.
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Liam replied, "I know. But now that my two children are grown up, I''m afraid the divorce will affect
them."
No matter what, they were still his children and even though they did not always get along, Liam could
not bear to lose them.
Anthony nodded. He knew that every family had their own skeletons in their closet and it was not his
ce to make decisions for Liam.
He replied, "You have to take care of it yourself."
Both of them looked into Lilly''s room. It seemed like the storm had passed and the child was discussing
her name with Hugh and Bettany.
She said, "Mommy said that a lily is a very pretty flower. It means love, admiration andpassion.
This was why mommy named me Lilly."
Even though she said it with a child-like voice, her straight face made it look like she had memorized
what her mother said verbatim.
Bettany felt an ache in her heart as she nodded, "It is a good name. Your mother''s surname is
Crawford, so you will also be called Crawford, okay?"
Lilly nodded happily, "Yes, Crawford. I''ll have the same surname as mommy!"
Hugh smiled and said, "Let''s see, what name goes well with Crawford?"
Lilly immediately raised her tiny hand and replied, "Lilly Crawford!"
Everyone could not help but burst outughing.
Anthony walked in and said, "Yeah, Lilly Crawford sounds good."
Shaking her head, Bettany replied, "But don''t you feel like something''s missing with that name?"
Everyone was at a loss for words. It did sound like something was missing and more importantly, it
would be great to have a new name for Lilly to have a new start for her life. They wanted Lilly to leave
the past behind.
They decided that they would call a family meeting to brainstorm a name for Lilly.
Bettany turned to ask Lilly, "You will be three and a half years old this year, right?"
Lilly cocked her head as she thought for a bit before saying, "I think so? Mommy said I came out from
her tummy on 315."
Everyone thought for a moment, "315… March 15th, that''s next week!"
In a week, Lilly would turn four years old.
Bettany said, "That''s great! We can do a birthday party for Lilly and get you a big big cake, okay? And
then you can make a wish in front of the cake!"
Lilly''s eyes sparkled as she happily asked, "Really?"
She could also finally have a huge cake!
Seeing how happy Lilly was, Bettany asked, "Who do you celebrate birthday with before this?"
Lilly shook her head and said, "I never celebrated my birthday. Daddy was always busy and stepmother
said she felt like vomiting when she saw a cake after she got pregnant…"
Lilly initially wanted to ask for a small cake from her grandparents, but what kind of cake did they offer
to get instead? A huge one!
Now, Lilly was brimming with excitement for her birthday toe.
She could make a wish with the cake! Lilly already knew what she was going to wish for.
Her wish was, "I hope mommy will live happily in the heavens together with Grandpa Sun and
Grandma Moon while being surrounded by fluffy clouds! I hope that grandpa and grandma will live a
long life and be happy everyday!"
Seeing the kid happy, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
As dinner time approached, the whole Crawford family was back home together. It was the first time in
four years where the Crawford mansion was so lively.
At the dining table, Hugh brought up the issue of giving Lilly a new name, and it stumped the eight
powerful Crawford men who were there.
For a moment, the dining table was eerily silent as everyone racked their brainsing up with a name
for Lilly.
Winona remained silent as the dissatisfaction welled in her heart.
After Lilly hit Hannah, they were still in a mood to fuss over a new name for Lilly instead of fussing over
Hannah''s injuries?
"Here''s your favorite crab meat, Hannah…" said a sad Winona as she put the crab meat onto her
daughter''s te.
Hannah was giving Lilly death res. She did not want to eat with Lilly. The dining table was hers, and
the house was also hers. What was a stray brat doing at her house?
Lilly knew what was going on, but she chose to ignore Hannah instead. She was still resentful of
Hannah for almost strangling Polly to death.
Not getting a reaction out of Lilly, Hannah flew into a rage again. She threw the spoon in her hand to
the ground and started bawling her eyes out.
The three boys rolled their eyes at the same time.
There she goes again!
Winona asked, "What''s wrong, Hannah? Why are you crying suddenly?"
Hannah grabbed the te in front of her and fling the food out of it, crying, "She bullied me but all of
you are ignoring me!"
Winona felt an ache in her heart and she took a deep look at everyone at the table.
See that? It''s all your fault!
Children are very sensitive to their surroundings. By not speaking to Hannah andforting her, you''re
mentally abusing her!
Winona tried tofort her, "Good girl. I''m here. I''m not ignoring you."
Instead of calming down, Hannah grabbed tes and anything she could get her hands on and threw
them to the middle of the table, screaming, "No! I don''t want! I don''t want to eat with her! I don''t want a
sister!"
Hugh tried to suppress his anger as he said coldly, "Leave the table if you don''t want to eat! Who
taught you to throw tes and cutlery all over the table?"
Hearing her grandfather''s fierce remarks, she cried harder and started kicking the dining table. She
cried, "I don''t want to, I dont'' want to! I don''t want to!"
No matter what anyone else said, she kept yelling the same four words, "I don''t want to!"
Everyone was speechless.
Without saying a word, Liam stood up and tried to carry Hannah away from the table, but she kept
squirming around. It made him so mad that Liam grabbed her by the cor and proceeded to haul her
upstairs.
Winona immediately asked, "What are you doing, Liam?!"
Seeing Liam hauling Hannah by the cor made Lilly jolt up in fear and she dropped the piece of meat
in her hand. Her father did the same thing to her before.
She suddenly felt pity for Hannah.
Winona snatched Hannah from Liam and red at him while she carried Hannah upstairs in a huff.
She felt that they had crossed the line.
Did they need to be so cruel to a child? Did they not see the wounds on Hannah''s arms and her
swollen eyes? Why did they still single out Hannah like that?
Winona''s heart was shattered to a million pieces.