MainNovelChapter 1623:
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and began walking back toward his home.
“Hey!” Nina called out behind him.
The boy didn’t look back. He just kept walking, his figure disappearing with the sblank indifference.
The middle-aged man let out a quiet sigh of relief. Forcing a weak smile, he turned to Kristian. “You see? He
doesn’t want to go himself. | can’t force him.”
Nina's eyes were heavy with worry.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Mr. Shaw, I'll head up now,” the man said, nodding quickly before retreating from sight.
Nina, too young to grasp the murky tangle of adult decisions, stayed fixated on the one thing that made sense to
her. “Aren’t we going to take that boy to see a doctor? His injuries look like they really hurt.”
She knew all too well how even the tiniest scrape could sting—so how much worse must it feel to have bruises
like his?
“He doesn’t want to go,” Kristian said gently, reaching over to ruffle her hair. “We can’t force him.”
“Did that mean man hit him again?” Nina asked carefully, her voice lined with concern.
Kristian pressed his lips together, uncertain of what to say.
Then Jesse answered plainly, “Yes.”
“What should we do?” Nina's wide eyes swam with unease. “Should we call the police? | don’t want him to get
hit anymore.”
“Telling the police won't help,” Jesse said, his understanding of the situation far beyond his years. “He'll just tell
them he fell down or bumped into something.”
“Why?” Nina blinked, still puzzled.
“You'll understand when you're older,” Jesse replied.
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Even though he'd barely interacted with the boy, he could see straight through him.
Nina could stand up for him once—but not forever. If Kristian stepped in to protect him this time, what about the
next? His father wasn’t going anywhere.
One rescue wouldn't fix the problem.
And sure enough, Jesse's prediction wasn't far off.
As soon as the boy and his father returned home, the man’s temper ignited.
“Since you behaved earlier, I'll let it slide this time. But if you don’t score perfectly on the next test, you're in
serious trouble!”
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