Chapter 534

Hamilton never thought he would spend a morning being so thoroughly flattered by a little girl that he felt his heart swell with joy. He even had a fleeting thought: I wish she were my daughter.
“Who is she?”
Just then, Queena returned. Seeing the rarely smiling Hamilton grinning from ear to ear at a little pudgeball, she immediately felt a pang of jealousy and stomped over.
Kristin saw Queena, who was much taller than her, and politely greeted her, “Hello, big sister.”
“Who’s your sister? Are you crazy, claiming relatives like that!”
The words were nasty, and Kristin wasn’t about to take it.
“It’s called being polite. Just because you don’t have any manners doesn’t mean you can call polite people crazy!”
“You’re calling me crazy!”
Queena put her hands on her hips, furious. “You’re so ugly, how dare you show up for an audition? Aren’t you embarrassed!”
“You’re calling me names!”
“So what if I am!”
Queena not only insulted her but was about to get physical when Hamilton grabbed
her arm. His brow furrowed as he glared down at her.
“Who taught you to be so rude? Apologize to the little girl right now!”
“She insulted me first!”
“I was right here. Are you going to lie to my face?”
“I
“I’m going to tell your mother about this when we get home!”
“No, don’t tell my mom! I’ll—I’ll apologize, okay?”
Queena was extremely reluctant, but she still mumbled an apology to Kristin.
Kristin didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she moved to a seat as far away from them as possible.
Penelope had taught them that just
because someone apologizes doesn’t mean you have to forgive them. If you’re still angry, you should maket crystal clear that you are not to be triffed with content
She was too small to win a fight, so she moved far away to show them she was still mad.
Word came from inside that Kristin had passed the initial audition. She now had to go to a practice room to learn a new dance for the callback.
Natalie bought Hubert a snack and then hid around the corner again.
Hubert sat cross-legged on the bench, sipping his milk and tilting his head to look at Natalie, shaking his head with a sigh.
Natalie shot him a wink, and Hubert stuck his tongue out at her in return.
She gestured for him to drink less of the milk, since it was a bit cold. In defiance, he took a huge gulp, so big that some of it spilled out.
The kid was a natural comedian, incredibly mischievous and defiant, often driving Penelope up the wall.
But Natalie loved that about Hubert. He never let anyone walk over him and always got his revenge.
Natalie was interacting with Hubert when she failed to notice someone approaching. It wasn’t until a pair of leather shoes appeared in her fine of sight,@long with a chilling presence, that she slowly lifted her head and met Hamilton’s thunderous face.
A shiver ran down her spine, and she slowly got to her feet.
“Long… long time no see.”
Hamilton stared at the face that had vanished for six years but still made him grind
his teeth in rage. The violent cells in his body began to stir.
“What are you doing here?”
“I… I was just looking around I’ll leave right now
She started to flee, but in the next second, Hamilton’s hand shot out and clamped around her neck.
“I told you not to lie to me!”
“Ugh!”
He squeezed hard, his expression savage, as if he truly meant to kill her. She couldn’t breathe, frantically clawing at his hand as the memory from six years ago when he had pressed a knife against her stomach-flashed through her mind…
She had loved Hamilton, and she had hated him, but from that moment on, all she
felt for him was fear.