Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 219

The boomerang of memory struck him right between the eyes.

Daniel’s expression froze for a split second. By the time he pulled himself together, Amelia’s slender figure had already vanished from the dining room.

He gave a wry twist of his lips. So this is what it feels like to be stood up.

Damn. It stings more than he expected.

Meanwhile, Amelia received a call from the preschool: Ruby had apparently hit another child.

Ruby was lively and outgoing, but never the kind of child to lash out. Amelia didn’t let herself jump to conclusions. All she wanted was to get to the preschool as quickly as possible and hear Ruby’s side of the story.

When she arrived at the director’s office, the other child’s mother was already there, loudly berating Ruby while the principal and teachers did their best to defuse the situation.

No matter what had happened, no mother would stand by while someone pointed a finger in her child’s face and yelled. Amelia strode forward, placing herself between Ruby and the furious woman. The woman’s manicured finger nearly jabbed Amelia in the cheek before Amelia briskly slapped her hand away.

“How old are you, exactly?” Amelia’s voice was calm but cutting. “A child might not know how to treat people with respect, but you’re an adult. Or have you forgotten? If that’s the case, maybe you should go back and repeat grade school—you might even end up in the same class as your son.”

The woman, dripping with pearls and designer labels, was stunned—clearly not expecting Ruby’s mother to have such a sharp tongue. Once the shock wore off, her anger doubled. “Your daughter pushed my son! You’re in the wrong here. If you refuse to admit it, fine, but just look at your attitude!”

“My attitude depends on yours,” Amelia shot back, her presence undiminished. “Before all the adults are present and the facts are clear, what gives you the right to verbally attack a child? If this is your idea of class, then sorry, I’m not about to show any either.”

Amelia turned to Ruby, crouched down, and wrapped her in a gentle hug before asking softly, “Ruby, can you tell Mommy why you pushed him?”

“He was being mean!” Ruby answered with perfect composure, her words clear and steady. “We were playing on the slide. He cut in line and started making fun of James for not talking, then he pushed James. I told him to apologize, but he wouldn’t—he just pushed James even harder!”

Amelia straightened, facing the woman. “Did you hear that? Your son pushed someone first.”

“Oh, so just because she says it, it’s true?” The woman scoffed, twisting the logic. “Even if he did, he didn’t push her, so why was she meddling?”

There was no point wasting words on someone like this. Amelia looked at the director. “I’d like to see the security footage from the playground.”