Love Unspoken

A sudden, tumultuous cry shattered the tranquil silence, drawing the attention of everyone present. Joseph, his hands clutching his face, was squatting on the ground.

His sobs pierced the quiet, reverberating through the room. Meanwhile, Alexander stood aloof, nonchalantly toying with the plastic gun.

His demeanor was detached, seemingly oblivious to the tears streaming down Joseph's face. His attention was solely focused on the toy in his hands, almost as if he was implying that Joseph's distress was his own doing. Quinn felt her heart rate spike, her hands involuntarily tightening around the fabric of her sleeves. Valerie and Hugh were the first to react, rushing over to the sobbing child. Valerie scooped up Joseph, her eyes frantically scanning his face for any signs of harm.

"What happened, Joseph?" she asked urgently. The boy was struggling to catch his breath between sobs, the corners of his eyes inflamed and red.

At his tender age, his skin was delicate, flushing a deep crimson with every tear that fell. The redness around his eyes seemed less pronounced, but it was the puffy redness at the corner of his eyes that sent Valerie into a fury.

She turned her glare on Alexander, her voice sharp, "What's your problem, Alexander?" Alexander merely met her gaze, his tone nonchalant. "It's just a plastic bullet. It doesn't hurt.""You..." His dismissive retort left Valerie speechless, her indignation caught in her throat. Alexander glanced at her coolly, his indifferent demeanor holding an air of superiority.

"Why don't you try it then?"""Don't push it, Alexander!" Valerie shot up, her anger boiling over. "You're thirty years old, picking on a seven-year-old kid. What kind of man does that make you?""Come on, you're making a fuss over nothing. When have I ever nitpicked? But you, you blow up over a plastic bullet. Who's being petty now?"Valerie, so angry she could faint, found herself unable to win the argument or fight Alexander.

Her fury only intensified. At that moment, Walter approached, glanced at Joseph's eyes, and remarked, "It's really not that serious. Let it go, Valerie."Valerie shot him a look, wanting to call out the posturing son-in-law but hesitant to fully offend Freya.

Valerie drew a deep breath, quelling the rage inside her, and scoffed, "Fine, you win with numbers. I never should've come today."Holding a weeping Joseph, Valerie approached Wayne. "Dad, maybe skip inviting me to these things in the future. It's just not our place to go. We're heading out."Wayne's face was an ashen shade of anger.

Before he could speak, Valerie, still holding Joseph, walked away. Kaitlyn let out a sigh. "That girl has quite the temper, doesn't she?" Wayne glanced at her and abruptly stood, making his way upstairs without another word. He was done with the evening's drama."Walter, let's go to bed," Freya said firmly, her face stern, having kept her distance from the earlier chaos. Already upset by the servants' gossip, her suspicion toward Walter was growing by leaps and bounds as he openly took Quinn's side. Walter was an enigmatic man, unpredictable and elusive.

Freya often felt an uncomfortable premonition he might leave her anytime. After more than two years of marriage, she realized she knew nothing about him. His easygoing nature bordered on apathy, as if he didn't care or fear loss. This uncontrollable nature put Freya on edge daily. Walter nodded slightly and joined Freya, accompanying her upstairs. As they passed by Quinn, she looked up to lock eyes with Walter's meaningful gaze. Before she could react, he looked away as if their shared glance was merely her imagination.Kaitlyn asked Alexander if he wanted to stay over, but he declined without hesitation. He tossed the toy gun into the trash, but it was too long. It knocked over the bin. "Let's go," he said to Quinn.