Chapter 3
When she saw Luke's swollen face, a single tear rolled down Bella's cheek.
"Kevin, why did this happen to Luke? I told you where he was, didn't I?" Bella said.
Kevin shot me a glance, and Bella turned to look at me.
"It's your fault. Luke got hurt," Bella yelled.
With that, she stormed forward, yanked my hair, and dragged me over.
"Luke's been afraid of crowds ever since he was little. If he gets traumatized because of this, I swear you'll pay for it." Bella threatened.
I was forced to look up, grabbed her wrist, and with a hard pull, flipped her over and pinned her down.
"Traumatized? Zick still hasn't even woken up," I snapped back. "What? Is Luke the only kid that matters? Isn't Zick a child, too?
"Luke's face is swollen because Kevin took all the equipment for himself and pumped too much oxygen into him. Let me warn you. If anything happens to Zick, you and Luke are both finished."
Seeing Bella pinned on the sand, Kevin pulled me off her with force. "Alice, you really hit her? You've really crossed the line."
He reached out to help Bella up.
"Don't you dare help her," I snapped.
Kevin's hand froze in mid-air, and I shot him a cold glare.
"Did you forget whose husband you are?" I said coldly.
Things got tense, and a bunch of curious tourists started gathering around.
Seeing the situation turning bad, Bella let out a dramatic wail, tears rolling down her pretty face.
Looking at Bella all pitiful like that, some tourists couldn't help but say something.
"What's going on here?" someone asked. "Hey, pretty lady, don't cry. Wipe your tears."
Bella pointed straight at me, her tears pouring down even faster.
"It's her. She dragged everyone away and wouldn't let them help my son, and that's why he got hurt," Bella cried out.
"Finally, someone saw through her and did everything they could to save my son, and what does she do? She goes and hits me," Bella sobbed.
"Both are lives. Why is it that everyone rushes to save her kid, but my son is just left to drown?" Bella wailed.
As soon as she started crying, people around couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"Damn bitch, who was it that insisted everyone had to drop everything just to save one kid?" I yelled.
I was about to roll up my sleeves and go after Bella, but before I could even swing, someone yanked me from behind, twisted my arms back, and slammed me down onto the sand.
"Enough. You hogged all the rescue gear and put everyone in danger. If you were pissed, you could've come at me, but you went after the victim instead?" Kevin snapped.
Everyone went quiet for a second, then the whole place blew up.
"First she hogs all the rescue stuff, now she's going after the people trying to help," someone shouted.
"Man, I've never seen anyone like her," another person chimed in.
Someone swung a slap at me, and I was just about to fight back when a kick slammed right into my side.
"Why didn't her son drown? They went into the sea to save him, risking their lives. Why does everyone have to do what she says?"
"I bet her son fell into the sea because she's done too many shady things. It's punishment from above."
The insults never stopped, and some people even threw half-smoked cigarettes and trash right at me.
My face was burned by the still-lit cigarettes, leaving blisters and making me look even more pathetic.
Kevin's grip on me never wavered, not even for a second, even as chaos erupted all around us.
"Everyone, don't resort to violence. We'll handle this by the book." But when Kevin spoke up for me, it only fueled the crowd's rage.
Even the officers nearby couldn't hold them back as they tried to take swings at me.
Peering through the crowd, I caught sight of Bella being helped up. Someone handed her a tissue, and she wiped away her tears while people tried to comfort her.
I gritted my teeth so hard I thought they might crack, fighting with all my strength, but no matter how much I struggled, I just couldn't break free from Kevin's grip.
The blaring siren of the ambulance brought the chaos to a sudden halt.