"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."

Mitchel cradled her hand with one hand and caressed her head with the other.

“Let's go home."

"Alright," Raegan meekly responded.

There was a single strand of hair resting around her neck. With a gentle motion, Mitchel brushed away the stray hair, and, hand in hand, they walked away.

The sound of a slap echoed sharply as Jocelyn struck her own face, all under Kyle's watchful eye. She had to hit herself hard to meet Mitchel's stipulation. She did not dare to skimp on the force, not with her son's future at stake.

As Mitchel and Raegan disappeared into the distance, a feeling Like a knife stabbing her heart gripped Lauren. Still, she was confident.

Mitchel would not actually abandon her.

Bang! Suddenly, Lauren sprang from her wheelchair as though intending to chase after Mitchel, but she seemed to have lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. She looked pathetic.

"Mitchel...

" Lauren wailed.

She was convinced that her distressed state would bring him back to her.

As Lauren expected, Mitchel paused in his tracks.

He glanced at Raegan, let go of her hand, and said, “Hold on a sec.”

With that, he strode quickly back toward Lauren.

As Lauren lay on the floor with eyes brimming with tears, she watched as Mitchel approached her. From the looks of it, her trick had worked.

She suppressed a satisfied smile and whined, "Mitchel... It hurts...

It hurts so much..."

To sell the act, she had actually allowed herself to fall hard. Now, with her elbow scraped and bleeding, she did look genuinely miserable.

Mitchel did not hesitate. He squatted down, scooped Lauren off the ground, and ordered Kyle to open the car door for them.