It was a tug-of-war competition between all the participating families. Since there were exactly six groups of families at the scene, it would be played out in an elimination format. Each family would draw lots to see who they would be matched up against, and the winners of each matchup would advance to the next round. This meant it would be a best-of-six, then a best-of-three before moving onto the grand final. The winners would get a mermaid doll. The mermaid dolls were being displayed on a table. Each doll had been delicately made, depicting a chubby and adorable little mermaid. Most of the fathers in the participating families were large and burly men. Sylvia had been separated from Odell while accompanying Isabel and Liam as they went around the area. This meant it was just the three of them at the moment. There was a chance they would not even get past the first round. Since Isabel was very eager about the competition, Sylvia did not want to ruin the occas
“Hahaha…” They began laughing heartily upon seeing Isabel’s confident taunts. Part of it was because they were charmed by how cute she was, but their laughter was also mixed with some ridicule. That was no surprise, considering how Isabel and Liam were a pair of four-year-olds, while both Sylvia and Odell looked fairly skinny. One thing they had to admit was that this was a rather good-looking family. Isabel was so angered by this that she turned around and cried out to Sylvia and Odell, "Mummy, Baddie, we have to show them what we’re capable of!” Sylvia answered meekly, lacking the confidence to back up Isabel’s talk, "Okay." Odell smirked, “Got it.” Shortly after that, upon the referee's signal, they all picked up the rope. Then, the whistle sounded. The rope was jerked into a straight line in an instant. Although Sylvia was not very confident about their chances this round, she gave it her all for Isabel’s sake. Within seconds, she felt the rope be
Upon wearing the dress, Isabel now looked like a chubby little mermaid. After coming out of the locker room, Isabel ran over to Liam and immediately began to ask, "Brother, how do I look?” Liam stroked the hair of her head and complimented her in a very polite manner, “You look good." "Hey, let’s go to the hot spring then.” The two of them slowly lowered themselves into the hot spring, holding hands the entire time. Sylvia followed after them. When she walked past Odell, she suddenly found her arm being tugged by him. Sylvia immediately pulled her arm back and scowled at him. He cautioned softly, “Careful, it’s slippery. Be careful when you go down and make sure you don’t fall.” Sylvia ignored him. She was not an idiot nor was she blind, of course she could tell that it was slippery. She went to the edge of the hot spring. Just as she nervously raised her right foot and prepared to step in, her left foot suddenly slipped on the surface of the slippery
Sylvia’s figure was reflected in Odell’s obsidian eyes. He studied her for a few seconds before suggesting, “Let's talk outside.” “Alright.” With Isabel and Liam sleeping in here, this was not an ideal location to discuss their divorce. They went to the balcony of the next bedroom. There was a table and chairs on the balcony. Several bottles of beer and a box of cigarettes could be seen on the table. Sylvia sat across from Odell. He picked up a bottle of beer and offered, "Would you like a drink?" Sylvia was not a fan of liquor. More importantly, she was not in the mood to share a drink with him so she turned down the offer, "I don't drink." Without saying anything, Odell reached for a bottle of beer and poured it into a glass. Then, he leaned back in his chair, picked up the glass of beer, and drank cheerfully and casually. All the while, he did not speak. Sylvia could not stand it anymore and repeated the question, "Odell, it’s been three days, have y
Odell frowned. The first page was a printing of an X-ray. It showed a broken bone in the calf. The calf bone had almost completely split down the middle and had also been bent at an unnatural angle. Just from this picture, one could get an idea of how pain the person must have suffered. Sylvia looked at him and stated with composure, "Odell, this photo was taken more than four months ago. It was right after I was rescued and admitted to the hospital." The hands Odell that was using to hold the papers suddenly trembled. Sylvia went on, “Have you ever experienced a broken bone before? Do you know how much it hurts? Just as I was about to recover from it, someone had to step on the same break again and again.” Odell scowled, and his face darkened. He continued to flip to the later pages. Sylvia continued to to speak, "I was hospitalized in the Hospital at Coastrock for two whole months. I was bedridden pretty much the whole time there. It was not because of t
”Second, you are not allowed to take them out of Westchester without my permission. If they leave the city without my explicit permission, I will reclaim full custody of them.” “Deal.” “And third,” he peered into her eyes, and announced solemnly, "You can't remarry. If you remarry, I will reclaim full custody of them as well.” “Deal.” Sylvia answered readily. She had no plans to ever marry again. Seeing that he was done with his terms, Sylvia said, “If you have no other requests, I’ll be taking my leave now.” "Hmm." He remained in his seat, a dark shadow enveloped him. Without staying a moment longer than necessary, Sylvia turned and left. ...... In the morning. Aunt Tonya knocked on the door at the same time as usual. Sylvia opened her eyes. Liam was awake and already dressed himself. Sylvia woke Isabel who was lying on top of her. Just like the previous mornings, she took them to the living room after they had washed up and gotten dressed.
Odell’s attention perked up, “Go on.” Cliff began an elaborate brief, "The night the missus fell into the lake, she was admitted into this hospital. The doctor who operated on her was the best doctor employed in the hospital. According to the words of the doctor's assistant, the missus was indeed in critical condition when she was brought there. However, the injury in her leg was severe but not fatal. She had sustained major injuries all over her body because of the altitude that she fell from, which had also led to the miscarriage. They say that if she had been brought to the hospital even a moment later, she might very well have died.” The room was filled with a deathly silence. There was such a terrible look on Odell’s face that anyone would be too intimidated to look at him. Cliff barely dared to look at his face. He lowered his head and continued, “They don't know the name of the person who sent the missus to the hospital, they could only remember that it was a very han
Odell pursed his lips. Sylvia continued to keep an indifferent look on her face. The clerk went through their documents and asked Sylvia, “Miss, have you two divided your assets properly?” “Yes, it’s all written in the divorce settlement agreement." “Very well.” The clerk sighed and went through the procedures. Shortly after that, she set down two copies of the proof of divorce in front of Odell and Sylvia. Sylvia took her copy, thanked the clerk, and left. “Miss, wait a minute." The clerk suddenly called her. Sylvia stopped. The clerk glanced at Odell, who was still standing there, "Why are you still here?" Odell darted a look at Sylvia, then he grabbed the divorce papers and left. After he left, the clerk suddenly became much more friendly and conversational. She spoke to Sylvia with a gentle smile, “Miss, you are still young and very beautiful. You still have a whole life ahead of you. Don't be discouraged because of a man like him. I have fait