Chapter 55
After Yvette finished speaking, Juliet finally stepped in. “Enough! Watch your tone!”
She then turned to comfort Phoebe. “Phoebe, don’t take Yvette’s words to heart. I apologize on her behalf.”
Yvette and Juliet made it impossible for Phoebe to respond. She glanced briefly at Juliet before looking at Celeste with teary eyes. “Mrs. Zane, Mrs. Locke, I’m sorry…”
Celeste felt a bit sorry for Phoebe.
She patted Phoebe’s shoulder gently and said, “It’s alright. Juliet isn’t someone who’d make a big deal out of this. But let’s leave the cooking to Evelyn from now on, okay? Fifi, could you serve Yvette some mushroom soup? She loves Evelyn’s mushroom soup.”
Celeste hoped to ease the tension between Phoebe and Yvette.
Phoebe quickly picked up on her hint and said, “I’ll go get it from the kitchen. The soup here is probably cold.”
She went to the kitchen and poured a bowl of soup. The soup was quite hot. She carried it over, holding the edge gingerly to avoid spilling.
Just a step away, Phoebe suddenly tripped on something and lost control, sending the hot soup flying directly onto Yvette.
Yvette screamed, clutching her chest in pain.
Phoebe was shocked, as was everyone else. They hadn’t expected such a sudden turn of events.
After a moment of shock, Juliet shoved Phoebe aside and rushed into the kitchen. She quickly tore open Yvette’s shirt and turned on the faucet, guiding her under the cool stream of water to soothe the burning heat on her chest.
The scorching sensation was relentless, even under the cold water. Yvette cried out, “Mom, it hurts… Will I get scars?”
Juliet’s heart ached as she comforted her, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Just hold on a bit longer.”
Having worked as a nurse in a military hospital, Juliet knew that cooling the burn was the top priority.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Celeste quickly dashed upstairs to find burn ointment. Fortunately, there was still some left over from when James had accidentally scalded himself with hot tea.
Rushing back with the ointment, Celeste returned to the kitchen where Yvette continued rinsing her burn.
Celeste couldn’t defend Phoebe now. She simply stood anxiously by, ready with a cotton swab and ointment to tend to Yvette as soon as she could.
Meanwhile, Phoebe stood near the dining room, visibly distressed as she watched the chaos in the kitchen. She wanted to help but feared she might only make things worse. The idea of being held responsible if Yvette scarred terrified her.
Across the table, Natalie sat quietly, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she observed Phoebe’s anxiety.
