Chapter 56
In the kitchen, Yvette stood under the faucet for nearly half an hour before Juliet finally let her up.
She inspected the wound carefully. It looked red but had no lasting burns, thanks to the quick cooling. Although Yvette wasn’t wincing anymore, her expression remained grim.
“Let me take a look,” Celeste said, her face filled with concern as she carefully examined Yvette’s burn. She took out a tube of burn ointment she had prepared in advance and gently applied it to Yvette’s skin.
“I’m so sorry, Yvette. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“Mrs. Locke, you don’t need to apologize. You’re not the one who spilled the soup on me.” Yvette pouted, her expression softening. She knew better than to take her frustration out on Celeste.
Celeste still felt responsible. “I bear some responsibility for this too.”
Juliet glanced at Yvette’s injury. She let out a sigh of relief upon seeing there were no complications. They wouldn’t just sever ties with the Locke family over this incident.
She turned to Celeste and said, “Don’t worry about it. It was just an accident. No one wanted this to happen.”
Celeste sighed, helping Yvette toward the living room. “Let’s sit on the couch for a bit. If the burn worsens after 30 minutes, we’ll need to get you checked out at the hospital.”
As a nurse, Juliet examined the burn herself and shook her head. “It should be fine. Just a few days of rest will do.”
As Celeste guided Yvette out, Phoebe was waiting in the living room. The moment Yvette appeared, Phoebe hurried over, attempting to help her.. Yvette shot her a glare and refused her help. She turned and took a seat on the couch.
Phoebe awkwardly withdrew her hand. Yet, she still approached Yvette, standing there with her head down. She looked like a frightened kid.
“I’m sorry, Yvette. I–I didn’t mean to. I just slipped on something without realizing it.”
Yvette rolled her eyes in response. “What good does ‘sorry‘ do? You’re not the one who’s suffering here.”
Phoebe stammered, “I–If it helps, you could pour hot water on me too, Yvette.”
Yvette was taken aback. This was the first time she heard such an unusual way of apologizing.
But then she caught on and replied, “You say it wasn’t intentional. But if I deliberately burn you, I would be in the wrong, wouldn’t I? If you really want to feel what I’m feeling, you can do it yourself.”
Phoebe’s face froze. She had assumed that with an apology like that, most people would brush it off, letting the whole thing blow over. She never expected Yvette to say so and dared her to actually burn herself.
As Phoebe contemplated how to get out of this, she noticed Yvette’s challenging look, as if daring her to go ahead with it.
But Phoebe wasn’t one to back down easily. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the steaming tea from the nearby table and poured it over herself without a second thought.
“Fifi!” Celeste was the first to react, dropping everything to try to stop her.
Juliet made an insincere attempt to stop Phoebe too. “Oh dear, Phoebe, Yvette was just joking! You don’t have to take it seriously!”
Despite their attempts, it was too late. Phoebe’s shirt was drenched, steam rising from her clothes.
“Quick, get her to cool off!” Celeste cried, grabbing her to lead her to the bathroom.
Phoebe pulled away gently, her face contorted in pain. “Mrs. Locke, I’ll go myself. Please, just take care of Yvette.”
She then turned to Yvette. “Yvette, I really didn’t mean it. I hope you can forgive me.”
