Beyond the Divorce

I rubbed her head gently, feeling responsible for what happened. She looked up at me and said earnestly, "I won't hold onto you next time, Mommy. I'll protect you."

Jenny took the opportunity to say, "I didn't hold onto Aunt Chloe, Uncle Atlas. I bit that bad woman."

Atlas praised her and patted her head. "You were fearless, Jenny. You know just how to protect your family. You two deserve a reward. The children of Pleca Park are all brave and strong."

He taught the kids some basic fighting stances, which I did not expect from him. He also taught them a few less harmful but effective ways to defend themselves.

The little ones listened with admiration, their eyes gleaming with excitement. It seemed like they were ready to confront those kids again, and I couldn't help but worry.

After putting them to bed, I criticized Atlas, "You went too far. Teaching kids how to fight? Who does that?"

He pinched my nose and replied confidently, "It's a necessary lesson. After all, we can't be with them all the time. If they get into a situation like that again, they'll know how to handle it without hurting themselves."

I protested, "But they're girls. Why should they be fighting all the time?"

"They might be girls, but we should still teach them some self-defense. That way, they won't get beaten up so easily." He stuck to his beliefs.

After hearing his reasons, I couldn't help but admit that he had a point.

I didn't want to encourage this, but it looked like he was right. What if someone provoked the girls or caused trouble for them? The children would have to face those situations, and it couldn't end like this again with their faces covered in bruises.

the study and clicked on the surveillance video Dylan had

video footage of the

He threw the first punch at Ava. Jenny did not stand for it and bit his arm, which led to

two little

boys,

and kicked them.

over to

Hel

Ava never cried. Instead, she put on

her throughout the beating, and I whispered in admiration, "That girl deserves

ended, Atlas fell into

me, "Looks like we can't just teach

thought what he was saying was reasonable,

and looked at me. "Come on, tell me what else happened today. Is everything going smoothly

asked me that,