The Billionaire And His Son Want Me Back by Juliette Vaughan

Chapter 161

At the sink, Paisley didn't take Nate's business card. She rarely accepted cards from strangers. "We don't know

each other," she replied politely but distantly.

Worried about leaving Serena alone for too long, Paisley quickly washed her hands, skipping the towel, and

hurried off.

Nate seemed like he wanted to say something, but his phone rang, so he stepped away to take the call. There

was quite a distance between the restroom and the pavilion. Paisley had planned to take Serena with her, but

she was having so much fun playing with the others that she had refused to go.

So, Paisley had entrusted the other parents to keep an eye on her.

Without her supervision, she had no idea what kind of mischief Serena might be up to. But before she could even

get halfway back, the sharp sound of glass shattering made her heart drop.

Her pace quickened instinctively. When she arrived at the pavilion, all the parents were on their feet, crowding

around the platform.

If she remembered correctly, that was where Vivian had placed her wine. Now, it was completely empty. The

parents were murmuring in either regret or anger, all looking in the sdirection.

As Paisley stepped closer, she saw the broken Cloud Crest Reserve on the ground, with more than half of the

expensive wine still pooled among the glass shards. Serena stood to the side, quietly shedding tears. "Rena!"

Paisley pushed through the crowd, scooping her daughter up and away from the broken glass. "Tellwhat

happened."

Serena wiped her tears but only shook her head, refusing to speak. Paisley knew her daughter well- Serena

wasn't one to cry easily unless something truly upsetting had happened.

The last tshe cried this much was at the stables, when she thought Paisley was being bullied. She had

sobbed and called those people bad guys.

But this time, she wasn't wailing, just silently shedding tears. There was grievance in her eyes, but also

something Paisley couldn't quite decipher. Whatever it was, it made Paisley's heart ache.

"What else could've happened? Ms. Sutton, your daughter caused a huge mess!" Isabella sneered, her face full

of schadenfreude.

'She broke such an expensive bottle of wine-there's no way you can afford to compensate for this!" she thought.

Paisley frowned and looked straight at Isabella. "Mrs. Thompson, please explain clearly. What exactly did my

daughter do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Isabella pointed at the shattered Cloud Crest Reserve on the floor. "Your daughter did it! Vivian

was generous enough to share it with us, and your troublemaking daughter broke it. Now, tell us- how are you

going to compensate for this?"

Her words resonated with the other parents. They all felt it was a shame-such a fine bottle of wine, wasted by a

child. They hadn't even had enough to taste. Each person only got a tiny sip.

Paisley wasn't going to jump to conclusions based on one person's story. She turned to Serena, her voice gentle.

"Rena, telldid you break this?"

"Ms. Sutton, what are you implying?" Vivian's face fell as she snapped, "Are you saying all of us adults are falsely

accusing a child?"

Her heart ached at the loss of the wine. But she wasn't about to let Paisley off so easily. This was her chance to

make Paisley pay-not just for the wine, but for daring to go after my husband!

But Paisley remained composed, meeting Vivian's gaze head-on. "The situation needs to be clarified first.

If my daughter is responsible, | will take full responsibility."

Vivian laughed, "Responsible? How can you afford to?"

Paisley was confused. "It's just a bottle of wine."

"A bottle of wine? Do you have any idea how expensive this bottle is? You make it sound so nice!" Isabella

mocked.

Kevin couldn't stand it anymore and tugged at his wife. "Stop talking, it's none of your business."

"What do you mean? Are you going to defend her?" Isabella immediately got upset, loudly accusing her husband.

Feeling embarrassed, Kevin quickly explained, "We didn't notice what happened over there, no one can say for

sure. Even if Serena knocked it over, she didn't do it on purpose.

Isabella's face turned pale with anger. "What are you saying? If it wasn't on purpose, she doesn't need to take

responsibility? Or do you want to pay for her?"

"What are you talking about? | don't have money to pay!" Kevin quickly stepped back.

"Good to know. Don't help with everything. Everyone knows you're such a nice guy, but if they didn't know

better, they'd think you've been seduced!" Isabella gave Paisley a pointed look, making her intentions

clear.

"What do you mean? You'd better explain yourself," Paisley said, getting angry.

"What do | mean? You know very well," Isabella said, her tone implying she was finished speaking. Her words

made the other parents in the vicinity look at Paisley with strange eyes.

"Is she a mistress?" someone said.

"Obviously; otherwise, how could she be so beautiful yet unmarried with a kid?" another agreed. "There are

plenty of good-looking single mothers. Just because Ms. Sutton is one doesn't mean there's something wrong

with her." Someone cto Paisley's defense.

"But isn't that exactly what Isabella said? She must know something to say that," another argued. "Alright, Ms.

Sutton, what do you think should be done about this?" Vivian coldly stared at Paisley. Paisley ignored Vivian's

questioning and continued to ask Serena, "Rena, tell mommy, did you break it?" Still teary-eyed, Serena looked

confused. "Mom, I'm sorry, | think I broke it."

In truth, she didn't know for sure if it was her fault. She only knew that she was crying at the time, her eyes

blurry, and then she touched something next to her, and the bottle fell and broke.

Since everyone said it was her fault, it might really be. Paisley always said kids shouldn't lie and should admit

their mistakes.

Seeing Serena confess, Paisley accepted it calmly, not making any excuses for her.

"Alright, since my daughter broke it, I'll compensate for the wine." She turned to Vivian, "Do you wantto pay

money, or do you want a new bottle of wine?"

Vivian scoffed, as if she had heard the funniest thing. "Fine, then pay the money!"