Then it hit me. My skin flared in red blotches. My throat closed tight until every breath felt like knives cutting me. I knew this feeling. I was allergic with seafoods.
Wilbert’s voice cut through my panic. “You put peanuts in Nivianne’s food. She’s in the hospital now. I warned you not to touch her, but you never listen. So now you’ll understand what she went through.”
He just stood there watching me writhe on the floor, his eyes as cold as stone. Not a flicker of pity, not even anger. Just indifference.
“I didn’t…” I tried to speak, but the words broke apart as my body twisted in pain. Nobody cared. Nobody listened.
The last thing I saw was his face, calm and detached, as the darkness pulled me under.
***
“Anika? Wake up.”
His voice dragged me back from the dark. My eyelids felt like lead, but when I finally opened them, Wilbert was standing by my bed. He let out a heavy sigh when he saw me awake. His hand came down to brush the hair off my face, but I turned my head away without thinking. He froze and pulled back like I had burned him.
“Anika, I know you’re upset,” he said, his tone sharp and cold. “But this time, you went too far. I can’t keep spoiling you.”