Love Unspoken

The incident unfolded in a flash. Quinn remained eerily silent as the bullet grazed her cheek, leading everyone to believe it was merely a child's playful antics. "Quinn!" The first to react was Alexander, rushing to her side as she teetered on the edge of losing her balance, her vision clouded by the throbbing pain.

It was only after Alexander's alarmed shout that the others turned their attention to the scene. They belatedly pieced together the reality: Joseph had shot Quinn. Valerie, feigning fury, yanked Joseph towards her, admonishing, "Enough with your nonsense."Joseph, however, was defiant. He attempted another shot at Quinn until his father, Hugh, intervened with an authoritative tone. "Enough, hand over the toy," he demanded, reaching for the toy gun. But Joseph clung to it, clutching it to his chest as he screamed, "It's mine!"Alexander gently moved Quinn's hand away to inspect her eye. The bullet had hit the corner, turning her eye a ghastly shade of red.

His gaze hardened as he turned to look at Joseph, who froze under the intensity of his icy stare. Valerie attempted to defuse the situation, offering a cursory examination of Quinn's eye before dismissing the injury. "It doesn't look serious. It's just a toy gun. It probably doesn't hurt much."Alexander shot Valerie a skeptical look. "How would you know it doesn't hurt?""Just a tiny plastic pellet, how much can it hurt? Alexander, I understand you're concerned about Quinn, but are you really picking a fight with a child?""And what about arguing with you?"

Alexander retorted, a hint of sarcasm flickering in his eyes. "As a parent, how do you plan to handle this?"Valerie stumbled over her words, struggling to suppress her rising anger. "It's just a toy gun. Is it really necessary for you to react this way?""It is necessary," Alexander retorted, cutting her off without a trace of mercy.

at a loss for words, turned to Wayne for support. "Dad, we rarely visit, and this is how we're treated? If you didn't want us here, you didn't

we're fair game for everyone."Kaitlyn interjected, "Valerie, that's not fair. If we considered you outsiders, we wouldn't have invited you. You're allowed to be upset, but don't drag everyone else into this. When have I

meal, and somehow, I'm the one to blame!"Silence fell at Wayne's outburst. But as

sting in her eye was nothing compared to the emotional pain of feeling ignored and isolated by everyone. "Do we even need to continue this meal?" Alexander challenged. Wayne shot him a cold glance, "What did you say?" Alexander met his gaze steadily, repeating his words with clarity, "I said there's no need to continue this meal. Do you really think we can

little misunderstanding. We're all family here. Let's not let a small issue ruin our time together.""A small issue?" Alexander echoed, challenging Hugh's dismissal. Hugh's smile faltered, "What do you think?"Alexander held