Love Unspoken

A sudden, tumultuous cry shattered the tranquil silence, drawing the attention of everyone present. Joseph, his hands clutching his face, was squatting on the ground.

His sobs pierced the quiet, reverberating through the room. Meanwhile, Alexander stood aloof, nonchalantly toying with the plastic gun.

His demeanor was detached, seemingly oblivious to the tears streaming down Joseph's face. His attention was solely focused on the toy in his hands, almost as if he was implying that Joseph's distress was his own doing. Quinn felt her heart rate spike, her hands involuntarily tightening around the fabric of her sleeves. Valerie and Hugh were the first to react, rushing over to the sobbing child. Valerie scooped up Joseph, her eyes frantically scanning his face for any signs of harm.

"What happened, Joseph?" she asked urgently. The boy was struggling to catch his breath between sobs, the corners of his eyes inflamed and red.

tear that fell. The redness around his eyes seemed less pronounced,

nonchalant. "It's just a plastic bullet. It doesn't hurt.""You..." His dismissive retort left Valerie speechless, her

making a fuss over nothing. When have I ever nitpicked? But you, you blow up over a plastic

that moment, Walter approached, glanced at Joseph's eyes, and remarked, "It's really not that serious. Let it go, Valerie."Valerie shot him a look, wanting to

deep breath, quelling the rage inside her, and scoffed, "Fine, you win with numbers. I never should've come today."Holding a weeping Joseph, Valerie approached Wayne. "Dad, maybe skip inviting me to these things in the future. It's just not our place to go. We're heading out."Wayne's face was an ashen shade

Joseph, walked away. Kaitlyn let out a sigh. "That girl has quite the temper, doesn't she?" Wayne glanced at her and abruptly stood, making his way upstairs without another word. He was done with the evening's drama."Walter, let's go to bed," Freya said firmly, her face stern, having kept her distance from the earlier chaos.