411 Being grumpy again

The little girl found her mother busy in the kitchen, as usual, cooking breakfast and packing lunch for school. Lia lightly tip-toed to spy on Giselle, trying to get a good angle to read her face.

After a few seconds of struggling, Lia finally spotted her mother's face. She tried to examine her mood secretly.

"Go- o- gr- grumpy? Again?" Lia whispered, downhearted.

Meantime, Giselle had already taken notice of Lia sneaking up on her. She called her out to get dressed for school.

"Go on!" she added strictly.

Lia ran away from getting caught. She dashed to her room and found the dress to wear ready on the bed. She quickly scanned to find a missing accessory.

Back in the kitchen, Giselle heard Lia calling her. She had bacon on high heat, hesitating to leave the station. However, Lia's panicked cry made Giselle rush to her room. Only upon reaching did Giselle figure out that the little girl had summoned her hurriedly because she didn't find a headband to go with her outfit.

Lia complained to her mother about missing the headband. Giselle was already feeling grouchy since morning. Hearing Lia whine about a silly headband angered her. Nevertheless, she tried to control herself from acting out and asked Lia to pick one for herself.

Giselle was in a hurry to get back to the bacon but kept on grumbling about how it was her mother's duty to pick the correct headband for her. Soon, their conversation became bickering.

"Lia, honey, today you can select one!"

"No! You can pick one for me. I want you to choose a headband for me!" Lia protested stubbornly.

"Don't be silly now! I told you to get one yourself and get dressed," Giselle returned.

"No! No. I want you to pick one for me, mom!"

Lia's repeated shouting continued to provoke Giselle until her anger bubble burst out, soon to her regret.

"It doesn't matter! Just pick one or not. I don't care. Now, get dressed if you don't want a spank," Giselle yelled at her and left the room hastily.

The little girl stood in a trance from seeing her mother yell at her. It's the- Lia ran out of the count, wondering why her mother was behaving this way. Her mood had been very hot-tempered recently. Lia worried about what happened to her sweet and kind mother.

***

On the other hand, Giselle had angrily left the room to find the bacon burnt. She was able to save the toast on time. The eggs were supposed to go in after bacon, but seeing how much smoke spread around the house, Giselle opened the windows quickly and turned on the ventilation fan. She removed the pan out of the stove and dumped it into the sink, splashing water to the hot vessel.

Another poor start, she thought to herself. It's only getting worse every day since she even yelled at her daughter, which was repeated throughout the week. She's been having a hard time focusing, and it drove Giselle to react frantically.

Shortly after, Giselle noticed Lia coming out of her room. The little girl saw everything, including the splattering sounds coming from the kitchen sink. She looked frightened from the scene and quietly went to sit at the table, waiting for her breakfast.

Giselle sighed at her misery. She washed the pan to cook the bacon and eggs again. Soon, breakfast was served, and Lia ate obediently.

Giselle's mood has been as such since last night following her conversation with Lillian Grey. She refused to let herself fall into the trap and focused at present. After serving Lia her breakfast, she went to pack her lunch and then got ready to take her to the school.

Lia remained in the living room submissively while Giselle was getting ready and didn't bother playing with anything.

"Are you ready for school?" Giselle finally asked, coming out of her room.

Lia simply nodded in response.

Giselle could see how frightened Lia must have been from all that yelling. She asked her to wait at the entrance for her. Meanwhile, Giselle made a quick stop at Lia's room before leaving.

***

Giselle and Lia left their apartment together. Reading down the building, Giselle stopped Lia. She desired to make peace with her daughter before taking her to school. Giselle didn't want Lia to feel down throughout the day because of what had happened earlier. Besides, the little girl has a quiz today, and she worked hard for it. Having been yelled at the first thing in the morning, Lia must have felt upset, and Giselle wished to make up for it.

"Wait- Lia," Giselle called.

She squatted to meet Lia's face and apologized for yelling at her this morning.

"I'm sorry, Lia. I yelled at you, didn't I?"

Lia looked a bit puzzled whether to answer or not. Giselle had scared the poor child, and now she's feeling distant even to respond.

"It's okay. It's mommy's fault. I was bad, right?"

Lia was still confused but shook her head in denial. She didn't let her mother take all the blame. Seeing how kindly the little girl denied, Giselle's heart melted, regretting raising her voice against this sweet little angel.

"I'm sorry again, okay? Will you forgive me?" Giselle embraced lovingly.

Lia giggled from all the loving cuddles. She had no choice but to get smothered in her mother's embrace until she accepted her apology. And she did eventually.

Lia's face brightened along with a smile on her face at last.

Before Giselle let go of her, she snuck out the headband she had picked for her and put it on her head.

"It does matter, and I do care about how pretty my girl looks," she admitted.

Lia's smile widened as she went back for another hug.

"Ah, I'm sorry, sweetie. It won't happen again. I- was grumpy, right?"

"You were, again and again."

"What?"

"You keep getting grumpier day by day, mom," Lia mumbled.

Giselle realized how much her mood had affected their relationship. She knew she was wrong and apologized again. Lia troubled herself to ask if everything was alright at work.

Everything went fine at work, and she wasn't this short-tempered because work kept her distracted. At home, she was alone with Lia, who spent most of her time playing by herself or doing her homework. Such lonely situations provoked Giselle to think about Lillian and her increasing distance.

"You can- not talk to me, but you can talk to dad! Or- Oh, you can talk to Ms. Lillian!" Lia suggested.

Giselle was lost in thoughts but hearing the suggestion by innocent Lia made her feel irate again. She knew she would be at risk if seen acting furious. She bit her teeth to bite down the bitterness.

"Haha… Yes, I should talk to her. You look pretty with the headband. Now, are you ready to go to school?" Giselle brushed off easily.

"Hmm," Lia exclaimed in joy.

"Let's go!"

Giselle stood up, feeling the leg cramps to her discomfort. She held Lia's hands as they started walking to school together.