?


    "Ah, Diamond!" Mackie hurriedly opened the door and smiled at Diamond, "Wee to my room! Are you here to y with me?"


    "Sure!" Diamond said.


    Mackie excitedly held her hand and guided Diamond into her room. Thetter looked around the little girl''s room and realized that Mackie actually loved sweet-themed characters since her room was filled with Barbies, Hello Kitty, and Disney Princess merchandise.


    Contrary to Mackie''s bold, active, and even feisty attitude, her room was girly and cute.


    Though, it wasn''t all that surprising for Diamond because she grew up having the same hobby, just like Mackie. Diamond also loved all kinds of girly stuff, and she also had the same feisty attitude as Mackie.


    "You can sit here, Diamond!" Mackie allowed Diamond to sit on a stool while she was preparing a doll house shaped like Cindere''s castle for both of them to y. "You''re the first one that will y this dollhouse with me! Uncle bought this for mest week!"


    "Really? Then it is my honor, Princess Mackenzie."


    Mackie''s eyes brightened when Diamond called her Princess. She bowed her heart politely towards Diamond and replied, "My pleasure, Princess Diamond."


    Diamond chuckled. She helped Mackie to prepare the dollhouse and then started ying with her. Diamond kept on observing Mackie while they were ying and realized that Mackie acted so much like her when she was young.


    Obviously, her family didn''t have money to buy this kind of expensive dollhouse when she was young, but Diamond remembered having a few Barbie dolls that she liked to dress up and y house with. She was the typical girly girl, and sometimes the boys made fun of her.


    Diamond nced at Mackie''s school bag at the corner of the room and noticed it was glittery pink and filled with Disney princesses. Mackie also had plenty of pink, white, and purple shoes.


    Diamond got slightly worried and asked, "Does anyone ever make fun of your pink bag and shoes?"


    Mackie tilted, "Why would anyone make fun of my pink bag?"


    "Well, back when I was your age, I also loved anything pink. Some of the boys in my school didn''t like it and mocked me for being too girly," Diamond said.


    "And what did you do to them, Diamond?" Mackie asked again.


    "I yelled at them and told them to stop," Diamond chuckled. "Well, that doesn''t stop me from wearing anything pink, even now."


    "That''s good! You shouldn''t stop just because the boys bully you!" Mackie snorted.


    "Does that mean you get bullied because you''re wearing pink too?" Diamond asked. She knew little about Mackie''s school because it was under Vernon and Chloe''s control.


    But she still wanted to ensure that Mackie was not bullied for something she liked.


    "Nobody bullies me in my new school, because we''re all friends!" Mackie imed. "And I fight back against those in my previous school because they bullied me."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Oh-ho, you''re surely a pretty little warrior," Diamond teased.


    Mackie had a proud grin on her face, "Of course! I promised myself to protect Mommy, I have to be strong!"


    "But…" Mackie''s smile faltered. She suddenly lost interest in ying with her doll. "My Daddy…"


    "What''s wrong with your Daddy?" Diamond asked worriedly.


    "Um, he told me once that he will throw all of my dolls and pinkies once I get older, because it''s too girly. I''m not supposed to y with it because I''m his daughter, and his daughter doesn''t y with pinks…." Mackie said. She looked at Diamond with pitiful doe eyes inherited from Chloe. "Diamond, is it true that I''m not allowed to y with dolls and wear pinks after I''m older? Why did my Daddy say that?"


    ''Well, because your dad is a misogynistic asshole who thinks that femininity is not good,'' Diamond replied in her heart. She was trying hard not to say it out loud.


    Honestly, she didn''t want to conceal that because it was pretty obvious that Mackie had already developed some understanding of what was happening around her. She would eventually realize that her Daddy was an absolute jerk.


    But it wasn''t her ce to tell her the truth. Chloe was the only one who had the right to do that.


    "Don''t worry about your Dad. He just doesn''t like pink," Diamond answered but still tried to be as vague as possible. "Did your Mom and Uncle ever try to stop you from wearing pinks?"


    Mackie shook her head, "Uncle said I look like a Princess each time Mommy dresses me up, and he said pink suits me so much. Mommy loves me and is always happy to buy me anything pink if I want."


    "Then you have nothing to worry about," Diamond smiled. "Just focus on your Uncle and Mom, and forget about what your Daddy said, okay?"


    "Un…" Mackie nodded. She finally regained the mood to y with her doll again.


    Diamond was relieved and yed some more before she brushed up on the topic of Chloe.


    "So, your Mom told me that you''re sulking the whole day because she doesn''t want to y with you, is that right?"


    Mackie said nothing, but she nodded.


    "Mackie… your Mom wants to y with you as well, but she is just too busy right now. You can just y by yourself, right?" Diamond suggested.


    "… it''s not about that," Mackie replied. "I''m fine ying alone. But I want Mommy to y with me so she can rest."


    "Mommy looks very tired and sad today. I heard her crying in her room at noon while calling Gran Judith''s name," Mackie said. "I don''t know what''s wrong with Mommy, and I want to help. But each time I ask if she is alright, Mommy would always say she is okay, and try to hide things from me. Is it because I''m just a child? Is that why I shouldn''t know about Mommy''s trouble?"


    Mackie raised her head and stared at Diamond, "Diamond, am I too young to help my Mommy?"