During childbirth, Emery had suffered an amniotic fluid embolism, narrowly escaping death after a full blood transfusion. At that time, Elliot had stayed awake for three days, terrified that even the briefest moment of sleep could mean losing her. Once he was sure she was out of danger, he collapsed in exhaustion, as if he'd escaped a disaster.
Later, in a drunken haze, Elliot confessed, "If I had known the risks, I would have rather you never had children. That was the first time I truly understood regret."
But Emery never regretted it, not even for a second. Jaxon was the living proof of her love with Elliot.
When Jaxon was three, he had promised that he would take care of her, side by side with Elliot, when he grew up. With the boundless love of both father and son, how could she have ever felt regret?
Now, looking back, it all felt like a cruel joke.
She had long sensed the growing distance between Elliot and Calla.
Calla was a student she had helped and after graduating, she joined the Carter Family's Oakridge Group.
At first, Emery didn’t give it much thought. She had sponsored many students over the years and several, like Calla, had gone on to work at Oakridge.
But as Elliot came home later and later and the familiar scent of Calla’s gardenia perfume lingered on him more often, something began to stir in her gut.
When the truth finally hit, that Elliot was having an affair, Emery was shattered. At that moment, she brought up divorce for the first time.
If even the love they had shared so deeply could be betrayed, what else was there to hold onto? A dog who pledged loyalty to anyone wasn’t worth keeping.
But Elliot refused. He shoved her against the desk, his touch unnervingly intimate, his words cold.
“Calla won’t take your place as Mrs. Carter. You’re not a little girl anymore, do you still believe in fairy tales? You’ve been with the family since you were young. If we divorce, where would you go?”
“And Jaxon... He’s finally getting a heart. Can’t you see the timing? Must you be so selfish now?”
For Jaxon’s sake, Emery swallowed the sharp pain, letting it settle in her throat like a bone that couldn’t be dislodged, too painful to swallow, too stubborn to spit out. She continued playing the part of the loving wife to Elliot, even as the weight of her heartache grew heavier with each passing day.
Her sacrifices, however, led to nothing but more heartache, like the photo in Jaxon’s cherished diary, a snapshot of him, Elliot and Calla smiling too closely together.
The diary entries only deepened the wound, chronicling their “happy” moments as a family of three.
“Today, Dad introduced me to an auntie named Calla. Auntie Calla is so much fun! She played with me all day and took me to a night market. She even lets me eat street food, unlike Mom.”
Emery remembered that day well. After their trip to the market, Jaxon fell ill with gastroenteritis and a high fever that lasted three days. Neither father nor son mentioned the truth to her; she assumed it was just a reaction to his condition and stayed by his side without question.
By the time his fever broke, she had lost weight from the stress, but Jaxon was better and that was all that mattered.
“Auntie Calla let me skip my least favorite piano class and even bought me a new gaming console. She said I could come over anytime to play.”
“Today is Auntie Calla’s birthday. I secretly bought her a ruby brooch. I hope she likes it.”
Emery recalled that brooch, he one Jaxon had purchased. When the driver mentioned it, she assumed it was a gift for her. But to her shock, it was for Calla’s birthday.
The child she had risked her life to bring into the world remembered Calla’s special day but not hers. A deep pang of failure struck her. Had she failed as a mother?
