The final entry in the diary hit Emery like a bolt of lightning. [Sometimes, I really wish Auntie Calla could be my mom.]
Seeing how much both Elliot and Jaxon adored Calla, she made up her mind, if they wanted each other so much, then they could have each other. She didn’t need either of them anymore.
Elliot had always thought she couldn’t survive without the Carter Family, which was why he’d acted so carelessly. But he had forgotten that before her marriage, she had been the top graduate of the design program in Evergreen University. If it weren’t for her obligations to him and Jaxon, she could’ve easily shone on her own.
That night, Emery slept soundly for the first time in ages. Perhaps it was the peace that came from her decision to leave. Her sleep was undisturbed, calm and dreamless all the way until morning, until Elliot’s call woke her up.
“Why haven’t you been answering your phone? Did you know Jaxon was admitted to the hospital?”
Even without seeing his face, Emery could hear the frustration in his voice. She held the phone away from her ear, recalling how Jaxon hadn’t returned home the previous night. She already knew where he’d been.
“Didn’t you leave him at Calla’s house last night? With her there, what could possibly go wrong?”
Elliot was taken aback. Usually, when it came to Jaxon, Emery reacted quickly and emotionally, even over small things. But now, she was eerily calm. His voice softened. “Calla didn’t know Jaxon’s allergic to mangoes…”
“Calla didn’t know? And you, his father, didn’t know either? Jaxon’s had allergy tests before and mangoes weren’t classified as high-risk. Since Calla already took him to the hospital, there’s nothing more to worry about. Or is it Calla you don’t trust?”
Before he could reply, Emery hung up.
Listening to the cold dial tone on the other end, Elliot’s face darkened, a knot of unease tightening in his chest.
Jaxon was the child Emery had risked everything for. His fragile health, due to his congenital heart condition, had made him more delicate than other children his age. Emery had sacrificed her career, poured her heart into caring for him and had been his constant, never once shirking the responsibility.
Yet now, hearing that Jaxon was in the hospital, Emery seemed indifferent, unmoved.
Elliot couldn’t quite place the strange feeling settling in his gut. But then he remembered their argument just the night before over her forgotten birthday and he dismissed his worries. She was probably still angry.
He knew her well, after all, they’d grown up together. She loved him, didn’t she?
He recalled the time they had been kidnapped as children when Emery had taken a blow to the ear, protecting him, enduring the pain until they were rescued. After all they’d been through, how could something as trivial as this cause her to pull away?
Reflecting on their shared history, Elliot felt a sense of relief wash over him. Emery was likely just blowing off steam over his affair with Calla. She would never leave him, or their son. He was certain of that.
Turning off his phone, Elliot spoke to his assistant. “Send the latest runway pieces to the house. Also, pick out a pink diamond jewelry set to match.”
It was his way of extending an olive branch. Women outside needed softening and so did the ones at home.
He hadn’t meant for their marriage to fall apart, not if she understood her role and knew when to step back.
After all, it was just a brief affair, a small distraction. And besides, he wasn’t the one who’d made the first mistake.
That afternoon, Emery went to the hospital.
No matter how she felt, Jaxon was her son, the child she had nearly lost her life to bring into the world. Seeing him was the least she could do.
Inside the VIP ward, Jaxon was curled up with Calla, his face glowing with joy as he held a tablet. He didn’t look like a child who should be in the hospital at all.
