Chapter 9 Mother in-law

James Ferguson got home that evening, parked his car, and touched his cheek, remembering the slap Zelda had given him in the hallway. Standing at the door, he felt a confusing mix of anger and longing. He wasn’t prepared to be here, wasn’t sure he could handle walking into a home that felt so entwined with her presence, even in her absence.

This house held so many memories. When he’d bought it after marrying Zelda, it had symbolized their life together, a space where he always expected her to be. He hated the idea of going inside, knowing she wouldn’t be there. Part of him wanted to turn around and drive away, but he was here, and since she was determined not to return, he had no choice.

He opened the door, foolishly expecting Zelda to appear, coming down the stairs, even though he knew better. The darkness wrapped around him as he stepped in, and suddenly a light switched on. Aunt Chien, the live-in servant, stood there, looking at him.

“Sir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect you to be back right now. Do you want me to prepare something for you?”

“It’s okay. You can go back to bed,” he replied.

Aunt Chien left quietly, and James made his way to the bedroom, each step weighed down with memories. When he opened the door, he saw traces of Zelda everywhere, in the way the bed was made, the belongings left behind, and the faintest hint of her scent in the room. He checked the closet, and the half-empty shelves were like a slap in the face, one that confirmed she was truly gone.

His gaze then fell on the bedside table, where something of hers was left behind.

It hit him then, harder than he could have expected, Zelda wasn’t coming back. She had meant every word.

There, on the bedside table, was the necklace he had given Zelda. The necklace Zelda never took off, along with both her engagement and wedding ring, lay delicately in a small pile. The jewellery shimmered faintly in the dark room, each piece catching the dim light.

They looked fragile, abandoned. James moved toward the table, reaching out to gather them in his hands. He held them tightly as if somehow they held a memory, a warmth, any last trace of her. These things were precious to Zelda; they had meant everything to her. And if she had left them behind, she was serious, she was really not coming back.

He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, the weight of his decisions pressing upon him. The silence in the room deepened, swallowing him whole as he tried to grapple with what he had done, with what he had allowed to happen.

As he sat there, struggling to believe what had happened, his phone rang, jolting him back to the present. He blinked, disoriented, before reaching into his pocket to answer it. It was his assistant.

"Mr. Ferguson," came the urgent voice on the other end, "I’m calling with an update on your brother Zander. It’s regarding his condition at the hospital."

James’s grip on the phone tightened. His heart sank, the words pulling him from the fog of his own pain and forcing his focus onto yet another pressing reality.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he replied, "I'll be there shortly," his voice steady but hollow. Placing the jewellery gently back on the bedside table, he turned away.

James rushed to the hospital, urgency flooding his every step. When he reached Zander's doctors, he held his breath, bracing for the routine reassurance that his brother had only caught a cold. But the words that met him were far from what he expected, and his world shifted. His younger brother’s condition was not simple, it was critical.

The news pressed down on him as he watched Zander resting in the hospital bed, his heart heavy with an unfamiliar ache. Sadness clouded his gaze, and suddenly, the anger he'd harboured toward Zelda seemed trivial. He remembered their recent argument, the misunderstandings, and how quick he had been to judge her. With a pang of guilt, he realized how unfairly he had treated her and got suspicious about the torn condom. His mind returned to her, the woman he had so often taken for granted, and he felt the hollow ache of regret.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, he pulled out his phone, and scrolled to Zelda’s number. Hesitating only a moment, he typed:

"Please come back home. It’s not a home without you. I will wait for you.

I miss you."

Then, he pressed Send and returned to his empty home, hoping for a response.

Meanwhile, Zelda lay asleep in her small apartment, only to be stirred by the soft buzz of her phone. Half awake, she glanced at the message and felt her stomach clench. She read James’s words, the man she had once loved.

"Who is he kidding?" she muttered to herself. "Five years, and he was barely ever there. And now he thinks it's a home?" Shaking her head, she scoffed.

She placed the phone back on the nightstand, letting exhaustion pull her back to sleep.

The next morning, Zelda moved through her day without thinking about James. After her morning sessions at work, she felt a tug of worry and decided to check in on Zander.

When Zelda reached the hospital, she met her mother-in-law, who was coming from Zander's ward. "Good morning

….." she said, but before she could finish her sentence, her mother-in-law snapped at her.

"I need to talk to you. Let's go to the coffee shop next to the hospital."

Zelda had nothing to do; this woman had been her foster mother for so long and was also her mother-in-law. So, she followed her. When they got to the coffee shop, they took a table away from the other patrons and ordered cups of coffee. As they sat down, Zelda asked,

"How is Xander doing?"

"Let's stop with the pretence," Hellen said. "I know that you heard me and what I said about Xander's condition. So, you know that it's not just a common cold, right?"

"Yes, I know," Zelda replied. "And I just wanted to tell you, Zander..." But before Zelda could finish what she wanted to say, her mother-in-law interrupted her.

"You have to get pregnant really quick so you can help Xander."

This came as a surprise to her because she thought that her mother-in-law was going to apologize for tricking her into trying to get pregnant. But that didn't seem to be what was going on in her mother-in-law's mind.

"Mother-in-law….."

But then Helen interrupted her again. "You have to make it fast and save Xander's life. We have taken care of you, and now it's time for you to repay us back. What is it? How much do you need? I know James doesn't want a child right now, but you're a woman. I'm sure you can come up with a way to get pregnant quickly. And don't you worry, it won't be for nothing."

"As soon as you start trying, I'll give you 10 million in your bank account. And when you give birth, I'll give you 20 million. When the baby is tested and it happens to be a match to Zander, I'll give you 200 million. If the baby isn't a match for your efforts, I'll give you 100 million. And then maybe you can try again and give me that another."

Zelda looked at her mother-in-law with surprise and shock. She was speaking about her future grandson or granddaughter as if she were not related to her as if that child would be a mere piece of object.