Chapter 7

[Elara]

I rush to the hospital, my mind wrecked and heart pounding.

Cora has to be fine. She just has to be.

“Mrs. Blackwood!” Gwen spots me and runs over. “Thank God you’re here—I didn’t know what to do.”

“How’s Cora? What did the doctor say?”

“They haven’t come out yet,” she says nervously.

Before I can ask more, Dr. Wilson appears with a resident.

“The thing I was afraid of has happened,” he says gravely.

My breath catches. “Please—tell me she’s okay.”

“She’s stable for now,” Dr. Wilson tells me, “but we can’t wait any longer. The VSDs are causing severe left-to-right shunting, and her oxygen saturation levels are dropping. We need to operate within forty-eight hours.”

“Then do it,” I whisper. “Please, just save her.”

The doctor nods and leaves. I sink onto the bench, trembling. Gwen squeezes my hand. “She’ll be fine,” she murmurs.

“She has to be,” I breathe.

A nurse calls me to fill out the consent forms, but when I beg for a minute with Cora, she finally allows it.

However, what I see, breaks my heart like anything.

Cora looks so small against the white sheets, her skin pale, her lashes wet. There’s a tiny bandage on her arm where the IV drips into her vein.

My throat burns. I reach for her hand, cold and soft in mine. “Mama’s here,” I whisper, brushing her hair off her forehead. “You don’t have to be scared, baby. I’m right here.”

For a moment, I think she stirs. Maybe it’s just my hope playing tricks on me, but I swear her fingers twitch around mine.

A quiet knock on the door pulls me back. The nurse is waiting, her expression gentle but firm. “Ma’am, time is of the essence here.”

I nod, but fail to bring myself to move.

“Ma’am,” the nurse reminds gently.

I look back at my daughter, kissing her forehead. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. Don’t be afraid, okay? Mommy will take care of everything.”

After all the formalities have been taken care of, I call Damon.

He doesn’t pick up.

It’s only then I check the time.

Midnight. Maybe he already went to sleep.

But then… if he went back home, he must have heard from the maids what happened, right? Shouldn’t he come to the hospital to check up on Cora? Or at least call to know what happened?

A mix of concern and annoyance stirs in my chest. I call home this time.

The head maid picks up. “Mrs. Blackwood, how’s little Cora now?”

“She’s fine… for now. I called Damon, but he didn’t pick up. Did he come home tonight at all?”

“Mr. Blackwood?” She sounds surprised and clueless. “No. After Cora was taken to the hospital, no one came home. Not even sir.”

How’s that possible? He promised he would come. He promised!

“Alright. Let me know right away if he does.”

“Sure, ma’am. Please take care of yourself and little Cora.”

I hang up and dial Damon once again.

This time, he picks up.

“Damon, where the hell are you? I’ve been calling—”

“You can’t stop clinging to Damon, can you, Elara?” Hannah’s voice comes through, taking me off guard for a moment.

“What are you doing with his phone? Where’s Damon?”

“Damon?” She chuckles softly. “He’s in the shower. We already had it twice, but he can’t get enough of me. What can I say? Maybe I’m just a little better than you in bed.”

Is she telling the truth? Is Damon really with her?

But it doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.

Sure, it hurts—it hurts like hell—but it doesn’t even come close to the fear clawing at my chest. My daughter is fighting for her life. I can’t fall apart now. Not for this.

“What? Jealous?” she mocks when I don’t answer. “You shouldn’t be. Damon was never yours to begin with.”

I close my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Give him the phone. Tell him I have something to—”

But before I can finish, she hangs up.

I stare at the phone. Could Damon really be this heartless?

He can’t even keep the simplest promise to Cora, not when she needs him most… Tears spill down my cheeks as I feel the crushing sorrow of my own marriage. 

———

[Hannah]

“Who is it?” Damon steps out of the bathroom while I barely manage to delete the history of Elara’s call and toss the phone back on the bed.

“No one.” I turn around, smiling up at him. I lift my phone and wave it. “I was watching an old video.”

He looks at me for a moment—too long—almost making me nervous, before nodding slowly.

I hand him the shirt he’d already placed on the bed. “Sorry for earlier. I bumped into you and spilled all my wine. You’re not mad, right? That seemed like a nice suit.”

“It’s fine,” he says, grabbing the tie and never looking at me.

“You seem to be getting ready. Are you leaving for somewhere?”

He buttons up the shirt, his eyes on the mirror. “Hm. Something’s up with Cora. I need to check on her.”

Cora? What’s up with that brat now?

But I can’t let him go. If he did, Elara would know that I lied.

“But Damon, don’t you think it’s too late to go anywhere? Besides, if you left right now and didn’t show up at breakfast, your grandparents might not appreciate it. They already don’t like that you brought us with you instead of Elara and Cora…” I say, feigning embarrassment. “If you left now, they might think I have something to do with it.”

He pauses, his hands stilling on the last button.

“You might be right,” he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s been a long day. I’ll check on her in the morning.”

Relief loosens my chest, though I make sure not to show it. I walk behind him, letting my fingers glide lightly across his shoulders. “You’re just worried, that’s all,” I murmur, leaning closer. “But I’m sure she’s fine. Kids catch all sorts of things.”

He doesn’t respond right away, just stares at the floor like he’s trying to convince himself I’m right. His silence annoys me, but I keep my tone soft, patient.

“You should rest,” I whisper, tracing the line of his jaw with my fingers. “You work so hard every day—every hour—if only I could do something to ease your burdens.”

I reach up to kiss him, almost brushing my lips against his, when he pushes me away.

“What are you doing?” he asks, suddenly frowning.

I stumble back, humiliated. “I—I just… nothing.”

Fuck. Why is he acting all noble now? Does he not like me anymore?

No. That can’t be. He treats me differently—like he always did. And he’s already agreed to take care of Danny as well. There shouldn’t be anything stopping him now… unless…

“Are you rejecting me because of Elara?” Dammit, that can’t be the reason. “But I thought you don’t like her. I thought—”

“Of course, I don’t like her,” he says almost instantly, still frowning. “But I’m still married to her. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Fair to me? What a joke.

Relief floods me anyway. I reach for his face, desperate. “I don’t care. I love you, Damon. I don’t care about anything else.”

But before I can even touch him, he catches my wrists midair—his grip firm.

“But I do,” he says, finality in his tone. “I care.”

Fuck you, Elara! Why do you have to always ruin my plans.