CHAPTER TWO

A tear dropped from my eyes as I stared at David’s pale face. His lips were cracked and dry, and his body was no different from that of a ghost. Maybe if I had been a little bit careful, if I had left Betty in the arms of the maid and gone after David, this wouldn't have happened.

That was what I kept telling myself throughout the night while sitting in the waiting room with my heart in my stomach. I felt thankful when the doctors confirmed that he was fine.

If anything had happened to David, I doubt if I would have survived it.

I glanced up at the wall clock in the room and my throat knotted. It was past 9 in the morning and Jaden still hadn't arrived. He had promised last night to show up, with the alarm in his voice, and I believed him. 

In the end, it was me and the children as always.

“Mummy?” a throaty voice whispered, and I swerved my head swiftly to the side, my eyes widening.

“David!” I gasped and sprang up, gripping his hand while trembling in excitement.

“Mummy,” he muttered again, his eyes holding pain and yearning for my warmth.

“My baby, I'm so sorry for leaving you,” I muttered and leaned closer, then kissed his forehead with so much love that I could gather.

“I thought I wouldn't see you again,” he whispered, and my belly churned in agony.

“Shh, don't ever say that again. Nobody is going to take you away from me, nobody,” I responded.

I rubbed his cold hand, hoping it would feel warm soon. I couldn't bear to imagine the horror he must have gone through while struggling to survive the water that kept pushing him down.

“Where is dad?” he asked, and my throat knotted.

“He is on his way. He promised to come,” I muttered and forced a smile on my face to make everything look okay.

David stared blankly at me, his eyes didn't seem to buy the smile and the lie that I had told to cover up his dad’s nonchalant behaviour.

“He is not coming, is he?” David asked. My lips parted and slammed shut as I searched for another convincing lie to tell him. David had always been a sensitive child right from his toddler days. He always watched everything and always spoke up when he couldn't bear the air around him anymore.

“He is on his way, the traffic must be delaying him. Hold on, I will call him and ask him where he is,” I said and patted his head before walking out of the room. Even outside the corridor, the smell of antibiotics still clung to my nose. I wheezed in annoyance and took out my phone, then dialed Jaden’s number.

It rang twice, but he didn't pick up the call, and when he did pick up the next time, he told me that he was on his way and hung up before I could say another word.

I sighed loudly and turned around to walk back to David's ward, but my phone vibrated and a name flashed across my screen. I froze and my heartbeat accelerated as I stared at the name on the screen. It was Jaden's mom, and I'm sure she was calling to heap the blame on me and make me feel worse.

I stood rigid on the spot, unable to answer the phone, I stared at her name with bitterness in my heart until the call ended. A breath that I didn't know I was holding slipped out of my mouth, and I turned around. My phone began to ring again, causing me to curse loudly in frustration. She wouldn't stop until she had made me cry like she always did. 

Mrs Oscar had hated me passionately right from the day that I exchanged sacred vows with her son, Jaden. 

I knew she didn't hate me for hurting her, she hated me because of the inferiority complex she had. 

Then, her son's company was barely in the list of the top 30 in the country while my father retained its position at number one. 

I guessed my background must have hurt her ego so much that she turned the intimidation into hate. 

I sighed and accepted the call, ready to hear her rants and the spill of venomous words.

"Hello, Mom," I whispered. 

"Mom? Cut the slack! You've decided to kill my son's children just because you can't afford to give him one?" She yelled and my heart clenched. 

The children were always her weapon against me. 

"You don't always have to remind me of that, Mom," I replied, sounding as polite as possible. 

"I guess the constant reminder of your childlessness caused you to push my poor little boy into a pool!" She groused and my throat knotted 

"Are you that evil—" 

"I didn't push him into the pool!" Anger surged through me as I groused in a voice that caused people to turn in my direction. 

Silence lingered between us after my snap. I guess my unexpected outburst left her speechless for a moment. 

"I will tolerate anything from you, mother, but I will not stand quiet and watch you accuse me of attempting to hurt the children. I am their mother no matter the circumstance…" I said in a trembling voice, and she huffed loudly. 

She had no redemption in her and no matter what I'd preach, she would remain the same forever. 

"There is nothing more important than a birth mother and you are certainly not one. You know nothing about taking care of children!" She snapped. My chest tightened and I gripped the hem of my dress with a trembling hand, trying so hard not to let the tears slip out. 

"I hope my son realizes soon that nothing good comes out of a girl born with a diamond spoon!" She threw another venomous dart at me before ending the call. 

The phone slipped out of my hand and I dropped to my knees, then watched the tears drop from my eyes. 

I didn't care to bother about the people in the corridor, I was too pained to bother about that. 

I slowly got up and wiped the tears on my face then straightened up and shuffled to the ward. 

I gripped the knob and made to twist it but paused when I heard Jaden's voice from the ward. 

I stepped back and looked into the ward through the blinds. My breath hitched when I saw Jaden in the room, bent over David. 

But he wasn't alone, he had a woman with him. I couldn't see her face through the blinds, but I could see what they were doing. 

My heart tightened when she squeezed his shoulders and leaned forward, whispering something into his ear. Jaden's hands wrapped around her waist and his lips stretched into a smile as he mouthed a reply to whatever she told him. 

So, she was the reason he barely came home? He was cheating on me? 

I gritted my teeth and my body burned in anger as I watched them. How could he be so shameless as to do that in front of David? 

I swerved around and twisted the knob then pulled the door open in rage. 

They quickly separated with flushed faces and avoided my gaze. 

"What's going on here?" I groused in anger. 

The smile on David's face fell when his eyes shifted towards me. What could he have heard?

"Jaden?" I snapped. He finally looked up with no remorse in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was bringing her," he said, waving his hand towards the lady. 

Sorry? He could have told me over the phone if he wanted! 

"Who is she?" I snapped and marched closer. I was ready to throw hands if I found out that she was who I suspected her to be. 

Jaden fidgeted in discomfort as his eyes narrowed from the woman to me. The woman didn't seem bothered about revealing her identity as she stared at me with a smile on her face. 

"This is... This is Erica, my ex-wife."