Chapter 6

Madeleine furrowed her brows at Bree's words.

Sawyer had always been frail. If the person watching him wasn't attentive, he would quickly come down with a cold or fever.

Madeleine hadn't been at the villa yesterday. Sawyer had probably fallen sick because no one checked on him or monitored his condition.

Whenever Sawyer ran a fever, he would become a complete handful. He would cling to Madeleine, insisting that she hold him and lull him to sleep. Madeleine would always have to coax and persuade him in countless ways just to get him to take his medication.

And once he finally recovered, Madeleine would collapse from exhaustion. Yet Jonathan and the Hartleys never showed the slightest concern for her health and well-being. Instead, they accused her of being useless for failing to look after a child properly.

Recalling how she had been treated in the past, Madeleine spoke flatly. "Bree, I've already told Jonathan I want a divorce. Sawyer is his son too. You should call him."

Madeleine wasn't the only parent. Jonathan, as the father, was responsible for Sawyer as well.

Now that she had decided to go ahead with the divorce, Jonathan shouldn't be allowed to shirk his duties any longer.

Bree could hear Sawyer wailing in his room. With no other choice, she phoned Jonathan immediately.

At that moment, Jonathan was entertaining a few clients over dinner. Allison was there too. When he heard that Sawyer had a fever and Madeleine wasn't at the villa, Jonathan tamped down his irritation and told Bree to call the family doctor. Then he called Madeleine.

Madeleine was in the bathroom at the time. When she came out and noticed the missed call, she didn't bother to return it right away.

In the past, whenever Sawyer fell ill, Madeleine would call Jonathan, and he would always claim to be away on a business trip. Otherwise, he would mock her with remarks like "I'm not a doctor. Shouldn't you call the family doctor first if Sawyer's sick?"

This time, Madeleine decided he could have a taste of his own medicine.

Meanwhile, Jonathan—his face flushed from drinks—was scowling. After apologizing to his clients, he left with Allison and headed back to Clearwater Bay.

The moment he stepped inside, he heard Sawyer's shrill cries echoing from upstairs. "I'm not drinking that! Go away! Mommy! I want my mommy!"

Jonathan frowned and rushed upstairs. He pushed open the door to Sawyer's room.

Sawyer was bawling so hard that his little face was completely red. Tear stains streaked his cheeks, and his nose was running. Already changed into his pajamas, he was thrashing wildly on the bed.

Bree and the family doctor had clearly struggled to convince Sawyer to take his medicine. Their hair was messy, and several buttons on their shirts were missing. Items were scattered all over the floor.

"Mr. Jonathan, thank goodness you're back!" Bree looked as though she were about to weep with relief. When Madeleine was still around, Bree never realized how difficult Sawyer became when he fell sick.

"Sawyer, why are you kicking up such a racket when you should be taking your fever medicine?" Jonathan demanded, a deep frown etched on his forehead.

Sawyer only cried louder. "Go away! I feel so bad and you're still yelling at me! Where's Mommy? I want Mommy!"

Jonathan felt his frustration spike as Sawyer sobbed harder. His expression darkened as he remembered how Madeleine had ignored his calls.

He was about to speak when Allison finally reached his side, tugging gently at his arm. "Jon, step aside and let me try calming him down."

His gaze met Allison's, and the tension visibly left Jonathan's face. He hummed in acknowledgment and took a step back.

Allison sat at the edge of the bed and spoke softly. "Sawyer, Mommy's not here right now. Is it alright if I hold you instead?"

Sawyer gloomily greeted Allison while rubbing his puffy eyes; he didn't say no to her offer.

Allison smiled and attempted to coax him. "You're such a good boy, Sawyer. If you promise to take your medicine, I'll give you a really nice gift once you're all better."

Her words got him curious. "What kind of gift?"

"It's a secret. You have to take your medicine first." Allison signaled the doctor to hand her the medicine as she coaxed Sawyer.

The Hartleys were wealthy, and Sawyer often received expensive gifts from relatives. But children were naturally curious, so Allison's tactic worked.

A small sigh of relief escaped Jonathan as he witnessed Allison manage Sawyer. Still, his expression hardened again as thoughts of Madeleine crept back in.

Did she really think he would cave just because she left home and ignored him?

They just had to coax Sawyer into taking the medicine. Any woman could do that!

But the moment the medicine touched Sawyer's tongue, he spat it out. Then he started coughing and heaving.

Allison shrieked as vomit splattered onto her shirt.

She shoved Sawyer back onto the bed and jumped to her feet, frantically trying to shake off the vomit from her shirt. "Sawyer, why didn't you swallow it? How could you vomit on me!"

Sawyer, already weak, became dizzy after being shoved. He burst into tears immediately.

He wailed and vomited at the same time, completely soiling the bed.

The entire room descended into chaos.

As he listened to the loud, jarring attempts by adults to calm the whining Sawyer, Jonathan's temples began to throb relentlessly.

Was taking care of a child always this difficult?

He had never known. In all five years of marriage, he had always returned home to the comforting sight of Madeleine and Sawyer's smiling faces. Even on the rare occasions Sawyer was ill, the boy would simply cling to Madeleine, calling out to Jonathan with listless softness. Sawyer had never once kicked up a fuss like this.

Jonathan pressed his lips together as an image of Madeleine's gentle expression surfaced in his mind. The thought only made his aching head throb harder.

Eventually, Sawyer was so spent from all the crying that he fell asleep in Bree's arms.

Jonathan stepped out of the room, rubbing the center of his brows in exhaustion.

"Jon, I'm sorry. I wasn't much help. I don't have experience with children."

After getting vomit on her clothes, Allison had gone to the master bedroom and changed into one of Jonathan's white shirts. The long, expensive shirt barely covered her thighs, leaving her long legs completely exposed.

Jonathan glanced at her once, then quickly looked away.

"You must be tired too. You can get a change of clothes in Madeleine's room. I'll have the driver take you home."

"Jon, Madeleine isn't here anyway. Why don't I stay over tonight to help take care of you and Sawyer?" Allison leaned into him, placing a hand on his chest.

"That's not necessary. You won't be of much help even if you stay." Jonathan pushed her away gently, his headache making him speak more bluntly than usual.

Allison had deliberately dressed provocatively, expecting him to make a move; his answer had caught her off guard. She bit her lip. "Jon, do you think I'm even more useless than Madeleine now?"

Jonathan stiffened a little. He softened his tone. "That's not it. I just don't think you should be doing something so taxing."

So that was why he wanted her to go home. She thought it made sense. After all, she was his first love.

Even after Allison left him to study overseas, Madeleine had never replaced her in Jonathan's heart. Otherwise, Jonathan and Madeleine wouldn't still be sleeping in separate rooms.

A smug glint flashed in Allison's eyes.

After entering Madeleine's bedroom, she took a photo of herself wearing only that white shirt and posted it on Instagram with a caption. "Taking care of a child can be such an uphill struggle. Still, I'm glad I rose to the challenge."

She set the post so only Madeleine could see it—just to spite her.

…

The next morning, when Madeleine woke up in her apartment, she checked Instagram out of habit.

Allison's post appeared on her feed.

Her expression did not change. Madeleine simply took a screenshot and saved the photo on her phone.