Chapter 4

Oliver quickly gathered the photos and stepped past Tina into the room, bringing Andy Farrow out.

The boy wore a small white shirt with suspenders, a workbook tucked in his arms. His round face still held a trace of baby fat, his expression quiet and distant.

The first time Tina had met him, she had thought he was adorable. Andy had delicate features and a calm temperament. He reminded her of Jonathan, and she felt an easy fondness for him.

Now, as she looked at him again, a chill ran through her. Cold sweat broke across her skin as the shock hit all at once, a sharp headache rising with it. Her body gave out, and she slammed into the shelf behind her.

A crash rang out as a vase toppled and shattered across the floor, breaking into jagged pieces.

The sound tore through the room, sudden and piercing, like something driving straight into her nerves.

Andy froze. His workbook slipped from his hands and hit the floor. He clamped his hands over his ears, his body starting to shake as his face flushed red, and his breathing turned uneven.

"Andy!" Sadie rushed forward and pulled him into her arms, then turned sharply on Tina. "What did he ever do to you?"

"Ah! Ah…" Andy curled in on himself, trembling, his cries breaking apart.

"Tina, don't test my limits." Jonathan scooped the boy up, his voice cold and cutting. "You know he can't handle the sound of breaking glass."

Tina stood there without moving, her feet rooted to the floor, cold seeping into her bones.

Everyone's attention shifted to the child as they rushed him out toward the hospital.

She watched Jonathan's retreating figure, his steps quick, almost unsteady. The sight felt unfamiliar.

He could be anxious after all, just not for her.

At her feet, broken glass lay streaked with blood, thin cuts along her calf still bleeding.

But he didn't notice.

Before, no matter how distant he seemed, he would have made sure she was all right.

Once, she had caught her father cheating and refused to eat in protest. Jonathan had climbed through her window late at night with food.

"Someone else screws up, and you starve yourself? That's stupid."

Back then, his presence had pushed the hurt aside, even if only for a moment, and she had felt something close to happiness. Someone as rational as him had actually climbed through her window just to take care of her.

Now, he didn't see her at all.

Maybe that made things easier. Someone this indifferent wouldn't make the divorce difficult.

Tina pressed down the ache in her chest and walked through the empty house into the bedroom. Quietly, she changed into clean clothes, fixed her hair, wiped the dirt from her skin, and covered the cuts with bandages.

By the time she finished, it was almost 2 p.m.

She was about to call a car and head to the courthouse to wait for Jonathan when her phone rang.

It was him.

She answered. "I'm on my way."

"Come to the hospital. I'll send you the room number." He paused, then added, "Your grandma's here."

Her grip tightened. She started to ask something, but the call had already ended.

By the time she reached the hospital, sweat dampened her back. She found room 1202 and stopped outside the door.

Voices drifted out.

"Don't call Tina. I've lived long enough."

Rosalind Ford's voice came out raspy and frail, marked by the toll her illness had taken on her.

David Ford sighed heavily. "If there were any other way, I wouldn't ask Tina to go beg the Reeds. But the only one who might be able to save you is Dr. Broughton. The only way to reach him is through the Reeds."

"Don't bring this up again. Tina already has it hard enough over there. I won't be a burden."

Tina's hands started to shake. She couldn't bring herself to go in.

Instead, she found the attending physician and asked about the situation.

Her grandmother had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer a month ago.

Her grandfather had already sold their house to pay for treatment. Each injection cost thousands, and even that wasn't enough. Rosalind hadn't told the rest of the family. She had been waiting to die.

Guilt hit Tina all at once.

She had spent all her time revolving around Jonathan, not even knowing her own family was falling apart.

After her mother died, the Ashworths had pushed her aside. Rosalind and David took her in, choosing to raise her despite the strain it put on their relationship with their son.

From then on, she had thought of her family as just them and Jonathan.

"Your grandmother's case is complicated," the doctor said. "She's elderly, too. For now, we'll keep her on a conservative treatment plan for three months, then move to surgery. The doctor with the highest success rate is Dr. Leonard Broughton. I've tried contacting him, but he's no longer performing surgeries. He declined."

Raised in an orphanage, Leonard was a medical genius who lived an isolated life. The only meaningful relationship in his life was with Samuel Reed, Jonathan's father.

The same man who had opposed Jonathan marrying Tina from the beginning.

In four years of marriage, she had barely seen Samuel.

"I'll handle Dr. Broughton," Tina said, writing down her number. "If anything changes with my grandmother, call me. And please tell them the price for the follow-up injections has dropped. I'll cover the rest. Don't tell them I came."

She stepped back out into the crowded hallway. At the far end, she spotted him.

Jonathan stood by the elevator, holding Andy's hand. The boy had calmed down. Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, Jonathan stood straight and composed, his presence carving out a quiet space around him.

When he looked at Sadie and the child beside him, the sharpness in his expression softened, something quieter taking its place. His fingers rested loosely around the boy's wrist, controlled and careful.

Sadie stood next to them, her eyes still red as she wiped the sweat from Andy's forehead. Her dark hair was loosely tied back, a few strands falling along her face, her presence calm and steady.

Andy stood in front of her, his expression composed, almost distant, like an adorable small adult.

The three of them naturally drew attention.

People nearby kept glancing over. Attractive and perfectly at ease with one another, they looked every bit the happy family of three.

Tina walked toward them, the faint smell of disinfectant filling the air, the pressure in her chest tightening with each step.

Up close, she noticed Jonathan's shirt wasn't as neat as usual, probably from carrying the child.

He was a neat freak with obsessive tendencies. Outside the bedroom, Tina rarely got close to him. Holding hands and hugs were out of the question, and she always accommodated him.

The thought stung.

She let out a breath. "Are you free now? We can get the divorce done."

His expression darkened slightly. "I'm free."

When they reached the car, the three of them got in together.

Tina called a cab.

Jonathan noticed, but said nothing.

At the courthouse, he was the only one who stepped out of the car.