Chapter 5

Eli looked at Christina in disbelief.

"Christina! I told you I didn't do it. Why can't you believe me just this once? What did Zach ever do wrong? Why are you punishing him, too?"

However, Christina simply turned around, took Jason's hand, and headed upstairs.

"It's precisely because Zach is your son that you should set a good example for him! When you do something wrong, you have to be punished! If you don't want to see your son get dragged into your mess again, you'd better remember this lesson!"

Eli vehemently shook his head. He grabbed Zachary and turned to leave. "No! You have no right to treat me like this!"

But the moment he turned around, the Foleys' bodyguards rushed over. They restrained Eli, who had Zachary in his arms, and dragged him out of the house before forcing him to his knees at the front gates.

Zachary was wailing from fright. At only about a year old, all he could do was cry himself hoarse, screaming, "Daddy!"

One of the bodyguards warned Eli, "You'd better not try to resist, Mr. Jefferson. Otherwise, we might end up hurting your son by accident. I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

Eli was forced to remain still, too scared to move. He could only lower his head and soothe the sobbing Zachary in his arms.

The Foleys started filing out of Foley Manor. Whenever they passed him, they would shoot him contemptuous looks and make a few snide remarks.

Eli didn't know how long he had been kneeling when Zachary, who'd cried until his voice was hoarse, eventually fell asleep again. He cradled Zachary protectively in his arms. His own cheek was swollen from the slap, and his lips cracked from dehydration. He looked like a sorry mess.

Suddenly, Zachary's face flushed unnaturally red. Even in his sleep, he seemed uncomfortable and kept whimpering softly.

Eli touched his cheek. Panic seized him when he felt the scorching heat. He looked pleadingly at the bodyguards watching him. "Could you please tell Christina that Zach has a fever? I need to take him to the hospital."

One bodyguard looked at the unconscious Zachary and called Christina. Soon, her cold voice came through the phone.

"Eli, when you do something wrong, you have to be punished. Don't think you can use Zachary to make me feel sorry for you."

Once she finished speaking, she ended the call. The bodyguard looked at him and said coldly, "Just stay there and kneel as you're told."

Eli could only continue kneeling. At the front gate, only he and the two bodyguards guarding him remained. The night wind was as cold as a blade, cutting through the thin pajamas he was wearing and making his whole body tremble. It felt like ants were biting his knees. The pain was unbearable.

What with the cold air and his own emotional distress, his vision started dimming. Unable to hang in there any longer, he collapsed onto the ground.

…

When Eli regained consciousness, he was already in the hospital. Christina was sitting beside his hospital bed, holding Zachary in her arms.

His immediate reaction was to stare anxiously at Zachary. Christina informed him, "Zach is fine. His fever has already gone down."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Eli took Zachary into his arms. Only after confirming that Zachary was merely asleep did he belatedly feel the pain in his knees and cheek.

Christina reached out and gently touched his swollen cheek. "When I said I was going to marry Jason, I was only trying to make you jealous.

"I've already explained to you that there's nothing going on between him and me. We grew up together. I've always seen him as my younger brother. Why do you insist on picking on him?"

Eli's eyes were completely devoid of emotion. He was too tired to argue with Christina about any of this. He brushed her hand away, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

In a hoarse voice, he said, "In 22 more days, the divorce will be finalized. Soon, this will all be over."

Christina's expression instantly became extremely ugly.

"You're still trying to threaten me with divorce, Eli? With your family background and your looks, you should be counting your lucky stars that you got to marry someone like me. Besides, we have a son together. If you divorce me, what makes you think you'd be able to find someone better than me, huh?"

Eli limped toward the door while saying coldly, "That's none of your concern, Ms. Foley."

Outraged, she snarled, "This is your last chance, Eli! If you dare walk out of here today, I really will marry Jason! By the time you regret this, even if you get on your knees and beg me, it'll be too late!"

Eli didn't stop walking. He disappeared out the door without looking back.