Chapter 5

"From now on, if something happens with Nathan, please contact his father," Amelia said evenly. "I'm not his mother."

The teacher frowned, assuming it was just another marital spat, a wife refusing to deal with her child out of anger.

"Mrs. Zephyr, his condition is serious. This isn't the time to argue. Please come right away."

"I'll send you his father's number." With that, Amelia hung up without hesitation.

She immediately forwarded Christopher's phone number to the teacher.

Jasper had already risen from his seat the moment he saw Amelia answer the call, politely giving her space.

When she finally looked up, he was standing by the window, looking down at the rain-soaked street below.

She walked over to him. "Thanks for today."

"Was that the end of the call?"

Amelia nodded.

Jasper studied her with quiet intensity. "Welcome back, Amelia."

She gave a small smile. "You should pray my resume makes it through."

The institute's standards were notoriously high, and she had been away from the field for so long. There was no guarantee her application would even pass the first round.

Jasper laughed. "If it doesn't, I'll hire you as my assistant."

-

By the time Christopher reached the kindergarten, there was a heavy downpour.

Inside, Nathan sat in the infirmary. His face was blotchy, his body covered in hives, and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

That morning he had felt an itch crawling over his skin. By noon, angry red welts had spread across his body and face.

When Evelyn overheard that her brother had broken out in hives, worry stirred in her chest. Amelia had always told her Nathan's body was weak, that every night he needed his herbal bath. Otherwise, his skin would erupt in painful rashes.

She held up her little umbrella as she made her way from the classroom to the infirmary. But the storm was too fierce, the wind tossing the umbrella from side to side until half her clothes were already soaked through.

When she stepped inside, Nathan caught sight of her. His small face twisted with fury. "Did you come here to laugh at me?"

"Mommy said you need your herbal bath every night or the rashes will come back. You should tell the doctor that—"

"I don't need you to tell me!" Nathan cut her off sharply. He snatched up the cup on the table and hurled it at her. "Mind your own business! I don't want to see you!"

The teacher rushed forward to stop him. "Nathan, stop that! Don't hit your sister."

"She's not my sister!" Nathan shouted, his voice hoarse with anger. "Everyone says she's not even part of the Zephyr family. She's an illegitimate child!"

Evelyn froze, her body stiff as her eyes welled with tears. "If you keep this up, Mommy really won't want you anymore!"

Nathan yelled back, his voice shaking. "I'm the one who doesn't want Mommy! She doesn't get to leave me. I'm the one leaving her. Daddy and I don't want either of you!"

Evelyn trembled with anger while the teacher tried to comfort her and calm things down.

She had only come because she was worried about her brother, yet all she got in return was his scolding and rejection. Biting her lip hard, she stayed silent.

A few moments later, Christopher stepped into the infirmary.

Evelyn had been there for a while already. The chill was beginning to seep into her bones after she braved the storm outside.

When she saw her father, her face lit up. She opened her mouth with joy. "Dad—"

But then she caught herself. She remembered he didn't like her calling him that. She was about to correct herself when Nathan's wailing rose into an earsplitting cry, cutting her off completely.

Nathan scrambled off the bed and rushed into Christopher's arms, his face twisted with misery. "Daddy, I'm so ugly right now. It hurts, and it itches everywhere."

His little face and body were covered in angry red rashes. If Nicole saw him like this, she'd probably think he was disgusting.

The teacher added softly that Nathan had already had several bouts of diarrhea that day.

Christopher's chest tightened at the sight of his son's condition. His face, his body, all covered in rashes. His heart ached for him.

He bent down and gathered Nathan into his arms. His voice was gentle as he said, "It's alright. Daddy's here. I'll take you to the hospital now."

Evelyn stood frozen, watching her brother cry and cling to their father, who held him close with such tenderness. A sharp ache spread through her chest.

She wanted to call out to him too. To call him Daddy. But before she could, Christopher had already turned and carried Nathan out of the infirmary.

It was as if he hadn't even noticed her standing there.

Evelyn's eyes followed the broad silhouette of her father's back as he disappeared with Nathan. Her nose stung, and she whispered to the teacher, "I'm so cold..."

-

Christopher strode toward the car with Nathan cradled against him.

His assistant, Nigel Larkin, hurried to keep up. "Mr. Zephyr, should we check on Miss Evelyn too?"

Nathan clung tighter to his father's neck and whimpered. "Dad, it hurts..."

Christopher's gaze stayed calm and unreadable, and his voice carried no trace of warmth. "There are teachers at the kindergarten to look after her. Why should I check on her when she's fine?"

Nigel fell silent.

That was true. Right now, Nathan's health came first.

-

Amelia's phone buzzed again not long after she parted ways with Jasper.

"Mrs. Zephyr, Evelyn caught a chill from the rain. She's burning up with a fever."

Amelia froze, and her entire body went rigid as her heart pounded wildly.

In her last life, Evelyn had died from pneumonia brought on by a high fever.

In this life, Amelia had already filed for divorce and taken Evelyn away from the Zephyr family. But was she still powerless to change her daughter's fate?

The moment she heard the words high fever, her entire body trembled. She didn't even know how she managed to run through the storm and reach the kindergarten.

When she saw Evelyn, the little girl was curled up on the infirmary cot, shivering.

Evelyn's flushed face was burning hot, her voice barely a whisper. "Mommy? I'm sorry. I heard Nate was sick, so I went to check on him... but I got caught in the rain."

"Silly girl, why are you apologizing?" Amelia's eyes blurred with tears. "Next time, don't worry about Nate, alright?"

She knew Evelyn was always trying to please Nathan and Christopher, hoping for her father's love.

Amelia could let Christopher go and walk away with a clean slate, but she could never stop her daughter from yearning for his affection.

"Daddy came earlier," Evelyn murmured, her voice tinged with hurt. "He took Nate to the hospital."

There was a quiet note of grievance in her tone, but Amelia understood. What Evelyn longed for most wasn't fairness. It was just for Christopher to notice her, even if he only said a single word to her.

Even one word from him could make Evelyn smile all night.

Amelia's heart clenched so tight it hurt. She gathered her daughter into her arms and whispered, "Sweetie, Mommy's taking you to the hospital."

At Northon Children's Hospital, Amelia explained to the doctor that Evelyn's health had always been fragile.

In her last life, Evelyn had wasted away waiting for Christopher and Nathan to notice her, living on nothing but cold leftovers until malnutrition took its toll.

From the very first day of her rebirth, Amelia had focused on nourishing her daughter. But a frail body couldn't recover in just a day or two.

The doctor examined her and found it was just an ordinary cold with a fever. He gave her a prescription for fever medicine and instructions to monitor her at home.

However, Amelia had lived through this once before. She would never take chances with her daughter again. "Doctor, I'd rather admit her for observation. I won't feel at ease bringing her home."

She was soaked to the bone from running through the rain to the kindergarten, but she ignored her own condition. She handled the admission paperwork, settled Evelyn into the hospital room, then went to the pharmacy to collect her medicine.

On her way back, she passed the VIP ward.

"It's all Mommy's fault. She didn't let me soak in a herbal bath, and now my rash is back again."

Amelia froze when she heard Nathan's petulant voice inside.

"Ms. Nikki, will you be my new mommy?"