Chapter 6

Nicole laughed softly. "Then I'll have to marry your daddy first before I can be your mommy. Do you want your daddy to marry me?"

"I'll make him divorce Mommy right away so you can be my mommy instead!" Nathan said proudly.

Amelia listened from the doorway with a cold smile tugging at her lips. Nathan had no idea that Nicole was his birth mother, the very same woman who had abandoned him to Christopher years ago.

Nicole was shrewd, Amelia had to give her that. She had managed to protect her studies and her career, and still hold on to the man she wanted.

"I thought you wouldn't come to the hospital."

A low, detached voice came from behind her, laced with a faint edge of mockery.

Amelia turned and saw Christopher standing there in a sharp black suit, looking elegant and untouchable as always.

Once, she would have lit up at the sight of him and rushed to please him.

Now, all she felt was the sting of anger as she frowned deeply.

If it hadn't been for his years of neglect, Evelyn would never have stood waiting for him on that freezing, stormy night, burning with fever until pneumonia claimed her life.

Even today, he had walked out of the kindergarten with Nathan in his arms and left Evelyn behind, burning with a fever of her own. Whether he knew it or not, it didn't matter. If he had truly cared about his daughter, he would have noticed.

His gaze swept over her, taking in her rain-soaked clothes. "So this is what you've become after leaving the Zephyr family. Pathetic.

"Nate is inside. You can go see him if you want."

Amelia drew in a long breath, then let out a cold laugh. "He isn't my son. Why would I?"

Before he could react, she turned on her heel and walked away without a second glance.

In this life, she would never again pin her hopes on Christopher. She would never again wait for him to turn back and notice her and their daughter.

It was his indifference that had killed Evelyn in Amelia's last life.

She would never let history repeat itself.

Just then, Nicole opened the door. She caught sight of Amelia's retreating figure and asked, "Is Mia upset with me again? Is it because she doesn't like me being here?"

Christopher turned away and replied, "It's no big deal."

"The doctor said Nate's stomach is weak. The lactose intolerance is what caused the vomiting and diarrhea, and the dust mite allergy triggered the hives. His bloodwork also showed that he's completely stopped using the herbal baths for his allergies recently."

Nicole tilted her head, watching him. "If Mia refuses to come home, I can go over and give Nate his bath."

Christopher didn't refuse.

-

When Amelia returned to the room, Evelyn asked, "Was Daddy here? I think I heard him."

The way her daughter's face lit with hope made Amelia's chest tighten painfully.

How could she tell her that Christopher had come only for Nathan, not for her?

She sat down beside Evelyn and softly said, "Mommy knows you like Daddy, sweetie, but he's busy with work and doesn't have time to see you."

Evelyn looked down, her little hand twisted in the sheets. "Daddy doesn't like me, does he? No matter how hard I try to please him and Nate, they still don't like me. Is it because I'm not good enough?"

Amelia stroked her daughter's head. "Evie, you're more than good enough. You can't make the whole world love you, and no one is obligated to. So don't waste your heart chasing after the approval of others, not even your father's.

"If someone chooses to dislike you, that doesn't change who you are. You don't need to bend yourself just to earn their love."

For a four-year-old, these words were probably hard to fully grasp, but Evelyn could sense their weight. Amelia didn't want to repeat the past, and she refused to let her daughter keep longing for a father's love that would never come.

Evelyn lowered her head, tears blurring her vision. She half-understood her mother's words, yet her heart ached anyway.

Her daddy would come back someday, wouldn't he? All the other kids had their fathers.

Tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she hiccupped. "B-but Nate said I'm not really part of the Zephyr family, that I'm an illegitimate child... is that true?"

Amelia's chest tightened. "Don't listen to him. That's nonsense."

Her gaze darkened. Nathan was just a child, so someone must have whispered that poisonous thought in his ear.

Amelia had worked like a mule for the Zephyr family, only to have dirt thrown at her in the end.

It was easy to see just how hollow and unbearable those past years of marriage and family life had been!

-

Evelyn spent the night in the hospital. By morning, her fever had broken, and her condition was stable.

As she got out of bed and moved through the ward, she happened upon Nathan in the hallway, absorbed in flying a remote-controlled plane.

She looked up, her eyes widening. So this was Nicole's gift to him? It really looked amazing and incredibly cool.

Nathan spotted Evelyn in her hospital gown and immediately exclaimed, "Evie, you're a copycat! Even when I'm sick, you have to imitate me!"

"I'm not!" Evelyn protested.

Nathan snorted. "Too bad Daddy doesn't even come to see you."

He bent over the remote, maneuvering the toy plane toward Evelyn.

Just as the plane was about to crash down on her, Amelia swooped in, breakfast in hand, and scooped Evelyn out of the way. The plane smashed heavily onto the floor.

Evelyn's heart raced as she clung to Amelia. "Mommy..."

Christopher's coldness toward Evelyn—refusing to let her call him Daddy, favoring Nathan over her throughout the Zephyr family—had made her cautious, always watching everyone's expressions before acting.

Evelyn knew the truth. In the Zephyr family, no one cared for her except Amelia. She also knew she couldn't compete with Nathan, so she had learned to be well-behaved.

Amelia's chest tightened. She had failed in guiding her daughter. She had always assumed Evelyn was just shy, forgetting how lively she could be when no one else was around.

"From now on, no matter who bullies you, you stand your ground. I've got your back."

Nathan tightened his grip on the remote when he saw Amelia, sensing the fierceness in his mother's gaze.

Amelia looked at him steadily. "Apologize to Evie."

"I-It was an accident! It's not my fault she was standing there!"

With Christopher and Nicole both away, Nathan didn't have much courage to face Amelia.

Nathan hated his mother. She was annoying, and was always trying to lecture him and control him.

On second thought, Christopher didn't want Amelia or Evelyn anyway, and Nicole would always back him up.

He wasn't afraid of his unsophisticated, country bumpkin mother one bit!

Nathan gathered his courage and shot back, "If she ruins the plane Ms. Nikki made me, you can't even pay for it!"

Amelia lowered her gaze to the toy plane on the floor, her expression calm and indifferent. It was just a cheap little toy. Anyone could make one if they had the instructions. She didn't want to argue with a child over something so trivial.

But today, she had to stand up for Evelyn.

Amelia turned to Evelyn. "Fine. If he won't apologize, do whatever you want with him."

Amelia had always taught her not to hit or yell at people, that it was rude.

Evelyn's little hands itched with the urge to act. But if she hit or scolded her brother today, would her father hate her even more?

She thought back to what Amelia had told her last night—sometimes one had to have the courage to be disliked.

With that in mind, Evelyn stepped toward Nathan.

Nathan was startled.

Nicole returned with a pot of hot water and immediately took in the scene. She stepped forward, shielding Nathan behind her, then looked at Amelia sharply.

"Mia, why are you being so harsh with Nate? Can you even teach a child properly if this is how you act as a mother? It's just kids roughhousing. No need to make such a big deal out of it. You even scared Nate."

Christopher had just returned from buying breakfast, and he arrived just in time to hear Nicole's words. He looked at Nathan, trembling and cowering behind Nicole, and he frowned.

Amelia let out a bitter laugh, about to retort, but a cold, low voice cut through the tension from behind her.

"We don't need you here in the hospital. Take Evie and go back."