Ashton was tired. He rubbed his temples and rested on the sofa. I pursed my lips and stared at the grey bag. I walked over to him and massaged his shoulders. “I see that you’ve brought a grey bag. What’s that?”
“That was a jacket that I lent Stella. She sent it for wash and returned it. Could you help me to get the helper to have it when she’s here tomorrow?”
I recalled as I continued staring at the bag. That day, Ashton had indeed passed a jacket to Stella. I remember buying him a new set of clothes.
“You’re so wasteful! These clothes were expensive.”
He opened his eyes slightly and smiled. “Since when were you so materialistic? Are you feeling the pinch over a set of clothes?”
I leaned on his shoulder and replied, “Well, we’re going to spend a lot on Summer’s surgery. Furthermore, all that money is from your hard work. I don’t wish to waste it like that.”
He lifted his head and kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry. Even if your husband is dead, he would make sure you live a good life.”
I used my head to bump into his. “Don’t curse yourself. Do you really wish for me to remarry with two kids?”
He pulled me onto his lap. “I’m still alive, and yet you’re thinking of remarrying already? You’d better erase that thought, or I’ll punish you tonight.”
I rolled my eyes at him as I leaned against his shoulder, and said, “Both of us have to take care of ourselves and stay well. Let’s head back to J City when our kids are grown up. I’d love to open a small flower shop, and you’ll be my employee. We’d get to celebrate all the festive seasons with our parents.”
I smiled and looked at him. “I realize I have no ambitions. I’m already thinking of retirement. Do you disdain me for it?”
He smiled and pecked on my cheek while holding my tummy. “Your dream is my dream. We’ll do what you want when we get old.”
It seemed like after we reach a certain age, humans tend to crave peace and stability.
As I thought of Jared, I asked, “How did Jared get injured in prison? Was it my Dad?”
He shook his head. “No. If Uncle Zachery wanted to make a move, he would do it only once. He would not have done it twice. It was caused by a drug addict that had a dispute with others, went mad and attacked Jared.”
I nodded my head. “Is the Crest family still trying to bail him out of jail?” Since the first day of Jared’s admission to the prison, the Crest family had been channeling money there in hopes of getting him out early.
He did not answer my question and asked me one instead. “What if he makes it out?”
I raised my brows to his reaction. “Are you trying to get him out too?” I used to be afraid of Jared, and I understood his hatred for Ashton too. However, I started to hate him after what he did to Summer.
He had used his own child. No matter if it was intentional or accidental, I could never erase that cruel image of him from my mind.
Ashton avoided the question and said, “We need him to do a test to see if he’s a matching donor for Summer.”
I frowned. “I agree for him to do the test, but I do not agree for him to be released from prison.”
The conversation ended, and he carried me up to the bedroom. I had been feeling sleepy very often, probably due to the pregnancy.
I fell asleep almost immediately after I went to bed.
The next day before sunrise, Cameron called. She informed me that Summer had been coughing blood after her therapy session.
Ashton and I rushed to the hospital while Summer was transferred to the ER. “The cancer cells are spreading fast. Despite using the best treatment, the effect was too small. We’d have to hurry and find suitable bone marrow and kidney, or it might spread to the other organs soon,” the doctor explained.
Ashton nodded. Cameron was unsure of what to do, so she called Zachary.
In the hallway, everyone was silent but feeling anxious inside. We have all the resources, but the most critical was still the bone marrow and kidney. We could get the bone marrow from Jared, but what about the kidney? It was near impossible to find a child’s kidney in such a short time.
Ashton thought for a moment and said, “Y’all should stay here. I’ll go and get Jared.” He was worried about me, so he repeated, “Don’t go anywhere. If you’re feeling unwell, please let me know. If you’d like to eat something, let me know too. Also, don’t stand for too long.”
