Left in the Flooded Kindergarten for His Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 01

Left in the Flooded Kindergarten for His Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 01

Due to severe torrential rain hitting the city, the kindergarten teachers sent a notice to parents via the school’s official platform.

[Due to severe flooding, water levels have reached calf-height at the school entrance. Parents, please pick up your kids as early as you can.]

My boss called an impromptu mandatory meeting at work, trapping me in the conference room with no way to slip out. So I dialed my husband, Tristan Lawson, right away.

“Can you go pick up Anna? I’m stuck at work.”

He agreed without hesitation.

An hour and a half later, however, the teacher called me again from the school landline.

“Ms. Scott, could you please come get your daughter? The storm’s raging, and she’s terrified sitting here all alone.”

My blood ran cold. I called Tristan instantly.

No answer.

I dialed again. Still nothing.

Ten agonizing minutes passed before a text finally came through from him.

[Kylie’s situation is way more urgent. I’m helping her first. You’ll have to grab an Uber to the preschool yourself.]

Not a single cab would stop for me. I clutched my umbrella tight and sprinted through rain all the way to the subway entrance.

By the time I stumbled into the classroom, nearly every other child had been picked up.

I spotted Anna curled up beside a tiny kid-sized table. Her jacket sleeve was soaked through, and dried tear tracks stained her cheeks. I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms.

She blinked awake drowsily, and her lower lip trembled with unspoken hurt the second she recognized me.

“Mommy… did Daddy forget about me again?”

I squeezed her tighter, hot tears spilling down my face. That was when something inside me finally broke.

It wasn’t the torrential rain. It wasn’t the three blocks I’d waded through knee-high floodwater alone.

It was the brutal realization that, in Tristan’s world, Anna and I would always take a backseat to Kylie Jareth.

******

Anna passed out asleep by the time I carried her back to our apartment. I hauled her up every flight of stairs, my soaked dress clinging cold and heavy to my calves with every step.

Once inside, I ran her a warm bath, blow-dried her hair, and dressed her in fresh pajamas. Even in sleep, her brows stayed furrowed tight.

I pressed my palm to her forehead—her temperature felt normal for now.

By the time I finished, the wall clock read ten thirty at night.

A key twisted in the front door lock. Tristan walked in.

He smelled of wet wool and the storm, mud caked on the toes of his shoes, yet he carried none of the harried exhaustion of someone caught in a deadly downpour.

He tossed his car keys carelessly onto the entryway cabinet and yawned mid-shoe change. “Is there anything to eat around here?”

I leaned against the bedroom doorframe, staring at him coldly. “Anna was the last kid left at preschool today. Do you have any idea what she went through?”

Tristan froze mid-movement. “I thought I told you I’d pick her up?”

He said it like I was overreacting for no reason. Rage I’d been holding back all night flared to life in my chest. “Tristan, you promised me you’d get her!”

“I had an emergency pop up.” He shrugged off his jacket, voice sharp with irritation. “Kylie’s stuck in a worse spot. The road to Paige’s dance studio’s completely submerged. She’s a single woman with a little girl—what was I supposed to do, leave them stranded?”

A bitter, hollow laugh escaped me. “So our own daughter gets abandoned instead?”

He frowned hard at me. “Nova, can you quit being so confrontational?”

“Anna had teachers watching over her; nothing dangerous was gonna happen. Paige was at an off-campus dance studio, and Kylie doesn’t own a car. I just stopped to help her out.”

He wandered toward the fridge as he spoke and pulled the door open to peek inside. “Did you make any oatmeal today? My stomach’s acting up, I need something gentle.”

I stared at his back, overcome with a surreal, icy despair. Our daughter had cried herself to exhaustion waiting through a hurricane. He walked through the door and didn’t spare a single thought for us. His first question was if there was warm oatmeal waiting for him.

When I stayed silent, Tristan glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t give me that look. I’ve had a draining day too.”

He paused, then added, softening his tone like he was doing me a favor. “Kylie’s been going through hell lately. Her ex keeps harassing her, and Paige is super skittish. Could you just try to have some empathy for her?”

I whispered quietly, heart raw. “Who’s gonna have empathy for Anna?”

Tristan’s scowl deepened. “Anna’s just spoiled from you coddling her nonstop. It’s just a little rain and a late pickup—hardly a crisis. We all grew up handling way worse as kids.”

The second the words left his mouth, a shrill, terrified scream ripped from the bedroom. I shot forward and bolted into the room.

Anna sat upright in bed, her face ashen, her whole body shaking violently. She sobbed so hard she could barely draw breath, flailing her tiny hands through thin air as if reaching for something lost.

I pulled her tight against my chest, rubbing slow circles on her back to soothe her. “Mommy’s here. I’m right here, baby.”

But she was still trapped in the nightmare. “I was good, I didn’t cry… why didn’t Daddy come get me?”

Tears blurred my vision instantly. Tristan lingered in the doorway, a flicker of guilt crossing his face for half a second, then he glanced away.

“It’s just a bad dream. There’s no need for you to make such a fuss over nothing.”

I laid my palm flat against Anna’s forehead. Her skin burned scalding hot beneath my fingers.

I grabbed the digital thermometer and pressed it to her temple. Her fever was at one hundred two point six degrees.

“Anna’s running a high fever.” I lifted her limp body into my arms and snapped at Tristan. “Grab your car keys—we’re heading to the ER.”

Tristan stood rooted to the floor. “It’s too late. Can’t we just give her fever medicine and monitor her at home first?”