When Her Cheating Husband’s Luck Ran Out Chapter 03

When Her Cheating Husband’s Luck Ran Out Chapter 03 Six Weeks Along
My father wasn’t finished. “Looks like Ashmoor didn’t finish the job. You’re going back.” The name of that town finally put fear in her eyes. She dropped to her knees and grabbed a fistful of his pant leg, her eyes shot through with red. “Adrian, believe me. I went in to call her for breakfast. That’s all I did! I swear to you!” “Not you? Who else, your sister?” Cordelia shouted. “You think she put a knife in her own baby? Is she out of her mind!” Sadie took a step back with Teddy against her shoulder, tears still sitting on her cheeks. “Mom, Dad, don’t be hard on Vivian…” She dropped her head and her voice went smaller. “It’s my fault. I never should have had him…” I stood there watching and shaking all over. “She didn’t do it!” I ran over and threw my arms out in front of her. “My mom would never hurt anybody! She’s never hurt anyone in her life!” My father looked at me, then at her, and I couldn’t read what was going on behind his eyes. Sadie spoke up, soft as ever. “What if there’s something wrong with her? In her head, I mean.” She glanced at my father and stopped herself halfway. “Three years in that town would do it to anybody…” The words landed and he flinched. Cordelia jumped on it. “That’s exactly it! She’s sick! What normal person does something like this?” “She can’t stay in this house.” Walter’s voice was flat. “Take her in for an evaluation first. If there’s something wrong with her, she goes into a psychiatric hospital where she can’t do any more damage.” She shuffled forward on her knees and caught his pant leg again, her fingers locked white around the fabric. “Adrian, there’s nothing wrong with me! There is nothing wrong with me. “Let me stay with Josie and I’ll do anything you want.” My father looked down at her. “Get Teddy bandaged up. I’ll take her in for the evaluation.” His voice was perfectly calm. Whatever light was left in her eyes went out. Then her body gave out and she went down on the floor. “Mom! Mom!” I screamed for her and shook her by the shoulders. She didn’t move. Cordelia kicked her in the side. “Quit the act! Get up!” “Don’t touch my mom!” It came out louder than anything I had ever said, and Cordelia startled back a step. “How dare you talk to me like that?” Her face went red. “Is that how your mother taught you to speak to your grandmother?” “You never treated my mom like a daughter!” I was sobbing by then. “You only ever loved Sadie! You never once loved my mom!” “Why, you little…” My father crossed the room again, crouched down, and held a hand near her mouth to check for breath. Whatever he felt there changed his face. “Get a doctor.” He was on his feet, his voice sharp. “Somebody get a doctor now!” ***** At the hospital, they wheeled her straight into the emergency room. It was a long time before they moved her to a room. Curtis Hale, the doctor who had worked on her, gave my father a look I couldn’t put a name to. “She’s six weeks pregnant. Her body is in bad shape, she’s severely malnourished, and she’s showing signs of miscarriage.” My father went rigid. “Pregnant?” “You didn’t know?” Hale’s tone sharpened. “A woman in her condition should not be carrying at all. What kind of husband are you?” He didn’t move, and I couldn’t read a thing off his face. My mother lay in the bed with an IV taped to the back of her hand, still white as the sheet. She wiped the tears off my cheeks. “Don’t be scared. Mom’s fine.” She glanced at my father, then turned back to me and softened her voice. “Josie, wait outside a minute. I need to talk to your dad.” I didn’t want to go. I went anyway. I left the door open a crack behind me. Through it I watched my mother look straight at him without flinching. “Adrian, I’m sending Josie abroad.” “Are you out of your mind? She’s eight years old.” His voice climbed, the way it always did when somebody told him no. “Is this another one of your tantrums?” “It’s not a tantrum. “I can live with you and Sadie both. I’ll keep to my place for the rest of my life and never cross you.” Not one word of it carried any feeling.