The Comments Said My Dead Officer Husband Had Returned Chapter 04

The Comments Said My Dead Officer Husband Had Returned Chapter 04

In the middle of the night, Ava suddenly spiked a fever.

Her little face was bright red. Her breath was hot. Her tiny hands clutched my clothes as she mumbled “Mommy.”

I picked her up and rushed toward the base hospital.

When I pushed the door open, Elias was standing outside.

He looked at Ava in my arms, didn’t say anything, and just took her from me.

Ava was drowsy and delirious from the fever. She did not stir when being shifted into another person’s embrace, resting her small, flushed face softly against his chest.

I froze for a moment, then took Jayden’s hand and followed behind him.

[Why is Elias outside the door? I thought he was staying in the barracks?]

At the base hospital. Celeste was on duty.

She saw Elias walk in with Ava and stood up quickly. “Colonel Wellington, what’s wrong?”

“She has a fever.”

Celeste looked at Ava’s flushed face and reached out to feel her forehead. “She does feel quite hot.”

She pulled a thermometer from her drawer and handed it to Elias.

“Colonel Wellington, take her temperature first. I’ll go find the on-call doctor. There’s only one on pediatric emergency tonight, and she might be busy up front. I’ll go look for her.”

She left.

She came back a while later. No one was with her.

“The doctor’s handling another emergency up front. She said to take the temperature first and leave the chart on her desk. She’ll come when she’s done.”

[Celeste is being really nice here.]

[Just a bit slow with things, but it’s not really her fault.]

The temperature was taken, hitting 102°F.

I handed the thermometer to Celeste. She glanced at it and nodded. “She needs to be admitted. I’ll go fill out the paperwork.”

A little while later, she came back with the paperwork and spent a while writing on it. “Madeline, you need to pay the hospitalization deposit first.”

I didn’t have that much money on me.

Elias pulled out his wallet and handed it to me. “Go take care of it.”

I took it. “Keep an eye on Ava. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch her for you.” Celeste smiled sweetly.

I took Jayden downstairs to pay the hospitalization deposit.

When I came back, Elias was still standing in the hallway. Ava was lying on a bench in the corridor, covered by Elias’s jacket.

Celeste stood next to him, drinking from a mug.

When she saw me come back, she smiled and explained, “They’re cleaning the room. Just wait a little longer. It’ll be ready soon.”

[Celeste’s stayed right here keeping them company.]

[She’s really responsible.]

Elias glanced at Celeste. He didn’t say anything.

He picked Ava up from the bench and walked deeper into the hallway. I took Jayden’s hand and followed.

When they passed the nurses’ station, Elias stopped and spoke to the nurse inside. “Is Room 3 ready yet?”

The nurse hesitated. “Room 3? That’s…”

“Is it ready?”

“Yes.” The nurse glanced at Celeste, then looked down.

Celeste’s smile froze for a second.

Room 3 was empty.

It had been empty the whole time. No waiting necessary.

[What? I thought she said the room was being cleaned?]

[Celeste is acting weird. She talks like she’s helping, but she’s actually stalling.]

We spent half the night dealing with it. Ava’s fever broke. She fell asleep, quiet and peaceful.

Elias pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down, his back against the wall, eyes closed.

Jayden lay on my lap and whispered, “Mommy, he has been holding Ava’s foot the whole time so she won’t kick off the blanket.”

I saw it.

But I didn’t say anything.

In the morning, I looked at Jayden curled up at the foot of the bed sleeping, and Ava with her flushed cheeks.

Elias sat in the chair, frowning even in his restless sleep.

Suddenly, I felt lost.

Those comments kept telling me I was the villainess standing in the way of Elias and Celeste’s happy life.

I’d almost resigned myself to that fate, yet here he was buying things for the kids, handing over all his salary, and even lingering outside my door late at night.

Didn’t he love Celeste? What was he doing?

While the kids were still asleep, I shook Elias awake.

“Come outside with me,” I whispered softly.

Elias said nothing, glanced over at the sleeping kids, tucked the quilt firmly around Jayden, then followed me out of the room.

“Three years ago. Why did you suddenly disappear?” I stared straight at him and asked every single word slowly with a frown.

Three years ago, he went back to base and vanished. Two months later, I got an anonymous letter with a few dozen dollars stuffed inside, saying Elias was dead.

I was thrown into such extreme distress back then that I went into premature labor with the twins.

By the time I got out of the hospital, a month had passed.

I’d wanted to head straight for the base, but the newborn babies were too tiny, so I could only ask others to inquire about news for me.

Every reply I got confirmed he was dead. I never expected those comments to pop up out of nowhere and reveal that he was actually alive all along.

What’s more, he’d even grown close to a female nurse.

Elias lowered his gaze toward me. I braced myself to hear his explanation, only to see his brows knit tightly together, his expression turning grim.

“Didn’t you send me a letter saying you wanted a divorce and never wanted to lay eyes on me again?”