Chapter 3
AMELIA GARCIA
“Scarlett!” I called for the umpteenth time, setting down the beaga on the table and going back to the kitchen for the best buns To taken out of the oven.
Setting the table, checking on my fries, baking, yelling out to my tix–year–old daughter to come have breakfast, trying not tre be late for my morning shift this was multitasking at its peak
It was a miracle that I hadn’t lost my mind already
I set the table and took off the apron. ‘Scarlent”
No response from her had me storming up the stairs to her room to go get her ass down here.
“Scarlen!” I pushed her door open and stopped at the soft sobs coming from her. She was dressed in a pink jumpsuit, her blonde hair was packed in a neat ponytail, her backpack was lying next to her and she was sobbing into her teddy hear
“Baby.” I rushed over to her, slowly lifting her from the bed.
“Mummy.” She hugged me, crying into my arms now, while I tried to soothe her.
“Baby, what happened?” I cupped her face, making her look at me. My God, her eyes were so puffy. What’s gotten into her? What made her so sad?
“Mummy..” she cried even harder, but wouldn’t tell me anything. Tears were almost welling up in my eyes at how bitterly she was crying.
I’d solve whatever reason was behind this misery if she’d only talk to me.
“Baby, please tell me. Hmm? Talk to me. What happened?”
She sniffed. “Jared wouldn’t stop teasing me at school.”
Jared. A boy in her class who gives her a tough time. I’ve gone and complained a few times, but he’s the Mayor’s son, so the teachers are being too careful not to upset the family. But then it’s at my baby’s detriment and that’s not fair.
“What did he do this time?”
“He….he…said I was a freak of nature…”
“What?” How could a six–year–old be so mean? “What the heck made him say that?”
“Because….because I don’t have a Daddy!” She wailed, hugging me again. I was pale. Whatever eagerness and resolve I had earlier disappeared into thin air.
In a second, I went from a determined and strong mother to a weak, heartbroken, and helpless mother. She cried for minutes before I could make up enough words to comfort her.
“It’s okay, baby. Hush now, please.” I patted her back gently. “And don’t listen to what Jared said. You do have a Daddy.”
“Then where is he? Why isn’t he living with us? All my friends have daddies and he lives with them. They even bring their daddies to school. But I don’t, because I don’t have a daddy.”
“You have a Daddy…” my voice quivered. A tear spilled from my eyes. Good thing she wasn’t looking at me. She was still
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Chapter 3
hugging me, sniffing into my shoulder.
“Then ask him to visit us. Tell him that I miss him so much and I want to see him”
More tears spilled. Those words were filled with so much pain and longing that my heart bled
More because I miss him so much too. Not a day has gone by without me thinking about him wondering where w doing. Who was he with? If he was happy…
And then I convinced myself that he was. After all, he got married to his long–term finances. The dirt who’d doped with Me driver a few weeks before their wedding. She returned after we divorced and he married her. He muur here Seared her fayly to have forgiven her so easily. Or maybe….he married her because he was the kinda man who hated being alone. He fromé loneliness really dreadful. That much I knew.
Either way, I convinced myself he was happy. And I strived to find my own happiness.
I went to college while pregnant. I graduated as a single mother, became a doctor a surgeon. I’ve been happy Mom is healthy and has a big supermarket here. Leyla fulfilled her dream of running a nightclub. I can afford to take my family on expensive vacations where we make fun memories.
We’re all happy. I am happy. But moments like this make me doubt it. My happiness feels like an illusion wiener confronted by the one thing that’s missing in our lives. In my life and Scarlett’s.
“Mummy, please call him. Tell him I wanna see him so bad.” She stopped hugging me and was strong with me now Her brown, doe eyes were just like her Daddy’s. Rich, wide, and enchanting
I nodded, sniffling back my tears. “I’ll call him. For now, get some rest. I’ll tell your teacher you’re sick. That way, you wont get scolded when you go tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Mummy.” She said gleefully, kissing my cheek.
I helped her settle into her bed and covered her with her duvet.
I kissed her forehead with a smile. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Mummy.” She smiled back.
Heading back to the kitchen, I thought I could just shake it off and continue what I was doing. But reaching for the fridge door, I paused, bursting into tears.
“Ma’am?”
I quickly wiped at my eyes before turning. Mrs. Nora was at the door, staring at me. She was Scarlett’s Nanny.
“I got the groceries.” She showed me.
“Thanks, Mrs. Nora.” My phone buzzed in my pocket and I ran out of the kitchen, grabbing my bag in the living room
“Please take care of Scarlett. Cheer her up the best way you can. I wanna stay and do that but I need to be at the hospital..
“I understand, Ma’am.” She cut in with a smile. “Go ahead. I’ll take care of Scarlett.”
“Thank you.” I dashed out of the room and jumped into my car.
Swerving through the busy streets of London, I couldn’t stop checking my wristwatch. I was already ten minutes late.
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MM
Chapter 3
God!
One more rough swerving and I was pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. I alighted from the car and ran inside.
My three interns were waiting in the hallway. Their impatience switched to a moment of euphoria when they saw ine arriving.
“Dr. Amelia. Finally.” One of them gushed, grabbing my bag and racing off to my office,
The other handed me my coat and my schedule for the day. Except, this wasn’t my schedule. It was an X–ray result.
“What’s this?” I asked them. The one who went to keep my bag returned and joined us.
“The chief said you should be in charge of this patient. He’s a VIP and he needs your expertise.”
“He had an accident?” I went through the X–ray results. He was hurt. Bad. But not fatal. There’s a slight hemorrhage in his head. Again, not too fatal.
“Yes. He was rushed this morning.”
“What floor?”
“Second.”
We got into the elevator and arrived on the second floor. We walked the hallway till we got to a door with VIP firmly written on it.
I turned the doorknob and we went inside. The patient was unconscious, bandaged, and breathing through oxygen. He had a big wrap of bandage around his head.
I glanced at him and then continued going through the X–ray result.
“Isn’t that….Mr. Montgomery?” One of my interns whispered.
I was gonna shush her, because I clearly wasn’t a fan of chit–chatting on duty. But her words sank instantly.
Again, I looked at the patient. Staring harder now. I gaped, going weak in the knees. I wasn’t sure when the result slipped from my grip, or when my eyes let the tears fall.
The shock was paralyzing. The unconscious man on the bed wasn’t any random stranger. He was Scarlett’s daddy, the only man I’ve ever loved, and the man I said goodbye to six years ago.
Edmund. Edmund Montgomery.
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AD
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
