Chapter 6

"Chloe, are you feeling any better today?"

When Ethan walked in carrying a bowl of oatmeal, Helen had already been sitting in the room for half an hour.

During that time, she had gone on three separate rants, always circling back to the same point.

"It’s such a shame to lose a baby at eight months. It was a boy, too. We saw it on the ultrasound."

"How could you be so careless while walking? That coffee table has been in the living room for three years. You walked past it every day. Why did you have to trip that day?"

"Ethan, you have no idea. Your father and I were terrified when we saw how much she was bleeding. Your father’s hands are still shaking."

Richard was indeed shaking.

He sat on the chair by the window, his right hand resting on the armrest, his fingers trembling slightly.

Ethan placed the oatmeal on the overbed table and sat at my bedside.

"Mom, stop. Chloe needs to rest."

"Stop? How can I stop? That was my grandson!"

Helen’s voice rose a octave, her eyes welling with tears.

Her greatest talent in life was crying.

At any moment, she could turn her eyes red and instantly claim the moral high ground.

"Ethan, you only care about your wife. But who cares about me? I waited three years for this grandson, and now he’s just gone."

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, her voice cracked with emotion.

"I’m not blaming Chloe. But if the baby were still here, wouldn't we be setting up the nursery right now?"

Ethan didn't reply.

"Mom, stop crying. We can try again later."

"Try again? Easy for you to say. Chloe suffered severe trauma this time. Who knows if she can even get pregnant again."

She crumpled the tissue into a ball, threw it on the nightstand, and glared at me.

"Chloe, I’m not trying to pick on you, but you must watch your step in the future."

"Helen is right."

Jessica appeared at the door once again.

She was holding a brown paper bag stamped with the logo of a local herbal pharmacy.

"I went to grab some herbal supplements to help Chloe recover her strength."

She walked in, placed the bag on the table, and checked my IV drip.

"It’s almost empty. I’ll go get the nurse."

She turned and left.

Ethan let out a heavy sigh.

"Jessica is really a great friend. She’s been running around for us these past two days."

"Exactly," Helen chimed in. "She put her own life on hold to help us, and your wife had the audacity to interrogate her yesterday."

Ethan looked at me. "Chloe? What happened?"

I didn't bother explaining.

Helen "explained" for me.

"She asked Jessica how she knew her father-in-law's sizes. Jessica ran all over town to help, and Chloe practically treated her like a criminal."

Ethan’s brows furrowed. "Chloe, Jessica was just trying to help..."

"Ethan."

"Yeah?"

"When are you going home?"

He blinked, confused. "Home? To grab what?"

"Just go back once, and you’ll see."

I had said this yesterday before the nurse interrupted.

He stared at my face, his lips tightening.

"Fine. I’ll go back tomorrow."

"Go today."

"Today? But Chloe..."

"Ethan, go today. Look at the living room."

Helen’s face paled.

"What is there to see in the living room? There’s nothing there. Ethan, don't listen to her. She’s completely out of it."

"I am perfectly clear-headed."

I looked directly at Helen.

She held my gaze for three seconds.

Then, she smiled.

It was her signature condescending smile, confident that she had me trapped.

"Chloe, dear, you must be delirious. You tripped and fell. What is there to see at home? I already cleaned up the blood on the coffee table."

She stood up and patted Ethan's hand.

"Don't go. I'll have the house cleaned tomorrow. Just stay here with Chloe."

She walked to the door, pausing with her back to us.

"Oh, by the way, Ethan. The security camera seems to have disconnected. It hasn't worked since we changed routers last month. Fix it when you have a chance."

The door closed.

Ethan stared down, rubbing his hands together.

After a dozen seconds, he stood up.

"Chloe, I'm going home."

"Your mother said the camera is disconnected."

He grabbed his jacket.

"I know. But the cloud storage backs up automatically. Disconnecting from the Wi-Fi doesn't stop the playback."

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Wait for me."