Chapter 3

3: 3

He gently eased Ellie back, still dabbing at her eyes.

His brows stayed furrowed, but his tone softened a little.

"Ivy, why did you come to the hospital all of a sudden? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

I pulled out the two surgical forms and had just held them out when his next words froze my hand in the air.

"The wristband app just sent an emergency alert. Mom's heart rate dropped and she fainted. She nearly didn't make it."

The wristband?

My head rang. I stared at him, unable to look away.

The smart safety wristband Irvin's lab had developed in-house, with real-time location tracking, drowning alerts, heart-rate monitoring, one-touch emergency alerts through the linked phone app.

I had begged him more than once to get one for Nina.

He always put me off. "The prototype isn't stable. I can't just hand it out."

I turned to look at Ellie. There was one on her wrist.

My throat trembled violently, my finger shaking as I pointed straight at Ellie's wrist.

"Why wasn't Nina given a wristband?!"

The air went dead still.

Ellie followed my gaze and spoke up timidly.

"Ivy, please don't be angry at Irvin."

"He gave me the wristband that was meant for Nina. He said she's young, they won't let her wear it at school anyway, so it would just sit at home going to waste."

"But I'm different. Irvin said I live alone, my heart is weak, I have to wear it every moment so he can stop worrying."

The words drove into my heart like a knife, twisting again and again.

My Nina could have had a chance to live.

For Ellie's sake.

For the lonely, pitiful first love he was always talking about, Irvin had given up on Nina.

He had taken away, with his own hands, his own daughter's chance to stay alive.

While he stood across the city preaching about drowning prevention, teaching strangers how to keep their children safe, his own child was suffocating!

A tide of hatred and despair swept over me all at once, crushing every ounce of pain and weakness in my body.

I don't know where the strength came from. I threw up my hand and slapped Irvin across the face with everything I had.

The crack of it froze everyone in place.

Ellie inspected the cheek that had snapped to the side, her eyes twisting as if she were the one who'd been struck.

"Ivy! If you want to hit someone, hit me! Why would you hit Irvin?"

"You think you can get away with this?" My eyes were bloodshot.

Irvin's pupils shrank. Without a second thought he yanked Ellie behind him, his back rigid, staring at me like I was a lunatic.

"Ivy, have you lost your mind?!"

"It's just one wristband. I'll get you another one. What gives you the right to raise your hand? What did Ellie ever do to you?!"

"Just one?" My palm was numb, my eyes red. "How many times did I ask you for it? It was always 'I forgot' or 'later.' And now you tell me you'll just get me another one?"

The force of it tore at my wound. I didn't feel the pain at all as warm liquid ran out of me in a steady stream.

"It's too late!" My whole body shook, my voice thick with tears.

Ellie shrank back, frightened by the sight of me, and tugged at Irvin's sleeve with a show of pleading.

"Irvin, don't be harsh with Ivy. It's my fault, all of it's my fault. I shouldn't have worn Nina's wristband, I upset her, don't blame her…"

"Stop speaking for her!" Irvin's fury only rose, his eyes cutting into me, cold. "She's being unreasonable, throwing a tantrum just because she's pregnant."

A tantrum?

I stepped back and sank onto the hospital bed behind me, all my strength gone.

"Irvin, listen carefully. I have never been more clear-headed than I am right now."

"We're getting divorced."