Chapter 6

Zach's innocent yet blunt words pierced my heart like a needle. While sick and in his most vulnerable moment, the person he thought of was still the very woman responsible for making him ill.

I looked down at him. The illness had clearly taken a toll on him. After saying just two sentences, he had already fallen back asleep.

Shayne had heard Zach's words too. He took my hand, uttering, "Honey."

I didn't feel like talking to him and tried to pull my hand away.

However, he tightened his grip, refusing to let go. "What happened today was just an accident. Mom acted on her own. Zach only said that because he's sick; he didn't mean to say that—"

"I can understand where Zach's coming from," I said as I carried Zach and headed toward the exit. "He's infatuated with Luna, so naturally, he thinks she's perfect in every way."

I paused for a moment before continuing, "And yet, I've strictly forbidden Zach from seeing Luna. He's bound to react strongly against it at first.

"Zach is not a bad kid. I'll guide him back to the right path. He'll understand who truly has his best interests at heart. However, I hope you mean what you say. I can treat today as an accident, but I don't want a repeat of this."

As I spoke, I stopped walking.

Shayne, noticing I might be tired, instinctively reached out and took Zach from me.

"I will. I promise, honey," Shayne insisted.

Watching Zach sleep soundly in Shayne's arms, I didn't say anything else.

…

Shayne parked the car after we got home.

Seeing how peacefully Zach was sleeping, I decided not to wake him and started to carry him out of the car myself.

However, Shayne was already at the passenger door. "Let me carry him," he gently offered.

He easily scooped Zach up with one arm and extended the other toward me.

Surprised, I looked up at him.

His tall frame and handsome features under the streetlight made him look almost godlike.

He softly said, "Let's go home, Mrs. Pearce."

"Mm." I sighed inwardly and took his hand as I stepped away from the car. "Let's go."

When we got inside, Shayne laid Zach down on his small bed. I filled a small basin with warm water and brought it into the bedroom.

Shayne helped undress Zach, wrung out the towel, and gently wiped his body.

Zach slept so soundly that he didn't wake up even as we cleaned him and changed him into his pajamas. He just occasionally whimpered, expressing his discomfort.

Shayne only smiled indulgently when he heard it. Then, he tossed the towel into the basin and carried it out of the room.

I sat by Zach's bedside, watching him. His attitude toward me had been getting worse lately.

Every time we talked, he would quickly lose his patience and speak harshly to me before we even had a calm conversation. Only when he was asleep could we find peace between us.

"Honey," Shayne called as he walked over, gently lifting me in his arms.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked at his profile in confusion. "What's the matter?"

Using his elbow, Shayne turned off the light and then closed Zach's bedroom door. He hinted, "Do you remember what we agreed on before going to the hospital?"

I had forgotten what happened before the hospital, but I remembered everything clearly after we got there...

When I was holding the child in my arms, I genuinely considered divorcing Shayne. But then I wondered…

If Luna was already causing problems for my child while Shayne and I were still married, what would happen after the divorce? Would Zach still live a happy life?

For the sake of our child, this family must never fall apart.

These thoughts that consumed my mind the whole night made it impossible for me to recall what happened before we went to the hospital.

"Care to remind me?" I asked.

"What a scatterbrain." Shayne smilingly closed the bedroom door. He then cupped my face and gently pecked my lips. "Honey…"

His voice, lowered in the quiet of the night, carried a tone I couldn't quite describe.

Shayne chuckled softly, playfully purring, "Remember now?"

He was trying to tease me.

I, on the other hand, wasn't about to let him win. "What should I do? I still can't remember."

In Shayne's eyes, I saw my reflection. My long hair, flowing like a waterfall, spread across the white sheets. My face, flushed from his kisses, looked radiant.

Shayne's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "Let me help you remember..."

…

The mental strain and the exhaustion from a night of stress left me feeling tired. But Zach had just been admitted to the hospital due to stomach discomfort, and it was clear he needed careful attention. I had to force myself to get up early to prepare breakfast for them.

Since Zach could only eat oatmeal as he recovered, I used a ceramic pot to make it a bit more mushy.

First, I brought the water to a boil over high heat, then I turned it down to a low simmer. I glanced at the time; it was just past five.

So, I went to a nearby market to buy some greens and meat. After returning home, I quickly washed and prepared the vegetables. I waited until it was time for Zach to get up before I started cooking.

There were two dishes in total. One was sautéed spinach, and the other was beef stew.

After finishing both dishes, just as I was about to call them out for dinner, I heard a series of quick footsteps.

Zach ran up to me, his cheeks puffed out in dissatisfaction. "I said I don't want to come home. I want to stay at Grandma's..." He glared at me. "Even though I'm sick and even got IV fluids, you should still take me back to Grandma's when I was discharged!"

He thought I was unaware of what was happening and believed he could use Charlotte as his reason to continue seeing Luna.

But I chose to expose him directly. "Do you want to go to Grandma's and then have her take you to Luna's?"

Zach froze. As a child, he had never experienced something like this. He didn't know how to deal with such situations.

"Zach, starting today, I will no longer take you to Grandma's."

Zach instinctively protested, "Why do you get to decide that?"

I rarely took a firm stance, but I did this time. "Because I am your mother!"

"In that case, I don't want you to be my mother anymore!" Zach broke down, "I want to go to Ms. Luna's house! I want Ms. Luna to be my mom!"

Zach was the child I gave birth to after carrying him for nine months. I had painstakingly raised him. Yet now, he didn't want me anymore because of a woman who had only spoiled him with unhealthy food.

My heart ached with each thought.

Zach's jet-black eyes were filled with tears. Just crying wasn't enough for him to express his frustration. He looked around, then picked up the glass from the table with his chubby hands and hurled it on the floor.

Clang!

Glass shards and water scattered everywhere. My hands and feet turned cold. He didn't just break a cup; he shattered my heart. I couldn't understand how he could hurt his mother for the sake of a woman he had only recently met.

It seemed Zach didn't feel he had done enough. He began smashing everything else that he could in the house.

When Shayne came out, he couldn't help but frown upon seeing the messy living room and Zach throwing things. "Zach, what are you doing?"

Hearing his father's voice, Zach stopped crying and ran over to Shayne. "Dad, you like Ms. Luna the most, don't you? I beg you to divorce Mom and marry Ms. Luna. I want Ms. Luna to be my mom. I want to be a family with Ms. Luna and live with her!"