Returning with baby: Exhusband asks for second chance

Melissa’s POV

This is the first time me and my daughter Allie got to spend time with my husband Andrew after three whole months.

And yet we’re holed up in a car, on our way to attend the fifth birthday of his first love and their daughter.

As though that’s not enough, Andrew and I are also locked down in a fight.

“I don’t want to go to Eleanor’s house,” I say quietly. “I told you this many times. You can go and celebrate Lottie’s birthday without Allie and me. We don’t need to be there. You’ve been staying with them for the past three months anyway. So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that Lottie and Allie are sisters, and they need to get along.” Andrew glances at me from the driver’s seat. “Is it not possible for you to play the victim for one second and just consider that?”

I want to remind him that Allie’s birthday is also coming up in a few days, and yet he has made no effort to arrange a birthday party for her or even try to ignite this so-called sisterhood with Lottie. But I bite my tongue. I’m still holding onto the hope that maybe he has something planned, like this birthday party for Lottie. If I talk, it might just ruin that.

Andrew is already so… distant with me and Allie.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s never been the lovey-dovey husband. Our marriage was arranged by his grandfather, and Eleanor Walsh was his first love.

Still might be his only love.

We’ve been married for nearly six years, only a couple of months ahead of Allie’s birth. The night of her conception was an accident, nothing but a mix-up. Andrew was supposed to see Eleanor, but for some reason he ended up in my bedroom.

And I just didn’t have the willpower to stop him.

I’d been in love with him since Grandpa took me into their house. My foster mother was their head maid at the time. But back then, I knew that he was unreachable, so I never made my feelings known. It was only that night when I indulged myself, trying to savor what it’s like to be wanted. I didn’t know it would result to Allie, even though she’s the light of my life.

I also didn’t know that Grandpa would make Andrew “own up” to what he did to me. In the end, he resented me, all the while longing for Eleanor, who ran away after she found out.

She came back only six months ago, introducing their daughter Lottie who was conceived before she ran away.

Now, she and Lottie are the center of gravity in Andrew’s universe.

The drive continues, and Allie keeps groaning in the backseat. I check on her through the rear-view mirror and notice that her face is extremely pale.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask, reaching over to feel her face, alarmed to find out she’s cold to the touch. “Hey, are you alright? I brought you a jacket and I think you should warm up—”

“I don’t feel good, Mommy,” Allie whispers, clutching her little body. She has blonde hair and blue eyes like Andrew. People say that my genes didn’t even fight because I have dark hair and amber eyes. “My whole body hurts. I want to go home.”

Before I can comfort her, Andrew is already snapping. “Jesus, Allie. You’re going to keep doing this? Just make up reasons not to go to your sister’s birthday? Do you want her to make up reasons not to go to your birthday party?”

“Andrew,” I say in shock. “Are you calling our daughter a liar?”

“It’s true.” Andrew scoffs. “Last time, she said that Lottie pushed her in the pool. Then I find out that it’s her who started it. Then, she came to you crying about Lottie cutting off the hair of her Barbie. Later I find out that she was the one who started it. It’s the same old story.”

Allie’s eyes start to water. “Yes, I wish Lottie won’t go to my birthday party. Because she doesn’t like me and she always plays rough with me.”

“You better not mean that, Allie, or I will cut off your party entirely. Now stop acting like you’re in pain.”

Allie stays quiet, and my heart just breaks. I want to pick a fight over this, but just then, we arrive at Eleanor’s house.

And I can’t help but notice how different it is from the house that Andrew bought for me and Allie.

This one looks like it has about ten bedrooms, pristine and grand, with stucco walls and roof tiles. Eleanor and Lottie have been staying at a hotel recently, and so this one is all brand new. There is a huge garden in front and in the back. Decorations for the birthday are all set. Ribbons and lights decorated the flower beds and the trees. So many cars are parked in the driveway, with parents and other kids roaming around enjoying the food and treats.

Meanwhile, our house is small, with only two bedrooms. Allie never had this kind of birthday party. It’s always just us at a restaurant or at home. She was never allowed to invite her friends, even though Andrew can definitely afford to throw a party this grand ten times over.

Resentment burns in my throat as Allie and I enter the house. I clutch her hand, getting increasingly worried about why she’s cold.

“Let’s go sit outside, okay?” I tell her.

But before we can go, Eleanor suddenly appears. Her dirty blonde hair is fixed up in a ponytail. She’s decked in gold jewelry and this pretty emerald dress that matches her green eyes.

“Andrew!” She kisses him on the cheek in front of me before turning to me and Allie. “Melissa. Allie. You all came!”

“Hey, Allie!” Lottie beams. “Do you wanna see what Daddy gave me? Look over there!”

Allie looks at where she’s pointing, and her little jaw drops when she sees that it’s the dollhouse that she’s been begging for. I see jealousy burn in her eyes, and my heart breaks.

Because it’s the same exact thing I’m feeling too.

“Let’s go play,” Lottie says, trying to drag Allie towards the dollhouse.

But then, Allie sinks to her knees. A small scream escapes my lips. Allie looks up as I try to help her, and that’s when I see the blood dripping down her nose.

“Allie!” I scream, kneeling next to her and trying to pull her to her feet. But that’s when she collapses in my arms. “Allie!” I look at Andrew. “Bring the car around, we need to take her to the hospital!”

I thought Andrew would move with some kind of urgency, but he just rolls his eyes. “She’s just acting. Her diagnosis is over, you know that.”

One year ago, Allie was diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors worked overtime and got her cancer-free after a few months of treatment. After that, she’s been doing amazing. No symptoms at all.

Until now.

And I just can’t believe Andrew will say that about her.

I’m so appalled by his words that I can’t bring myself to speak. I stare at Andrew, noting the dismissiveness in his eyes and feeling my heart break even more. Allie is shaking, her strength waning right before my eyes. I turn to Eleanor, hoping she would try to put some sense into him, from mother to mother.

But Eleanor just turns away.

Andrew follows her.

I pick Allie up in my arms and run to the driveway, tears brimming my eyes. I look down at Allie’s frail form, and the tears finally fall.

“It’s alright, Allie,” I try to comfort her as I wait at the side of the street for a taxi. “We’re going to get you to the hospital, and you will be alright.”

Allie nods, but her eyes are starting to flutter shut. A taxi stops in front of us and I tell the driver the location of the hospital. Seeing the child in my arms, he rushes down the streets, and we get there right on time.

Everything around me is getting blurred now. Time seems to slow down and go fast at the same time. We get to the emergency room, and Allie is taken inside. The door gets shut in front of me, and I’m left outside, staring at the door, wondering what’s happening.

Hoping for the best.

How long I waited, I have no clue. But by the time a doctor comes out, it’s already dark outside.

“Mrs. Morgan?”

“That’s me,” I say, standing up and only realizing how weak I feel too. “How’s Allie? How’s my daughter?”

The doctor hesitates, but he just purses his lips and cuts to the chase.

And the next words he says cue the crumbling of my world.

“Allie’s cancer cells are back. They’re metastasizing fast. This time, she needs a donor.”