Everything happened so quickly. Right after she screamed hysterically, the nurses arrived and immediately helped her. They brought her father into the emergency room while Axton guided her to sit in the nearest chair.Her hands trembled as she recalled how she had just held her father's hand, which felt so cold. She couldn’t remember the last time she had held his hand—perhaps he never held hers all this time because he didn’t care. Yet now, Sierra found herself staring at her shaking palm, with no clear reason for it.Almost an hour passed, but she still didn’t understand what had happened until a doctor came out of the ER and explained her father’s condition.That man was dying...There could be so many reasons why he was so sick now. The doctor suspected alcohol and drugs had damaged his kidneys and lungs."He’s sick, and I just said the harshest words I've ever said to someone." Sierra knew Axton was sitting next to her even though she didn’t turn her head. She just stared straigh
"What about Callie? Why are you here?" Sierra opened her eyes slowly and frowned when she saw Axton beside her.He took a deep breath. "Calm down, Sierra. I'll call the doctor." He pressed the button beside Sierra's bed. The doctor arrived with a nurse shortly after, and Axton stepped back to give them space.Sierra followed the doctor's examination. They asked about her symptoms, and the only thing that troubled her was shortness of breath. She had difficulty breathing, and that was what caused her to faint a while ago.The doctor immediately gave her a breathing aid, and after an hour, her condition began to improve. Axton entered her room an hour later, though Sierra thought he would have gone home to meet Callie and resolve their argument."If your condition improves, it would be best to wait until tomorrow morning to decide if Mrs. Kayleigh can go home. For now, it's safest to stay in the hospital because we don’t want any unexpected complications," the doctor explained.Axton no
"What are you doing here?"The question broke the silence among the three of them.Sierra turned her head to see Axton’s mother standing not far away—from her, from them.Initially, the woman frowned, but as though realizing something that surprised her, she narrowed her eyes and walked closer, prompting Sierra to clutch her bag tighter against her stomach."Is Callie okay?" she asked with a worried expression. "Is she alright?"Axton was the first to understand the meaning behind the question, while Sierra stood frozen, her heart pounding."She’s fine, Mom," Axton stepped closer to his mother."Where is she?" The woman looked up, "Is this her room?"Sierra turned her head and only then understood the situation."She’s not here, Mom," Axton said as he gently guided his mother to turn, leading her toward the hospital corridor heading to the lobby.Sierra followed them from behind, and Axton glanced back, gesturing for her to come along."And?" The woman turned to Sierra as well, who no
“Did you have an argument with her?”Sierra lifted her head as she heard Axton’s mother ask the question.Callie didn’t continue her sentence as Sierra suddenly stood up and, to everyone’s surprise, vomited her food right there, ruining their dinner.Callie immediately walked into her room without saying anything while Axton called the maids to clean up the mess. Axton’s mother guided Sierra away from the table as she repeatedly mumbled apologies.After cleaning herself in the bathroom, she emerged, assuming Axton’s mother had left her. However, the woman was still seated with a glass of warm milk in her room.“We’re in a bit of a rough patch lately,” she admitted quietly.“You didn’t throw up all your food, did you? I think you just need to drink some warm milk,” she said, handing the glass to Sierra.Sierra accepted the glass and hesitantly drank it.Once again, she was surprised to find she could drink the milk even without Axton’s presence. She felt a little nauseous, but it was m
"I know you're trying to take my husband because you're jealous of what I have, Sierra. But could you at least wait until I'm dead?"Callie's question shattered the silence between them.Sierra, who initially planned to stay quiet upon realizing there was a misunderstanding between Axton and Callie, now felt she couldn't remain silent. She always believed that the two of them should resolve misunderstandings between husband and wife, which was why she rarely interfered. But now, it seemed Callie was deeply lost in a grave misunderstanding."Ask yourself—are you really sure I have such bad intentions, Callie?" Sierra raised her head and met Callie's gaze, who was still standing next to Axton."Why should I ask myself when I've already found the answer by seeing you seduce my husband at the party I threw for the two of us?" Callie shot back, her eyes sharp. She turned to Axton, who remained silent in his seat. "Are you really going to leave me for her?""That will never happen, Callie.
Initially, Sierra thought she was dreaming when she heard Axton’s voice. But when she opened her eyes and saw him standing right in front of her, she realized it was no dream.The question was, why was he in her room at midnight? Wasn’t this... wrong somehow?“What—”“I’m sorry for waking you up at this hour, but can you get up? We need to go to the hospital now.” Axton spoke cautiously as if afraid to startle her.Sierra squinted and reached for her phone. It was 2 a.m., and she had just managed to fall asleep.“Is something wrong?”Axton nodded.“My father?” Her voice trembled as she asked.Axton nodded again.Oh God. Instantly, Sierra felt something collapse inside her.***Sierra still couldn’t fully grasp what was happening as Axton helped her prepare and then drove them to the hospital.At first, she kept thinking this had to be a dream.“Callie?” she murmured softly as Axton drove the car past the mansion gates.“She’s probably exhausted. I’ll call her later, and she’ll come wi
Axton didn’t know how much longer he had to wait while the doctors were treating Sierra in the ER. It felt like he was going to lose his sanity if he didn’t receive some good news soon. However, he tried his best to remain seated calmly despite his hands shaking from worry.He looked at his own palms and noticed bloodstains there—Sierra’s blood that had gotten on him when he was carrying her.“Callie, could you come to the hospital?” His voice might have clearly shown that he was holding back tears. However, he honestly couldn’t hold them in anymore.“Callie, please,” Axton spoke again when Callie didn’t respond.“Are… you okay?” Callie’s voice cracked as if she was shocked and worried.Somehow, he was able to explain, even though he wasn’t sure exactly what was happening at that moment.“Sierra,” he closed his eyes and glanced again at the door before taking a deep breath. “She’s bleeding. There’s so much blood that it got on her clothes and mine. I don’t know what her condition is r
Flashback9 Months Ago"Which one do you think is better?" Callie knelt in front of him, holding her hands. Her face was filled with tears, and Axton hated it with all his heart."What?" He reached for Callie's face and guided her to sit on his lap while he wiped away the tears from her face."Marrying again and embarrassing me in public, or having a child with Sierra and saving me from all of this?"He couldn’t believe Callie was saying this. He froze in place, still holding her face."I beg you, Axton." She clutched his hand, resting her head on his chest, crying there. Axton truly couldn’t understand what it was that she wanted."You can ask for anything, but not those two things.""I beg you.""And I’ll beg you too, so that we don’t have to do either of those things." Axton took a deep breath, holding Callie tightly—hoping that they could stop time for a moment, staying in this position for just a little longer.They had sacrificed so much to stand firm in this position. Axton was
Lately, Sierra had grown fond of gardening. She enjoyed planting flowers, and since she had a spacious backyard, she was free to do whatever she pleased there.After returning from their honeymoon across various countries, she had already planned a beautiful concept for her backyard. Her mother used to love gardening, even after coming home tired from work, though they didn’t have an adequate plot of land to do so. Now that Sierra had better opportunities than her mother ever had, she wanted to honor that hobby—bringing something her mother loved into her new home.When Sienna was with her grandmother, Sierra found herself with free time to indulge in something she enjoyed, keeping herself entertained so she wouldn't feel bored. Occasionally, she would step out to purchase gardening tools and thoroughly enjoyed those moments.In the past, she couldn’t afford this kind of relaxed lifestyle because she always had a demanding schedule. Since college, she’d been accustomed to working part
Axton made Sierra leave the United States for a honeymoon in Europe one month after their wedding. He didn’t tell her where they would go or how long they would be on vacation, leaving Sienna with her grandparents. He only said that he had everything planned but wanted it to be a surprise, so the only thing Sierra had to do was to look beautiful every morning and look forward to each surprise he would give.This morning, they woke up in Norway after spending the night watching the beautiful Aurora Borealis. It felt like a dream—a place so beautiful it seemed unreachable by humans. But Sierra was there with Axton, and it was a truly wonderful experience.Then, in the night, they traveled to Switzerland and stayed there for an unknown number of days, visiting places they would explore.“I can’t believe I’m unemployed and traveling the world with you,” she commented while standing near the window of the villa they were staying in.The view of nature there was so soothing to her eyes. Eve
Sierra and Axton had agreed to host a simple wedding celebration attended only by close family and friends. Most of the guests were Axton’s family and friends, as Sierra didn’t have either.Well, she had invited Andrea—if the woman could even be categorized as a friend. And Damian…Actually, Sierra wasn’t the one who invited Damian. It was Axton, which had completely surprised her.“To my daughter-in-law, Sierra Scott, I love you, pretty girl,” Axton’s mother said, blowing an air kiss and smiling warmly. Sierra laughed as she stood next to Axton.After all the formal wedding, it was time for speeches from the couple’s closest people. Sadly, Sierra had to remind herself once again that she had no parents or close friends to speak for her.“I always wished I could have met Sophia, Sierra’s mother because she raised such an incredible woman with all her strength,” Axton’s mother began. “Sierra is a passionate woman with a beautiful perspective on everything in the world. She loves everyo
Sierra stared at her reflection in the mirror, disbelief evident in her eyes.It was hard to accept that all of this was real. But of course, she wasn’t dreaming as she stood there in her wedding gown, her face adorned with flawless makeup. She was almost too afraid to touch her own skin, worried she might ruin the carefully applied look.“You look absolutely stunning,” Axton’s mother said, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes as she admired Sierra standing in front of the mirror. “You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”Sierra smiled and turned her head slightly. “Don’t exaggerate, Mom,” she replied, taking a deep breath. “I feel unsure about walking out there. What if people judge me?”The woman immediately took her hand, looking at her with genuine warmth. “When Callie—the most important person in your life—gives her blessing for what you’re about to do, why should you care about what anyone else thinks?”Sierra had read the letter Callie had given her. She must have
“I’m here,” Sierra said softly.A week after receiving Callie’s letter and all the gifts the woman had sent her, Sierra finally decided to visit Callie.“I also stopped by the store you worked with, just to thank them,” Sierra said, taking a deep breath as she sat down on the damp ground of Callie’s grave, ignoring the possibility of her skirt getting dirty. “They were confused, looking for me at your old house. I don’t live there anymore, Callie. I moved after giving birth because Axton thought it would be better for us to find a new home. Staying there made it hard to move on, constantly reminded of you.”She glanced at Axton, who was walking toward her from a distance.Today, she wasn’t alone. Axton and Sienna had come with her. But when they arrived, Sienna wanted to breastfeed, so Sierra left them in the car. Axton could handle her to help her drink her milk, and it wasn’t an issue for him.“I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much you cared for me and Sienna. I thought you were angry
Sierra couldn’t blink, and it felt like time had stopped for a moment. Her body felt stiff, even though the only thing she desperately wanted to do was run away.What Damian had said entirely left her at a loss for words. If she were honest, those words moved her deeply, making her feel even guiltier toward him.That wasn’t what he should have said. Damian should have angrily cursed at them for causing a scene in front of his apartment in the morning. He should have... He could have said something harsh to her if he truly wanted to show how upset he was with everything.But instead of doing that, Damian chose to say something kind—words that should never have come from someone who had been wronged.Thankfully, Axton could read her mind well enough to step forward, grab her hand, and lead her away from there.“Let’s go home!” he said, walking briskly.Of course, Sierra followed Axton. She walked without turning her head because she didn’t want to see Damian again.“I never knew that Da
This morning, Sierra cooked breakfast for everyone because she knew that the maids in her house must be exhausted after participating in last night's party. She didn't just prepare breakfast for her family but also for the entire staff."This is a simple menu, but I hope you'll like it," she said with a quick smile. "I'm not great at cooking, but I made sure it's safe to eat." She brought the food to the dining table near the kitchen. Usually, the maids and workers gathered there to eat together, which is why Sierra had come in now."You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble. You must be exhausted after last night's party," said one of the staff.Sierra waved her hand with a playful smile. "Please, don't be so stiff when talking to me. If I'm tired, then you all must be tired too. This is just a small thing I can do. But this afternoon, I'll ask Axton to buy food for us all so you don’t have to cook.""Oh God, looks like this party made you happy," Percy commented casually, un
Sierra felt much more relaxed once she was back with Axton and Sienna. Of course, they were still the center of attention since it was their party, but now she didn’t have to stand alone in the middle of it all.“I don’t know what to give her, but she seems to like everything I give her,” a middle-aged woman, whom Axton introduced as his aunt, handed Sierra a large paper bag with the logo of a luxury brand.Sierra was quite stunned by this, but she quickly nodded and offered a polite smile. “Thank you for taking the time to visit Sienna. I hope you enjoy the party tonight.”“Well, of course, I’m enjoying it,” the woman smiled. “Isn’t Alicia the one who organized all of this? I’ve been to every one of her parties, and I can always tell which ones she’s organized. And I can say this one is definitely hers.”Sierra turned her head toward Axton and smiled again. “She put this together in just three days, and it amazes me.”“She’s a legend when it comes to parties in New York,” the woman c
Sienna’s bedtime routine often started with the family gathering in the living room after dinner. Percy and Bethany would prepare light snacks, and once Sienna fell asleep, Axton’s parents would head back to their home.“I’ve been thinking about this since Sienna was born,” Axton’s mother began with a warm smile, holding Sienna close in her arms. “But things have been quite hectic lately. I just wanted to spend as much time as possible with this beautiful girl. However, all our relatives and acquaintances keep asking about her, and I don’t want us to waste too much time hosting them one by one.”Sierra frowned slightly, resting her head on Axton’s shoulder as he held her hand and played with her fingers.“Some family members managed to visit the hospital, but others haven’t had the chance yet. They keep asking me when they can come, but I don’t know when to let them. I’m worried they’ll take up too much of our time.”Sierra’s frown deepened, but she remained silent.“So, what are you