Chapter 1
Ashford City.
A night of torrential rain.
Eleanor Sutton dialed her husband lan Goodwin’s number.
The call went through, but he didn’t pick up.
Curled against her chest, their daughter burned with fever–her temperature spiking to 104 degrees–and in her delirium, kept crying, “Daddy, Daddy, I want Daddy…”
Eleanor hurried downstairs, clutching her feverish child, and called out to the nanny, “Joslyn, we need to go to the hospital.”
“Should we wait for Mr. Goodwin to come home?” Joslyn asked, worried.
“No.”
Tonight was the birthday of lan’s old flame. He wouldn’t be coming home.
The rain outside was icy, but Eleanor’s heart felt colder. Her daughter’s cheeks were bright red and she whimpered in pain, yet her father was off celebrating with another woman.
Eleanor sped through the storm toward the hospital, anxiety clawing at her. With her foot nearly flooring the accelerator, she had only a split second to react as a car careened wildly into her lane. She hit the hazard lights and slammed on the brakes, but the oncoming vehicle kept charging straight at them.
Eleanor jerked the steering wheel, the front of her car slamming into the curb.
In the back seat, Joslyn clutched the child tighter and let out a terrified cry.
Eleanor stomped on the brakes just in time. The car hit the stone post with a dull thud, but it wasn’t a serious crash. Still, in that moment, Eleanor fell apart, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
All the years of hurt and unspoken sorrow crashed over her at once.
Seeing Eleanor’s shoulders shaking as she sobbed over the steering wheel, Joslyn’s heart ached. “Mrs. Sutton, we need to get to the hospital! Evelyn feels even hotter now.”
Eleanor snapped out of her daze, remembering her daughter’s fever. She pulled herself together, reversed the car, and drove on.
At the hospital, Eleanor rushed in carrying her daughter. When the nurse tried to prick Evelyn’s finger for a blood test, the little girl fought, screaming and crying until her voice broke. Eleanor had to hold her down, her own heart breaking with every sob.
It was a viral infection–and not just one. At least seven aggressive viruses were raging through Evelyn’s body. Her chest scan showed both lungs clouded over.
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“I’m afraid this is life–threatening.” the doctor said gravely. “We have to flush her lungs right away.”
Joslyn’s hands began to tremble. “At her age…are you sure this is safe?”
Eleanor took the scan from the doctor’s hand, studying it. The doctor looked at her, surprised. “You can read this?”
Eleanor nodded, decision made. “Please schedule the procedure as soon as her fever drops.”
Joslyn leaned in, whispering, “Perhaps…perhaps we should mention this to Mr. Goodwin?”
Eleanor stroked her daughter’s burning forehead and shook her head, voice steady. “That won’t be necessary.”
In that moment, she seemed to have finally made a choice she’d been avoiding.
Three days later.
Eleanor sat at Evelyn’s bedside after the procedure, watching her daughter sleep–her face pale, lips colorless. Eleanor’s phone buzzed with a message: “Something you need?”
Just two curt words, laced with cold arrogance.
She set the phone down, not bothering to reply.
In the kitchen, Joslyn’s phone rang. She picked up quickly. “Hello, Mr. Goodwin.”
“Is something going on at home?” lan asked.
Joslyn hesitated. “No… nothing serious, sir. Are you still in the country?”
“I am.”
“Alright, everything’s fine here. No need to worry.”
After the call ended, Joslyn muttered to herself, puzzled. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Sutton let her tell Mr. Goodwin what had happened? He was here in the country, after all!
Eleanor held Evelyn’s tiny hand, her own eyes red and raw from exhaustion, but she couldn’t sleep. Evelyn whimpered in her dreams, little hands reaching out. “Daddy… Miss Vanessa, I’m scared, I’m scared…”
Eleanor squeezed her hand gently. “Mommy’s here.”
Evelyn startled awake, and upon seeing Eleanor, turned away in frustration. “I don’t want Mommy. I want Miss Vanessa.”
Eleanor blinked back tears, swallowing the lump in her throat as she gently stroked her daughter’s back until the child’s breathing eased into sleep once more.
On the seventh day, Eleanor finally brought her daughter home from the hospital.
Her body gave out. She asked Joslyn to watch Evelyn for a while so she could rest upstairs.
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When she woke an hour later and came downstairs, Joslyn looked uneasy. “Mrs. Sutton, you’re
awake. Mr. Goodwin stopped by just now. He took Evelyn out for dinner.”
Eleanor’s throat tightened. She turned away, silent, and went back to her room.
Downstairs, Joslyn sighed. With a husband like that, why did Mrs. Sutton have to bear everything alone?
Eleanor picked up her phone and called lan.
This time, someone answered.
A woman’s cheerful voice came through. “Ian’s just taken Evelyn to the restroom. Can I help you with something?”
Eleanor’s breath caught. She bit her lip and hung up.
She closed her eyes. Years ago, despite her father’s objections, she’d given up her studies and married the man she loved. In the end, it had left her utterly defeated.
She remembered her father pulling her aside on her wedding day to ask if she’d ever regret her decision.
She’d smiled brightly and promised, “Don’t worry, Dad! I’ll never regret this.”
So she’d thrown herself into marriage, leaving her ambitions behind.
Two years ago, Eleanor found her daughter hiding out in lan’s room, secretly calling Vanessa Shannon–her husband’s old flame. The two spoke to each other like mother and daughter.
It was during that drive to the hospital that Eleanor finally understood.
She regretted this marriage.
It was time to let go. No amount of effort could sustain a union founded on unrequited love – such bonds were destined to unravel from their very inception.
The rest of her life, she would spend learning to love herself.
A new message chimed on her phone–a notification for a new email.
Eleanor climbed to the third–floor study, opened her laptop, and checked her inbox.
The sender was the Department of Experimental Medicine at Ashford Medical University.
Eleanor closed her eyes and whispered, “Dad, you were right. Thank you for giving me a way out.”
In her mind, she heard her father’s words from before he passed: “My daughter will never be a failure. Make me proud. Even if you’re married, never stop learning.”
Six years. Eleanor had persevered, keeping her promise, studying in secret while no one else
knew.
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