Broken Oath: I Left, He Regretted-Chapter 114: Timothy Xavier Doesn’t Want This Child
When Nanny Lowell called again, I picked up the phone.
"Ma’am, Miss Doris has a fever." Nanny Lowell’s voice, evidently anxious, came through the receiver.
I frowned slightly and asked, "Where are Serena Sawyer and Timothy Xavier?"
A long sigh came from the other end of the line, and Nanny Lowell’s voice was full of helplessness: "Mr. Xavier hasn’t returned from his business trip, his phone is off, I can’t reach him. Miss Sawyer and the old lady left Doris at the old house in the evening and left, I just called there, the servant said they were resting and refused to pass on the message. Now the child has a fever over 38 degrees, her little face is all red, she’s moaning constantly, you... better come and take a look?"
My heart couldn’t help but sink, but the boy-who-cried-wolf story had almost left a shadow over me.
Sophia Kendall and Serena Sawyer had used Doris against me more than once before.
Now, suddenly saying in the middle of the night that the child is sick and wants me to go, who knows what they’re up to this time?
I took a deep breath, suppressing my surging emotions, and said, "It’s too late. It’s not convenient for me to go out. Try calling Timothy Xavier again, or please get a private doctor to take a look."
After saying that, I didn’t wait for Nanny Lowell to say anything else and hung up the phone directly.
Even so, if I said I wasn’t anxious, it would be a lie.
But Timothy Xavier saw Doris as a treasure, Serena Sawyer needed Doris to secure her position, and Sophia Kendall seemed to treat Doris well enough on usual days.
They wouldn’t ignore a feverish Doris, let alone leave her alone at home.
This call might just be another trick of theirs.
...
The next day was a weekend, and I fulfilled my promise to take Sharon Hawthorne to the amusement park she’d been thinking about.
On the way, the sunlight filtered through the car window onto her face. The usually timid and silent little girl was uncharacteristically excited, her little hands gripping the window as she looked at the scenery outside.
I freed up one hand to gently pinch her soft cheek, "So happy?"
Sharon’s eyes brightened, and she nodded vigorously, her little head bobbing slightly to the rhythm of the car.
But we hadn’t gone far when my phone suddenly rang again, and Nanny Lowell’s name was still on the screen.
My heart skipped a beat, and as soon as I picked up the call, I heard Nanny Lowell’s voice, full of panic.
"Ma’am, please come to the hospital quickly! Miss Doris was so confused from her fever this morning that the private doctor couldn’t handle it, and she’s already been taken to the hospital!"
My heart immediately twisted.
I hadn’t expected that this time, Doris really had a fever.
I unconsciously tightened my grip on the steering wheel and asked, "What about Serena Sawyer and Sophia Kendall? Still can’t reach them?"
"Can’t reach them!"
Nanny Lowell’s voice was trembling, "I called the old lady’s villa, and the servant said the old lady heard there was an expert who could predict the gender of Miss Sawyer’s baby, so they both went to a temple in the suburbs early in the morning, and both their phones are off. Mr. Xavier’s phone is also unreachable, and the servants at home are all panicking. I had no choice, so I called you again!"
I was so angry, I asked for the hospital address and turned on the turn signal.
After hanging up, Sharon cautiously asked, "Auntie Ellison, what’s wrong?"
I explained with an apology to Sharon beside me, "Sharon, I’m sorry. We can’t go to the amusement park today, Auntie has to go to the hospital to see Doris first. She’s sick! Next time, Auntie will definitely make it up to you, okay?"
Sharon showed no sign of unhappiness. Instead, she reached out her small hand and gently tugged on my sleeve, speaking softly but calmly, "It’s alright, Auntie Ellison, don’t worry. Last time my dad was in a hurry and drove too fast, he rear-ended someone else’s car. Drive slowly, safety first."
Listening to the sensible little girl’s comfort, my heart was both warm and sad.
Despite what she said, I still couldn’t help but speed up the car.
Filled with guilt and regret, I wondered if things wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t thought so much last night and just went to care for Doris.
...
Children’s Hospital.
As soon as the car stopped, I hurriedly pulled Sharon along and rushed into the hospital.
In the emergency room corridor, Nanny Lowell was anxiously pacing back and forth.
Seeing me arrive, she rushed up like grabbing onto a lifeline, "Ma’am, thank goodness you’re here! The doctor said the child’s condition is urgent, and a relative needs to sign before surgery can be done. Please go to the doctor’s office and sign it right away!"
I let Sharon sit on the long bench in the corridor, instructed her not to run around, and turned to run to the doctor’s office.
As soon as I explained my identity to the doctor, he pointed at the medical records and started scolding me: "Are you the child’s guardian? Why are you only coming now! The child started having a high fever last night, why wasn’t she sent to the hospital in time? Now the child is having convulsions, and she has had epileptic seizures several times! I looked at the medical records; she just had brain surgery not long ago. How can you be so careless during such a critical recovery period? Do you really not care if the child lives or dies?"
It was even more serious than I imagined.
My heart felt like it was being smashed with a hammer, yet I was powerless to argue.
The doctor’s tone became harsher, "In all my years of practice, I’ve never seen such irresponsible parents! It’s really unfortunate for the child to have parents like you!"
This criticism brought all my grievances and anger rushing out.
No matter if I care or don’t care, it’s all wrong!
I clenched my fist, suppressing my emotions as I signed the consent form for surgery and fished out my phone to call Timothy Xavier.
I dialed the number over and over, getting nothing but a busy signal each time.
Finally, on the fifth try, Timothy Xavier’s cold voice came from the receiver: "What is it? You never reach out to me on your own. I’m on a business trip negotiating an important project, and here you are, calling one after the other. Do you know that my competitor for this project is Julian Sinclair, and you’re bothering me for him!"
I’m on the brink of collapse, my voice teeming with uncontrollable fury, stating word by word: "Timothy Xavier, your daughter is in the hospital emergency room right now! She’s dying! Do as you wish!"
Without waiting for his response, I slammed down the phone.
Time ticked by slowly.
After the doctor administered medication, Doris’s condition was stabilized, but I still hadn’t recovered from the initial shock.
Looking at the little girl on the hospital bed, lacking her usual haughty expression, a dense ache filled my heart.
In the end, whether it’s me or Doris, we’re both victims of Timothy Xavier’s schemes.
What would a child understand?
I know it was Serena Sawyer and Sophia Kendall who led her astray, but I still couldn’t help unleashing all my emotions onto her. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
I even pondered, if Timothy Xavier hadn’t taken her away in the first place, how lovely would she be now?
Just then, hurried footsteps disturbed the tranquility in the ward.
"Doris! Where’s Doris?"
Timothy Xavier, bereft of his usual composure, rushed into the room, exuding panic and tension.
He hurried to the bedside, looking at the pale-faced Doris hooked up to IV, and his voice trembled: "How did it come to this?"
Seeing him this frantic "after the fact," I angrily questioned, "Timothy Xavier, now you’re asking what happened? What were you doing earlier?"
Timothy sighed and softly said: "I was negotiating a very important project yesterday, had to turn off my phone, I..."
I pointed at the child in the bed and said, "So, the three of you adults were all busy with something. And you left a just-turned-four-year-old child at home, unattended?"
He retorted, "How is that possible? My mom and Serena wouldn’t leave Doris unattended."
Just then, Sophia Kendall hurried in with Serena Sawyer.
Sophia glanced casually at Doris on the bed and asked perfunctorily: "Doris is okay, right?"
Before Timothy could answer, a look of barely contained excitement swept over her face as she walked straight to him.
Not noticing Timothy’s suppressed anger, she took his arm and said: "Timothy, mom has great news to share with you! Serena is pregnant, it’s a boy! A fortune teller just confirmed it; he’s going to be the eldest grandson of The Xavier Family!"
Timothy stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He turned to Serena’s belly and then looked directly at me.
I could only find it laughable.
He found out he was a father again later than I did.
Sophia, oblivious to her son’s discomfort, continued explaining: "I originally didn’t want to say anything, but the fortune teller said Doris has a tough fate, possibly endangering the child in Serena’s belly! That’s why I hurriedly sent Doris back to The Xavier Manor to keep them apart. Who knew this child would be so worrisome, with such poor resistance, constantly getting sick, disturbing everyone’s peace!"
As these words left her mouth, the air in the room felt suddenly frozen.
Serena walked forward, gently holding Timothy’s other arm, softly saying, "Timothy, I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not dissuading mom. I wasn’t comfortable leaving Doris alone, but thankfully, Doris didn’t encounter anything too serious."
Before she finished, Timothy abruptly shook off her hand with such force that Serena staggered backward, luckily Sophia quickly caught her.
"Timothy, are you crazy!" Sophia instantly shielded Serena’s belly, pointing at Timothy, rebuking him, "Serena’s carrying your own son! How can you do that to her? If something happens to my grandson, how would you make it right?"
Timothy’s expression was dark enough to drip water, his eyes filled with fury, staring fiercely at Sophia and Serena, saying word by word: "My child is only Doris!"
Serena’s face turned pale instantly, looking at him incredulously.
Sophia angrily said: "What nonsense are you spouting? Doris is just a girl, how can she inherit The Xavier Family’s assets? Plus, no matter what, she’s Zoe Ellison’s daughter! The saying ’status follows the mother’ holds true, with Zoe’s low status, her daughter surely can’t be our family’s sole heir!"
As I watched her baring teeth and claws like this, I felt as if stuck in a landfill, surrounded by trash, unable to escape.
I silently headed toward the door, needing some fresh air.
At this moment, Serena called out to me, "Miss Ellison, wait! Are you leaving in such a rush because you’re afraid I’ll tell Timothy about what happened yesterday?"
Timothy frowned slightly and asked, "What happened?"
Serena glanced at Sharon Hawthorne beside me and said, "Timothy, Doris suddenly got sick and feverish because she was bullied at the kindergarten yesterday. It was this child Miss Ellison brought who pushed her. In this frigid winter, lying on the cold ground, it’s no wonder Doris caught a fever."
As she said this, a trace of malice surfaced in her eyes as she looked at me, "Miss Ellison, you came here using Doris’s sickness to make Timothy misunderstand me and my mother-in-law; why don’t you dare mention that you let this child bully Doris yesterday?"
Sharon, hearing them speak of herself like that, quickly hid behind me, her small face full of anxiety.
Sophia immediately joined Serena in accusing me, "Indeed, this vile woman, supposed to be Doris’s birth mother, yet biting the hand that feeds, letting other children bully her own daughter. And now, acting as some kind of saint?"
However, Timothy didn’t follow along with Sophia and Serena this time.
His eyes remained cold as he told Sophia, "Right now, Doris is lying unconscious on the hospital bed. Isn’t your concern supposed to be when she’ll wake up? Doris isn’t a tool for your schemes!"
Sophia and Serena’s expressions froze; they hadn’t expected Timothy wouldn’t stand on their side this time.
Clearly, Doris holds a more significant place in Timothy’s heart than they imagined.
