Emptiness is all that remains 4

Before Candace turned in for the night, she heard the sounds of a roaring storm outside. Lightning flashed across the sky while deafening thunder boomed in her ears. Her greatest fear was the sound of thunder, so she hastily put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones before diving into bed. She curled up under the blankets as she waited for the storm to pass. Suddenly, she heard Jamie shrieking from the cot. Suppressing her own fear, she crawled out of bed to check on him. Jamie’s entire body was hot to the touch. His face had flushed a ruddy red, and he kept vomiting milk. Candace’s face twisted as she scooped Jamie into her arms and rushed downstairs to hail a cab to the hospital. Unfortunately, her marital home was located in the suburbs. On top of that, it was storming that night, making it even more difficult for her to hail a cab. She was beyond panicked when she saw a familiar Rolls-Royce driving past her. She could see Shawn and Yelena seated inside. “Stop! Stop the car!” Candace didn’t have the luxury of worrying about the feud she had with Shawn. She ran as quickly as she could toward the car while shielding herself and Jamie from the storm with an umbrella. She hammered her fist against the car window and yelled, “Shawn, let me in! Jamie is having a high fever and needs to go to the hospital now!” Shawn rolled down the car window and stared at her. His tone was icy when he said, “You sly woman. You’re lying to me about the baby being sick because you realized that I refused to go home, huh?” “Jamie really is running a fever!” Sweat poured from Candace’s forehead from how worried she was. Her voice trembled as she said, “Shawn, I’ve never begged you for anything. Please help me this one time! Remember how I took care of you when you were blind for three years? Please send Jamie and me to the hospital. He needs to see a doctor as soon as possible!” “Shawn, it’s not easy to hail a cab during a storm. You should let them in.” Yelena straightened Shawn’s tie for him. She said gently, “The wound on my forehead will heal in the next few days. It’ll be fine.” “You silly woman. Think about all the times Candace hurt you in the past. Why haven’t you learned your lesson yet?” Shawn’s brow furrowed in displeasure. “We need to take Nathan to the hospital for his dental fillings. We don’t have time to waste on her. Start the car!” The car sped off into the distance, splashing muddy water all over Candace’s coat. Her skin was beginning to turn icy. She was so cold that she started to quiver all over, unable to get a word out. It was already terribly cruel that Shawn forgot how deeply he once loved her and only wished for her death these days. But he proved himself a failure of a father tonight by refusing to save his own flesh and blood when he had the opportunity to do so. Powering through her exhaustion, Candace ran to the highway and waved vigorously at the passing cars. Finally, a cab slowed to a stop in front of her. The driver alighted from the car and opened the back door. “Is your child sick? Get in. I’ll take the two of you to the hospital.” “Thank you.” Tears streamed down Candace’s face as she cradled Jamie close to her. “Jamie, you have to stay strong. We’ll be at the hospital soon!” “Miss, your baby looks so small. He’s not even a month old, is he? Where’s your husband? Why is he letting you take care of a baby with a high fever all by yourself when you just gave birth?” the driver asked. “He’s dead,” Candace answered indifferently. The driver looked at her sympathetically. “That’s rough. Here, I have a towel you can use to dry your hair. It’ll be bad if you catch a cold during your postpartum recovery period since you can’t take most medicines.” Candace thanked the driver as she accepted the towel and dried her hair. The driver sped through traffic and soon caught up with Shawn’s Rolls-Royce. The two cars were parallel to each other as they waited for the red light to turn green. Through the window, Candace could see Yelena perched on Shawn’s lap as they shared a passionate kiss. Yelena shot her a provoking look. “Miss, is the man in that car your husband?” the driver asked as he followed Candace’s line of sight. His words were colored with anger when he exclaimed, “That motherfucker isn’t human. His child is so sick, yet he would rather be tangled up with his mistress and leave his wife and child alone. You gave him a son for crying out loud!” “So what if I gave birth to his son? He only likes to take care of children who don’t belong to him. He doesn’t like his own child.” Candace hung her head low and wiped the sweat from Jamie’s armpits and the inside of his elbows. Her tone was tinged with bitterness when she said, “Sir, please drive as fast as you can to the hospital!”