Chapter 5

What? That short sentence left me in shock. I struggled to comprehend what I had just heard. I stared at Steven in disbelief. Hadn't he said he took Zachary to his mom's place? His mom knew about Zachary's health and would never let him eat something that could upset his stomach. So, why was Zachary in the hospital? And more importantly, how did Jessica know about his condition? "Which hospital?" Steven hurriedly picked up the clothes he had dropped and quickly got dressed. Jessica's voice trembled on the phone as she cried out the name of the hospital. Worry for Zachary propelled me to follow Steven as he rushed out. Only then did he notice me. I could sense my expression was dark, teetering on the brink of a meltdown, yet I managed to rein in my anger. He opened the car door and got in, while I slid into the passenger seat beside him. We sat in silence for the entire 20-minute drive. The chaotic thoughts flooding my mind gradually became clearer as the minutes passed. So, Steven had been telling me he and Zachary would sever ties with Jessica while secretly taking Zachary to her. To distract me from noticing something was off, he had even used wanting another child as an excuse to keep me occupied. I turned to look out the window. It seemed like I was the only one in our family who wanted to restore our lives and live well together. Their hearts had already tilted toward Jessica. … When we arrived at the hospital, I dashed straight to the IV room. In the vast space, I spotted Zachary all alone. He was leaning against the wall, clearly asleep. I walked over to him. As I looked at his innocent sleeping face, a mix of anger and sympathy surged within me. He was still so young and unaware of what was good and bad. Those so-called adults knew well enough about his sensitive stomach, yet they still indulged him, causing him to end up in the hospital repeatedly. What infuriated me was that the very person responsible for his hospitalization had left him here alone, indifferent to whether he felt scared or not. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stay calm and sat beside Zachary. I gently propped his head up against me to ensure he was comfortable. "Annalise Jamison! Steven let you be a stay-at-home mom to take care of Zachary, and this is how you do your job?" A sharp accusatory voice sliced through the room. I turned to see Steven's mother, Chloe Ashton, walking toward us. She had just arrived, but to mask her own failures, she felt the need to attack first. "Under your so-called meticulous care, Zachary's stomach problems have been getting worse every few days." Was she trying to shift the blame onto me? Typically, I would endure conflicts with Steven's family, as I didn't want to put him in an awkward position. But Zachary was my bottom line. I couldn't compromise when it came to my child. Fearing I would wake Zachary, I lowered my voice, though anger seeped through. "Chloe, you know who ruined Zachary's stomach more than anyone." "I certainly do," Chloe retorted with a scoff. "Zachary spends most of his time with you. If you took good care of him, his stomach wouldn't be so weak that he ends up in the hospital for eating anything!" I raised my head and locked eyes with her. The frustrations I had bottled up for the entire afternoon finally exploded, and I growled, "But when I took care of Zachary, he never had to go to the hospital for stomach issues." Chloe was rendered speechless. "You..." I pressed on. "Since you mentioned wanting to see Zachary and asked Steven to drop him off at your place after work, his stomach issues have been getting worse. "I warned you both not to give him just anything to eat. And what did you do?" I definitely had my grievances with the Pelhams. But I always thought it wasn't a big deal. Besides, they loved Zachary, so I figured a simple conversation would be enough. I believed they would pay more attention and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. As it turned out, I had overestimated them. "Not only did you ignore my warnings, but you also sent Zachary to Jessica! You let him develop a bond with that homewrecker! It was the same story today! "Steven came home and told me he'd sent Zachary to your place. Just a few hours later, he was at Jessica's place, throwing up and suffering from diarrhea, and even ended up in the hospital! And then what?" I recalled the moment I had seen Zachary alone in the hospital and felt a wave of sadness wash over me. "Jessica just walked away after bringing him here. She left this little kid all by himself." Chloe opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but she couldn't find the words. "Chloe." I struggled to speak. "I know you look down on me. I understand you only accept Jessica as your daughter-in-law. "If you want to hate me or make my life miserable, that's one thing. But Zachary is your grandson, and he's still so young. He can't handle this kind of chaos!" Chloe seemed taken aback that I, her usually gentle daughter-in-law, would dare to argue back. Just as she was about to teach me a lesson, Steven rushed in, cutting her off, "Enough, Mom." He had always unconditionally stood on my side during conflicts with his family. This was one of the reasons I had loved him so deeply. Silenced by Steven, Chloe's anger bubbled up. "You brat! Didn't you hear how she just spoke to me?" Steven's expression hardened as he stood beside me. "Did she say anything wrong?" Chloe was at a loss for words. Steven continued, "I made it clear that I wouldn't be in contact with Jessica again, yet you still sent Zachary to her. This has started to affect our marriage." Upon hearing that, I looked at him in surprise. He had been unaware of this situation? Chloe seemed to have a lot to say but ultimately held her tongue. She just shot me a venomous glare. I couldn't focus on her at all, as my attention was fully on Zachary. After some thought, I decided to make it clear. "Chloe, I won't be sending Zachary to you anymore from now on." I didn't know when Jessica had started interacting with Zachary, but I hoped from today onward, there would be no more contact between them. I would also make sure to spend more time with Zachary, offering him guidance and support. With enough patience, he would become the healthy, kind child he once was. Chloe immediately opposed, "No way!" I was simply informing her of my decision. Her disapproval would not change my mind. Noticing that I wasn't responding, Chloe looked to Steven for support. He replied, "I support Annalise's decision." "You two…" Chloe was furious but could do nothing about it. The standoff dragged on until she finally realized that neither of us would back down. Finally, she stormed out in frustration. In the expansive IV room, only the three of us remained. I held Zachary close, while Steven sat next to me. Zachary was still peacefully asleep until we had to remove the IV. Suddenly, he stirred awake and blinked at me with confused eyes. I gently patted his back and spoke softly, "Don't be afraid, sweetie. I'm here." Zachary pouted, clearly displeased. "It's all your fault. Why did you have to come here?" Maybe it was the nurturing instinct of motherhood that made me find him adorable even when he was sulking. "Don't you want me to be here?" "Of course not," Zachary replied without thinking. "If you hadn't come, Ms. Jessie would definitely stay here with me."