Chapter 0041
+25 BONUS
William’s POV:
I quickly hung up with the hacker, my irritation mounting like the rising tide. This frustrating trend was becoming an unfortunate pattern with ine. The more the Caroline situation was dragged out, the more short–tempered I would get with the world around me.
A
I would get unreasonably angry at my subordinates, which I initially thought was just from work stress, but no. I even had a nasty argument with Sophia at one point. It was the first time I had ever lost my temper with her, and deep shame had overcome me at the sight of her betrayed look.
One day, I came home, stressed after a long day, only to hear the sound of George crying. He was wailing in his room with no signs of stopping, and when I rushed to see him, I realized that he was still in his cradle, left horribly alone.
I called out for anyone to come help comfort my son, but the home was eerily quiet. Where was the maid? Where was Sophia for that matter? Why would they let a baby stay at home alone?
Taking George into my arms, I caringly quieted him down and frustratedly searched the house. “Sophia, are you here?” I called again, but I got no response.
Hurriedly checking in our bedroom, I saw that it looked like it had been hit with a hurricane, with Sophia’s clothes strewn about everyone. I confusedly peered into the kitchen and I noticed that the sink was disgustingly piled high with dishes. Why wasn’t the maid doing her job?
George began to cry in my arms again, and to my frustration, I couldn’t get him to stop again. He must have been hungry, but I didn’t know where his powdered milk was.
I was overwhelmed with annoyance. I’d had a stressful day at work and came home to find my son home alone, and I didn’t even know where his food was. Everything was a disaster.
With George crying in my arms, I tried to call for Sophia directly, but to my growing anger, she didn’t answer. My patience had completely worn thin and I was at the end of my rope. I carelessly tossed my phone aside, focusing on George’s wailing. How did I get him to stop crying?
My mind drifted back to the way Caroline had miraculously gotten George to stop crying when Sophia and I failed. She would have been such a wonderful mother. If only our baby had
survived…
No, what was I thinking? George was my only son and I was happy that way. I couldn’t let painful thoughts of my own lost child get in the way of caring for my baby boy.
Barring the painful memories from my mind, I decided to speak to him like Caroline had so lovingly spoken to her belly many times.
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Chapter 0041
“Hey, little guy,” I crooned, rubbing my hand gently over his head. “It’s going to be okay. Daddy’s here.”
George tearfully whined and squirmed in his swaddling, but finally started to settle down. He still looked hungry, but the gentle comfort kept the crying at bay.
I heard the front door suddenly open and I sighed in relief. At last, someone could help me find George’s food. I marched to the front entrance with lingering frustration, only to see Sophia with a tired look on her face. “Sophia!”
Sophia yelped in surprise and looked over at me with confusingly wide eyes. She even looked a bit frightened to see me. “William!” she greeted, her voice tinged with nervousness, “weren’t you working late tonight?”
“We shelved the project for tomorrow,” I replied, exhausted. “Why is nobody home? Where’s the maid?”
“Oh, I fired her,” Sophia replied very matter–of–factly.
I gawked in bewilderment. “Fired? Why would you fire her?”
The love of my life scoffed in indignance. “She offended me,” she explained, a sneer tugging at her soft lips. “She called Caroline ‘Mrs. Anderson‘, did you know that? How should I be expected to take that? I told her to get out. I’m going to be your wife, after all, aren’t I?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in rising impatience while rocking George in my other arm. Listen, I know she made a mistake, but you can’t just fire her! She helps watch our child, and George was left all alone. Where were you, anyway?”
Sophia looked offended that I was rightfully putting the blame on her all of the sudden. “I was just going out for a walk!” she excused. “I didn’t know that George would start crying in such a short amount of time.”
I could feel my frustration with Sophia rising by the second. “You shouldn’t have left him alone! The house is a mess because you fired the staff without my permission. What were you thinking?”
Tears brimmed in Sofia’s eyes and she looked shocked that I was speaking to her so angrily. William, you’ve been acting more and more strangely over the past few days,” she whispered, messily wiping away her tears. “You’ve never treated me like this before!”
My heart melted at the sight of my love crying. “Hey, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk to you like that.” I caringly reached out to her, but she turned her head and snatched George out of my arms.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, holding our whining baby close. “Just give me some space. We both need time to calm down.”
I silently watched her leave, my heart warring with itself. I didn’t know whether to be rightfully frustrated or apologetic for speaking to her like I had. The exhaustion over the
2/3
+25 BONUS
whole situation was too overwhelming.
To my surprise, I got a text on my phone. Who was messaging me at this time of night? My interest was piqued when I saw it was from the hacker I’d hired.
“Mr. Anderson, I searched the hospital and found Caroline’s ward number. Apparently she’s still there at this moment. It seems like one specific doctor has been looking after her all this time.”
3
