Rejection? I Don't Love You Either!

Chapter 5 - Ethan Graham Taylor

"Your phone's blowing up. You gonna answer that?" the redhead next to him asked, giving Graham a sultry look.

How long had they been hooking up? When did they both jump on the cheating bandwagon? She was his assistant, no guilt whatsoever about getting down and dirty with a married man. Yeah, she knew about the flashy wedding of Robert Graham and Alice Taylor – who didn't? It was the talk of the town.

Robert didn't give a damn about his wife. As long as she stayed put in the house he left her in, he was cool with it. He had her under his thumb, scared to rebel. That's all he wanted – Alice realizing she was just a pawn in his game, unable to escape.

"I know what it's about. My wife popped out a kid or something," he said, zero interest or joy in his voice about his newborn. Alice, the baby – none of it excited him.

"Congrats, now you're a dad," the elegant young woman mocked. "Aren't you planning to visit your kid and wife?" she asked, his hands on her bare breasts.

His fingers tightened, squeezing. "Miss out on this? Nah," he replied, planting a kiss on her.

"Trust me, I'm better off here. I love the way you welcome me, how you open up for me. And now, I love how you moan for me, Dayana, you're a goddess," he lost himself in her, making her moan. Forgetting everything in her pleasures was exactly what he wanted, what she wanted – to replace Alice.

She thought she had him wrapped around her finger, leaving his wife and family behind. While Robert knew his wife and kid were in the hospital, he saw it as payback for Alice's pride and the fact that she didn't enjoy s*x with him. By locking her up, he made sure they didn't see each other until he figured out who that other man was. He couldn't let Alice see him, had to know who he was, a nightly torment.

Dayana gave him what Alice couldn't. She made him feel satisfied, erasing Alice's stiffness in bed. He still couldn't figure out why he desired someone like Alice, with no appeal other than her face.

But his phone kept ringing – son born premature, critical condition, doubts about survival.

(...)

"Here's Ethan. He's here," the nurse said, placing him in his young mother's arms.

Alice cradled the tiny being, eyes closed, hands joined, hardly moving. Small and thin, pale skin, golden hair – a Taylor through and through.

News they didn't want to give the new mom – Ethan was not well, worse than believed. At the Taylors' insistence, her son was brought to her so Alice could at least see him, have a good memory, feel his warmth, be close in case something happened.

She touched his face, fingers gliding over his fine, soft skin. She cried, realizing she loved him, adored him – never thought she needed him until she saw his face.

Ethan lazily opened his eyes, blues fixed on his mother. Alice smiled, kissing his forehead, hands, and little fingers. Despite the tears, it was happiness – she wasn't alone anymore, had her son, Ethan, who kept her company in that cold, lonely house.

By his side, nothing else mattered.

"Be happy, Alice. It's your son," her mom beamed, watching her daughter hold little Ethan in her arms, all innocent and full of joy.

They snapped a quick photo, and then the family left them alone, just before they had to take Ethan away again.

"I love you," she said, pouring all the love she could into those few words. "Ethan, I love you. You'll have a mom who's gonna shower you with all the love in the world. I'll take good care of you 'cause you're my heart, my beautiful son. You're the only one who's got me. You dig your name, huh? You like it?" She planted a kiss on his forehead and then pressed her face to his. "You're so darn soft, and you smell like a whole lotta love. I know you're gonna love me too, I just know it."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Graham," the nurse interrupted after a few minutes. "We gotta take the baby. You need to leave and get some rest. Doctor's orders."

"Sure, I get it," but she didn't wanna let go. With a heavy heart, Alice said goodbye to her son, clueless it'd be the last time she'd see him alive, the last time she could hold, kiss, talk to, or even see him.

Five hours later, on that cold November Tuesday morning, rain pouring down, Ethan Graham Taylor passed away. The nurse watched as the little one's life slipped away, doctors' attempts futile. It was expected, and it happened.

He was gone.

The Taylor family was devastated, despite the prediction since Ethan's birth. A short-lived fruit of a young marriage, that sweet gaze extinguished too soon.

Sofia found Alice asleep in her room. She gently touched her peaceful face, not wanting to wake her. But as she was about to leave, Alice opened her eyes.

"Sofi? You leaving?" she asked in a hoarse voice, rubbing her eyes, reaching for the light. She noticed her sister's wet face, tears shed for her lost nephew, and the sadness she knew it would bring.

"Alice..." Sofia approached slowly, not wanting to drop the bomb, but words weren't needed. Alice saw her sister's face, and she knew something terrible had happened.

"Where's my baby?" She clung to the sheets, body going numb, already crying. "Where is he, Sofia? My son, my Ethan. I want them to bring him here."

"Alice..."

"I wanna see my son! I want them to bring him here! Now!" Her parents rushed in, along with her sisters and the nurse, at the sound of her screams.

"He's gone." When Sofia said those words, Alice's face darkened, pain tearing through her. She laid her head on the bed, her body still, tears stopped. She just stared at the ceiling, crushed inside, unable to say more. Ethan's death had taken everything from her – her being, her spirit, leaving behind an empty shell incapable of shedding more tears.

Alice Taylor crumbled from within at the loss of her son, whom she could only hold once. Happiness vanished, leaving her with nothing. That moment of joy was too fleeting, too damn short-lived.