Too Late Mr. Sterling

Chapter 6

Elowen's POV

"I'm done with this," Alistair said coldly. "I agreed to play along for a month, but I'm already regretting every second of it."

I stood there with my hands clenched tightly at my sides, trying to control my anger. "She's your daughter, Alistair. How can you talk about her like this?"

He gave a bitter laugh.

"I never asked for her."

His words hit me harder than I expected, and for a moment, I could not speak.

But Alistair was not finished.

"None of this means anything to me. You and I are not a family, Elowen. I never wanted this marriage, and I never wanted this life. You were a mistake I was forced to live with, and Maisie was part of that mistake."

I stared at him in disbelief.

He continued without showing any regret.

"The only reason I agreed to spend time with her was because you promised that after her birthday, you would sign the divorce papers. I kept my side of the agreement, and once you sign those papers, I won't have to see you or Maisie again."

My heart shattered.

I wanted to scream at him, but before I could say anything, I heard a soft sound behind me.

A small gasp.

I turned around.

Maisie was standing there.

She had heard everything.

Her eyes were wide, and her face had gone completely pale. She looked at her father as if she could not understand how the man she had been so happy to have around her could say such cruel things about her.

"Maisie..."

I stepped towards her.

Alistair turned too, and the anger disappeared from his face the moment he saw her.

But it was too late.

Maisie shook her head, turned around and ran.

"Maisie!"

I ran after her, with Alistair following behind me.

She did not get very far before her steps became unsteady. She reached a bench near the side of the building, grabbed it for support and suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

I rushed to her and dropped to my knees.

"Maisie! Baby, look at Mommy."

She did not respond.

Her body began shaking violently.

My heart stopped.

"No..."

I looked at Alistair in horror.

"She's having a seizure."

He stood frozen for a second, as if his mind could not process what he was seeing.

"Alistair!"

My voice broke as I screamed his name.

"She's having a seizure! Help me!"

He finally moved.

"Pick her up," I cried. "We need to get her to the hospital now!"

Alistair scooped Maisie into his arms and rushed towards the car. I followed him, my hands shaking so badly that I could barely open the door.

The moment we got inside, I pulled Maisie against my chest.

"Stay with me, baby. Please stay with me."

Her body was still trembling, and her breathing sounded weak.

Alistair started the car and drove as fast as he could towards the hospital.

I kept whispering Maisie's name, brushing her hair away from her face and begging her to open her eyes.

"Come on, sweetheart. Mommy is here. Please open your eyes."

She did not respond.

Then Alistair's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

It was Seraphina.

He hesitated before answering.

"I can't talk right now," he said quickly.

The call was on speaker, so I could hear Seraphina clearly.

"Alistair, you need to come back immediately. Something happened to Ottilie."

His grip tightened around the steering wheel.

"What happened?"

"She fell down the stairs at the hotel. She's bleeding, and she won't stop crying. I don't know what to do. Please come back."

I stared at Alistair in disbelief.

He suddenly slowed down.

Then he stopped the car.

"No," I whispered.

He looked straight ahead.

"I have to go back."

My heart dropped.

"What?"

"Ottilie is hurt."

I held Maisie tighter.

"Alistair, are you serious? Look at your daughter!"

Maisie's breathing had become weaker.

"She's barely breathing properly. We need to get her to the hospital."

"I know."

"Then drive!"

He shook his head.

"I have to go back."

I stared at him.

"Are you insane? Maisie is sick. She is having a seizure, and you are talking about turning around because Ottilie fell down some stairs?"

His face hardened.

"She's faking it."

I could not believe what I had just heard.

"What?"

"She's doing this because I told her to apologise."

My eyes filled with tears.

"How can you say that?"

He looked at me through the mirror.

"She is just like you. Whenever she doesn't get what she wants, she knows how to make me feel guilty."

"You bastard!"

I broke down crying.

"She's not pretending! Look at her! She's barely conscious!"

Alistair turned the car around.

"Please," I begged. "If you ever cared about her, even a little, take her to the hospital."

He said nothing.

I kept crying.

"Alistair, please. She is your daughter."

He suddenly pulled the car to the side of the road.

Then he turned towards me.

"Get out."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"I said get out."

My mouth fell open.

He unlocked the doors.

"Ottilie is hurt, and I don't have time for this drama."

I looked at him as though I was seeing a stranger.

"This isn't drama. Your daughter is dying."

His expression remained cold.

"Take your daughter somewhere else."

I could not believe he was doing this.

I climbed out of the car with Maisie in my arms, still crying and begging him to stop.

"Alistair, please!"

He drove away.

I stood in the middle of the roadside, watching his car disappear.

"Please come back!"

My voice broke as I ran after him for a few steps, but I could not keep up while carrying Maisie.

I dropped to my knees, holding her tightly against my chest.

Then I felt a small hand touch my cheek.

I froze.

Maisie's fingers were trembling.

"Mommy..."

"I'm here, baby."

I pressed her closer to me.

"I'm here. I've got you."

Her eyes opened slightly.

I smiled through my tears.

"You're going to be okay. We're going to the hospital, and Dr. Hale will help you."

Maisie slowly shook her head.

"I know Daddy doesn't love me."

My heart broke.

"Don't say that."

She looked at me with tired eyes.

"Not like he loves Ottilie."

Tears rolled down my face.

"Please don't think like that, baby."

"It's okay."

Her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear her.

"I just wanted it to be true."

I hugged her tightly and tried to keep her warm.

"You are loved, Maisie. You are loved by me more than anything in this world."

She rested her head against my chest.

"I know I'm sick, Mommy."

I stopped breathing for a moment.

She continued quietly.

"I always knew something was wrong. I just didn't want to tell you because I knew you would be sad."

My tears fell faster.

"I didn't want you to cry all the time," she whispered. "I just wanted to see you smile more."

I covered my mouth as a sob escaped.

"Oh, baby..."

Maisie lifted her hand and touched my face again.

"You have to promise me something."

"Anything."

I held her hand against my cheek.

"Promise me you'll be happy again."

I shook my head as tears continued to fall.

"Maisie..."

"Promise me."

I could barely speak.

"I promise."

"Even if you have to leave Daddy?"

I nodded.

"Yes."

"Even if you meet someone else who loves you properly?"

My heart broke at the innocence in her voice.

"I promise, baby."

Maisie gave me a weak smile.

"Good."

Her eyes slowly closed.

I waited for her to open them again.

She didn't.

"Maisie?"

I touched her cheek.

"Baby?"

There was no response.

My heart began pounding.

"No."

I shook her gently.

"Maisie, wake up."

Nothing.

"No, no, no."

I pulled her against me.

"Maisie!"

I screamed her name until my throat hurt.

"Please wake up!"

I tried calling Alistair, but he did not answer. I called again and again, but every attempt went unanswered.

I had never felt so helpless in my life.

I lifted Maisie into my arms and started walking.

I did not care that I had lost one of my shoes somewhere on the road. I did not care that my feet hurt or that people were staring at me. All I could think about was getting my daughter to the hospital.

"Please hold on, baby."

I kept walking.

"Mommy is taking you to Dr. Hale. He will help you."

My arms were shaking from exhaustion, but I refused to put her down.

When I finally reached the hospital, I rushed through the entrance with Maisie in my arms.

"Help us!"

Doctors and nurses came running towards me.

"She's not responding," I cried. "Please, please help my daughter."

Dr. Edmund Hale rushed out when he heard the commotion.

"Elowen, put her on the bed."

I did as he said.

The medical team immediately surrounded Maisie and began working on her.

I stood there crying, praying and begging them not to give up.

"Please save her."

Dr. Hale did not answer.

He kept working.

Minutes passed.

Then more minutes.

I watched the doctors move around my daughter, trying everything they could.

"Please," I whispered.

Finally, Dr. Hale stopped.

He looked at me.

I knew from his expression before he even spoke.

"No..."

He slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Elowen."

My knees gave way.

"No."

I looked towards the bed.

Maisie was lying there so peacefully that it did not seem real.

"She's just sleeping."

Dr. Hale lowered his eyes.

"Elowen..."

"No!"

I rushed towards my daughter and grabbed her hand.

"Maisie, wake up."

She did not move.

I held her cold hand against my face and cried until I could no longer breathe.

My daughter was gone.

And the man who had promised to be her father had left her when she needed him most.