Chapter 3 The Child Between Them
903 Words
"Whose child is this?" Lydia asked, her hand trembling as she pointed at the child.
The child shrank behind Willa, too frightened to speak.
Willa stepped forward, shielding the child, and stood beside Shawn, wiping tears from her face. "This is my child with Shawn. I only realized I was pregnant after you left three years ago. I know I shouldn't appear in front your door now."
"But the child is innocent!" Willa's voice rose, desperation breaking through. "Lydia, please forgive me. For the child's sake, just forgive me."
She reached for Lydia's hand, but Lydia slapped her across the face.
"Ah!" Willa screamed, clutching her cheek and stumbling to the floor. A clear handprint marked her face.
"Lydia! What are you doing?" Shawn roared, dropping to his knees to check on Willa.
Willa lay in his arms, crying.
"What am I doing?" Lydia said calmly, her gaze on them. "I'm slapping this despicable woman. That slap was owed to me three years ago."
"I paid your rent when you had nowhere to go. I was the one who helped you get a job when nobody would give you a chance. And this is how you repay me? You slept with Shawn. And now you've shown up here with a child? Willa, how can you be this shameless?"
Lydia had thought she was past caring. She'd thought there was nothing Shawn and Willa could do that would still surprise her. Looking at them now, she realized she'd been wrong. The two of them had even fewer boundaries than she'd given them credit for.
"Enough!" Shawn snapped. He shot Lydia an impatient look before helping Willa back to her feet. "You hit her. Isn't that enough? No matter what we did, it's been three years. How long are you going to keep this going?"
Willa leaned against him and looked at Lydia with open provocation.
"I'm the one keeping this going?" Lydia let out a laugh. "Right. Of course I am."
She rose to her feet, but Shawn immediately grabbed her arm. Lydia was still recovering from years of illness and couldn't match his strength.
"As long as I'm here, you're not touching Willa."
"Shawn!"
The next moment, Willa cried out and lurched forward.
Two screams rang out almost at the same time.
Willa fell straight into Shawn's arms. Lydia was knocked hard to the floor.
"Lyd!"
Panic flashed across Shawn's face. He let go of Willa and rushed over to Lydia.
The look in Willa's eyes darkened instantly.
"Lyd, are you okay?"
Shawn crouched beside her and tried to help her up.
The fall had hit her harder than it should have. Her head was spinning, every part of her body ached, and she could feel the sting of scraped skin somewhere on her arm. She was about to answer when Willa suddenly screamed.
"Eli!"
The child in her arms had his eyes closed.
"Eli! What's wrong? Eli, wake up! Don't do this to me!"
Shawn looked between them before saying hurriedly, "Wait here."
Lydia lifted a hand as if to stop him, but he'd already picked up the child.
"Something's wrong with him. I'm taking him to the hospital."
Then he left without another word.
Willa followed close behind. Before she walked out the door, she turned back and gave Lydia a small, satisfied smile.
Lydia knew exactly what that smile meant.
'I win again.'
But she no longer had the energy to care.
The only thing that mattered now was whether the body she'd fought so hard to recover had been injured.
Holding onto the edge of a table, she forced herself to stand despite the dizziness. The house was empty. There was no one left to help her.
In the end, she called a cab herself, went to the hospital herself, and completed every examination alone.
While waiting for the results, Lydia admitted something she hadn't wanted to face.
She was afraid.
Afraid she'd been hurt.
Afraid she'd end up back where she'd started.
When the doctor finally arrived with the test results, he gave her a reassuring nod.
"There's nothing serious. Just be careful with stress and try not to get too worked up. It won't help your recovery."
Lydia nodded and turned to leave, only to spot Shawn down the hall.
He was carrying a stack of paperwork, moving back and forth with obvious urgency.
"Lyd?"
He froze when he saw her, then hurried over and grabbed her shoulders.
"Are you okay? I was upset back there. I shouldn't have reacted like that."
Lydia looked at him and was surprised to find she felt almost nothing.
After the scare she'd just been through, something in her seemed to have settled.
Seeing that she wasn't responding, Shawn relaxed slightly.
"I'm glad you're okay. Eli hasn't been doing well lately. We've been at the hospital constantly."
He watched her expression carefully before continuing.
"I was thinking maybe Willa and Eli could stay with us for a while."
Lydia suddenly laughed. She wasn't laughing at Shawn. She wasn't laughing at Willa.
Neither of them mattered enough anymore. She was laughing at herself.
She had spent three years fighting to get her life back. Why should she let either of them ruin it now?
Calmly, she removed Shawn's hand from her shoulder and pulled a document from her bag.
The divorce papers.
She held them out to him.
"Shawn, let's get divorced."
- Writer
