Chapter 8 Can't Sleep Without Her
Daniel drove without thinking, the hum of the engine filling the silence inside the car. By the time he snapped back to awareness, he was already turning into the gated drive of Regal Estate.
The villa loomed ahead, swallowed in darkness. Not a single light was on.
A flicker of regret twisted in his gut. He shouldn't have come back… but he was already here. He pushed the door open, stepped out into the cool night air, and crossed into the entryway.
Since the wedding, he hadn't returned often. But every time he did, the house had been lit warmly from within, Scarlett rushing toward him with a smile that could melt winter, asking if he'd eaten, if he was cold, if he was tired.
Back then, he'd thought he wasn't used to a woman waiting for him like that. Now, he realized he was far less accustomed to this—an empty house, cold and still, the kind of silence that seeped into bone.
Cold enough to freeze the heart.
"Mr. Wilson? I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be coming back tonight…"
Light spilled across the foyer as Jane, having heard the sound of his car, hurried in from the side building. She looked puzzled—why had Daniel been sitting in the dark? Her voice was cautious.
"Mr. Wilson, have you had dinner? I could make you something."
Daniel was already climbing the sweeping staircase, his back to her.
"No. Go get some rest."
He pushed open the master bedroom door. The room was spotless, exactly as it had always been.
Except for one thing—the absence of Scarlett's slender figure. The space felt hollow without her. His gaze swept the room and landed on the vanity.
Two pieces of jewelry lay there in perfect stillness.
The diamond studs. And their wedding ring.
They caught the light, gleaming with a beauty that felt almost cruel, unwanted, abandoned.
Daniel let out a low, humorless laugh, muttering under his breath.
"Impossible to please…"
She hadn't just refused to be soothed—she'd clawed at him on her way out.
Now he believed it: Scarlett had truly made up her mind to divorce him.
His phone buzzed. Tom's name lit the screen.
"Mr. Daniel Wilson, Mr. Elliot Wilson's condition has taken a turn for the worse. The entire medical team has been called in. You should come and speak to them directly."
Daniel arrived at the hospital and spent the night in tense conversation with the doctors. By the time they finished, it was past midnight.
He stood at the window, shoulders tight, staring out at the city lights. He hadn't expected Elliot's illness to be this stubborn. The words of the medical team weighed heavily on him.
The matter with the condoms… maybe he'd misunderstood Scarlett. The thought of her, storming away from Regal Estate, made him pinch the bridge of his nose.
Elsewhere, deep in the quiet of the night, Scarlett stirred in her sleep as her phone buzzed repeatedly.
She rolled over, reached for it, and blinked at the screen. A message from Daniel—no, a photo.
Opening Facebook, she saw it: Daniel's long, strong fingers turning a pair of diamond studs, the wedding ring on his hand catching the light alongside them, the image steeped in an odd intimacy.
[ I'll keep these for you. ]
[ Tell me when you're coming back. I'll come get you. ]
Scarlett stared, caught off guard. She'd expected him to be furious after the slap—at the very least, to ignore her completely.
Her lips curled in a wry smile. She had waited for him at Regal Estate every day in the past, and he'd barely come home a handful of times in a year.
Now that she'd left, he'd gone back there himself.
Sleepless without her? Who was he trying to fool?
She shut down Facebook quickly, as if afraid of catching some vile contagion.
Just then, a headline popped up—Daniel and Alice at the airport, returning together. Alice wasn't a major celebrity, yet the story had somehow stayed on the trending list for weeks. No need to guess—it was paid promotion.
And Daniel had to be cooperating.
Scarlett's chest tightened with irritation. She tossed the phone back onto the nightstand, turned over, and pulled the blanket up, willing herself back to sleep.
The next morning.
Scarlett finished her tutoring session and returned to her small apartment. She cooked a few simple dishes before heading to see Elliot.
She asked the house staff to make sure Elliot ate, then went in search of his primary doctor.
Magnolia's health was fragile. Likely afraid Scarlett would be upset, the doctor had kept his words vague, calling it a common cold.
Scarlett pressed him, and only then did he relent, explaining the real situation.
Leaving the office, she nearly collided with Blair, who had just arrived.
Blair nodded once—a rare courtesy—and said, "Come with me to the café across the street."
Scarlett followed. They sat facing each other. Blair didn't waste time.
"You know about Elliot's illness now. I also know you overheard me speaking with Orla that night."
Scarlett nodded, about to offer some words of comfort, when Blair continued.
"You and Daniel need to hurry up and have a child."
Scarlett froze. Blair's tone left no room for discussion—whether or not to have a child had never been Scarlett's decision to make.
But that life… she'd already endured enough of it.
"I'm not having a child with Daniel. I just spoke to the doctor—he told me about Elliot's condition."
Elliot's illness hadn't reached the point of needing a bone marrow transplant. Even if it were urgent, there was no time to conceive and deliver a child. And even if she did, the odds of a successful match were slim.
Medicine was advancing fast. Leukemia was no longer untreatable. And the Wilson family had resources that could bend the rules of the world.
Blair was acting out of panic, fixated on the wrong solution.
If having a child were truly the only way to save Elliot, Scarlett's bond with him was strong enough that she would have done it—no manipulation required.
"Be quiet! You will have this child!" Blair snapped, then softened her tone.
"Don't worry. I won't let you do it for nothing. One hundred million dollars if the child is born, three hundred million if the match is successful. Even a single transfusion will be compensated separately. If you get pregnant, I can advance twenty million immediately."
Blair stirred her coffee with elegance, certain Scarlett couldn't refuse such an offer.
Scarlett's fingers felt cold. In Blair's words, her child wasn't a grandchild—it was a tool, something to be used and discarded. Just like Scarlett herself.
Her grip tightened on her skirt. In her mind, she saw Natalia walking away from the Wilson family with a payout, Blair's disdain sharp as glass.
"How could Daniel be fooled by a woman like that?"
"Mrs. Wilson, don't be angry—it was only twenty thousand dollars. Like tossing coins to a beggar."
The bitter memory made Scarlett stand abruptly.
"To be honest, my relationship with Daniel is over. We're already in the middle of a divorce. You're fifty-two, Mrs. Wilson—you haven't gone through menopause yet, have you? If you think a baby is the only way to save your son, maybe you should try yourself. This kind of thing… you really should rely on yourself, don't you think?"
She picked up her bag and walked out, leaving Blair frozen, disbelief etched across her face.
Orla hurried over from another table.
"Mrs. Blair Wilson, what happened? Did Mrs. Scarlett Wilson upset you again?"
"All the Wilson family's kindness was wasted on her. Even a dog knows how to be loyal to its master! She's defying us—spinning lies about divorce just to dodge having a child!"
Scarlett's steps faltered for a moment, then grew even more resolute.
She returned to the hospital and opened the door to Elliot's room. Laughter spilled out—Magnolia and Daniel were inside.
Seeing Scarlett, Magnolia waved her over.
"Scarlett, come here! Why do you only cook for Elliot? Don't I deserve a meal from you too?"
Magnolia pointed at the food, pouting like a child denied candy.
Eighty-something Magnolia, acting like a little girl.
Scarlett smiled, looping her arm through Magnolia's.
"Whatever you want to eat, Grandma, I'll make it for you."
"I know. This meat you made today is delicious—Grandma's craving it."
Elliot picked up a piece and offered it to Magnolia. Before she could eat, Scarlett caught the scent and turned away abruptly, gagging.
Magnolia's eyes lit up. She slapped Daniel's arm.
"Daniel! Is Scarlett pregnant? Why haven't you told me such wonderful news?"
Scarlett took a deep breath, steadying herself, and turned—straight into Daniel's deep, unreadable gaze.