Chapter 188: No Choice But to Give Up
“No, I want to go with Mummy! I don’t want to stay home alone!” Ethan protested, his heart filled with fear and guilt over Sophia’s disappearance.
“No, Ethan. Stay home and be good. The nanny will play with you.” She couldn’t take Ethan with her — he looked too much like Jack and Aidan. If anyone saw him, it could cause unnecessary trouble. Besides, she wasn’t feeling well today. She might not even be able to take care of herself, let alone Ethan.
“Mummy, are you abandoning me?” Ethan burst into tears.
“No, sweetie. Mummy will bring you a present when I get back, okay?”
“No! I don’t want anything! I just want Mummy and Sophia!” Ethan’s crying intensified — this was his first meltdown.
At that moment, Aidan spoke up. “Alison, take him with you.”
“Aidan, that’s not appropriate. People will misunderstand.” She was worried.
“It’s fine. I’ll be there,” Aidan reassured her.
“Aidan, it really won’t work. People will gossip,” Alison insisted.
Seeing this, Ethan settled for a compromise. “Mummy, I’ll go with you, but when we get there, I’ll just sit in Godfather’s car and wait for you. I won’t get out, okay?”
She nodded and instructed the nanny, “Get out the new outfit I bought for his birthday a few days ago. Hurry and change him into it.”
Soon, Ethan was dressed in his new outfit.
His eyes brimming with hope, he said, “Mummy, Sophia will come back to celebrate my birthday, right? She said she’d even draw a picture for you. Mummy, Sophia will definitely come back.”
“Let’s go.” Alison brushed aside his words. Before they found Sophia, nothing was certain.
Aidan desperately wanted to ask Alison if she was hiding something, but he held his tongue.
The mother and son climbed back into Aidan’s Volvo, but this time, Sophia’s cheerful voice was absent.
The car felt stiflingly heavy, almost suffocating.
Ethan snuggled into Alison’s embrace and whispered, “Mummy, can I hear your heartbeat?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Alison replied gently.
“Sophia said that no matter where we go, we can always hear each other’s heartbeats. Mummy,” Ethan said earnestly.
Alison stroked Ethan’s head and said, “Then listen carefully. If you hear your sister’s heartbeat, tell Mummy, okay?”
“Okay.” Ethan grew truly serious, listening intently to the sounds around him.
The car soon arrived at the hotel.
From a distance, Alison could see the bride and groom standing at the entrance, welcoming guests.
Her eyes welled up. She wondered what expression Jack would wear when he saw her appear with Aidan.
Would he feel heartache? Just like when I saw him with Aimée at the hospital?
The car drove into the car park.
“Mummy, do I really have to stay in the car?” Ethan asked.
“Do you want to go with Mummy, right?” Alison asked.
Ethan nodded, asking, “Can I?”
“Let’s go.” She thought perhaps their three appearances would enable him to marry Aimée in peace. Then she could ask Aimée to return Sophia. She had originally considered disrupting the wedding because she disliked Aimée, but for Sophia’s sake, she now had to let it be.
“Aidan, you go first. I need to speak with Ethan,” she instructed.
“Alright.” Without hesitation, Aidan stepped out.
Alison pulled out her phone and dialed Aimée.
Aimée stepped towards the nearby flowerbed, picking up. “Alison, are you here?”
“Yeah, just arrived.”
“Where’s Aidan?” Aimée pressed.
“He’s outside the car. I’ll be right out,” Alison replied.
Over the phone, Aimée threatened, “You must appear before us with your arm linked through Aidan’s. Otherwise, you know what happens…” Sophia’s disappearance felt like a divine gift for her to pressure Alison. From Aimée’s tone, Alison was certain that Sophia was in her hands.
“As long as Jack marries you, you’ll let us go, right?” she asked.
Aimée replied with a satisfied smile, “Of course.”