Maybe because I was always too accommodating, but this time, I didn't want to swallow my pride.
I said firmly, "No, you have to come home with me tonight."
Alex got impatient, standing up abruptly to scold me, "Grace, how can you be so unreasonable? If Emily hadn't taken that knife for me, I'd be the one lying in that bed!"
"And what about me? I rushed here the moment I heard. You've been taking care of her for days. I'm not stopping you, but can't you spend some time with me? I've been so nauseous."
Emily sobbed, "Alex, you should go. Ethan is here. He can take care of me."
"Stop saying that, Ethan is too young to take care of anyone!" Alex shouted, emotionally strained.
He pointed at me, clutching his chest dramatically, "Grace, I thought you were grateful to Emily too. But you're just being selfish."
"Go home and think about this. Take the pancake with you."
A little boy beside him looked up innocently and said, "Daddy, I'm hungry."
Alex glanced at the pancake in my hands. I looked at him incredulously, gripping the container tighter.
"Grace, you're not going to hold a grudge against a child, are you?"
Meeting his gaze, I placed the pancake on the table, forcing a smile. "Of course not."
Alex's expression softened. He picked up Ethan. "Auntie Grace made this pancake for you. See how it tastes."
I quietly left the room. As I closed the door, I saw Emily's triumphant smile.
I realized then our peaceful life was about to get complicated.
Purposely closing the door with a bang, I hoped he might come after me.
But he didn't. Maybe he was lost in the happiness of another little boy calling him "Daddy."
Standing in the dark night, I held my stomach, my thoughts filled with the scene from that day.
Two weeks earlier, I'd received a call from one of Alex's colleagues.
"Grace, come quickly. Dr. Carter just got into an argument with a patient. He's really upset."
As I hurried to the hospital by cab, suppressing the urge to be sick multiple times along the way, everything started to unravel when I arrived. I saw a middle-aged man yelling profanities at Alex. Alex, who'd been so privileged his whole life, had never faced such disrespect. His face reddened with anger, and I saw he was about to throw a nearby chair.
I pushed through the crowd, shouting, "Alex, calm down!"