Page 75 of The Bargain

“Stairs, please,” I said as Dean said, "Elevator."

Jeremy looked at me and opened the stairs door with a sigh. He’d been taking my side a lot, something I was grateful for yet again.

We went up two flights of stairs while Jeremy gave us a quick overview of the surgery.

“What you see might look scary,'' he said to me as we walked into the pediatric wing. “But it looks much more impressive than it actually is. I promise.” He stopped in front of a big glass window.

I couldn’t help but gasp as I rested my hand against the cold glass. My little boy was lying in a sort of plastic incubator with tubes everywhere, hooking him up to a big machine.

I wanted to seek comfort in Dean’s arms because, despite everything, I'd used to feel safe when he touched me, when I was wrapped in his arms. But he was not comforting anymore; he was all wrong.

“Are you sure?" I asked barely louder than a whisper, while keeping my eyes on Timmy. “He’s going to be okay?”

“Yes.” He rested his hand on my shoulder and I swore I could feel Dean’s aggressive presence physically touching me. “You’ll see. Tomorrow most of these will be gone. This is mostly preventive - just in case. I can assure you, the surgery went even better than I'd thought it would.”

I nodded. "Okay." I just wanted to stay here, looking at him for as long as I could because I didn't know how much longer I had with him.

Now that Dean knew the truth, I had no hope, not after having discovered just how far he was willing to go in order to steal Timmy from me.

“Dean, can I please have a moment with you?” Jeremy asked and I was almost certain it was for my benefit.

“No, not right now,” he replied, his voice so much lower and darker than I'd ever heard it.

I chanced a glance his way, only to recoil from all the accusations in his emerald eyes. Yes, there would be hell to pay.

“Just a few minutes, Dean. It’s important.”

Dean sighed. “One minute,” he replied before following Jeremy down the corridor and into a room on the right.

I sighed, finally able to breathe without Dean looming over me. I was sure that Jeremy would use this time to explain the whole situation and maybe also plead my case.

Jeremy was that type of man, but I knew I didn't have much hope. Dean was unforgiving and I didn’t think I could forgive him either for what he'd done.

I stroke the glass with the gentle caress I wanted to give my baby boy. “I’ll be leaving you for a while,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I finally let my tears out. “But I'll be back, my sweet boy. I’ll find a way to get you back, I swear.”

I took a deep breath, threw Timmy one last longing look, and left briskly.

I needed to go back to the house and pack my bags before he threw me out with nothing to my name.

I could sell all the fancy clothes he’d bought me. I was sure it would be enough to get a lawyer, nothing as fancy as Dean Beaumont could afford, obviously, but maybe one decent enough to help me get visitation rights, at least for now.

Yes, that was what I was going to do. I was going to fight the almighty Dean Beaumont because, at this stage, I had nothing left to lose.

My mind was reeling as I tried to concentrate on Jeremy’s run-down of Timothy’s exact condition. All I could think about was Amber…. Amber what? Amber Collins?

How had I missed her in this story?

Because you didn’t care, Dean. You were looking for a prostitute drug addict you could crush. Nothing else mattered.

Despite the betrayal of her lie, I felt a little relief knowing that she wasn’t Opal. Being with my brother's last love would have been a hard weight to bear. I needed to know who she was.

“Just be nice to her.”

That brought me back to the boring conversation.

I straightened on my seat. “What did you say?”

“Amber, be nice to her.”