Page 51 of Scandalously Yours

“I’ve got you. Let me know for sure, and I’ll arrange everything.”

“Thanks. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“I hope you can figure out what’s wrong with Kaylee. Just let her know that sick or not, Uncle Jonas isn’t taking it easy on her the next time we play soccer in the park.”

That actually brought a smile to my face. “I will, and thanks again.”

I disconnected the call, and turned to find Hayley staring at me strangely. She finally shook her head, then parked her ass in the chair I had been sitting in. I had enough on my mind with my daughter to worry about her. She might be minimizing all of this, but I couldn’t. I moved over to my daughter and picked up her hand. Holding it between both of mine, I tried to rub some warmth into hers before I brought it to my lips to kiss the top of it.

“Where’s Karter,” I finally asked, cutting into the awkward silence of the room.

“He’s with Brandon. They’re at the batting cages.” She actually didn’t catch any attitude when talking about him, which was something I had noticed before. I don’t know why she hated our daughter so much more than our son. Although, her attention toward Karter was also minimal, at best.

A sharp pain clenched at my chest. Right now, I should’ve been with my children and been the one at the batting cages with him, then later near the balancing beams with Kaylee. Instead, my son was with my best friend, and I was in the hospital, hoping my daughter would wake up.

“Daddy’s here, princess,” I told her, then glanced back at the machines. Her oxygen saturation and pulse were good, and her blood pressure continued to drop down into the normal range. I reached out and brushed the thick blonde locks off of her face before looking up to see Hayley at the door.

“I have a hair appointment. I’ll be back later,” she told me, then left.

I shook my head. Of course, her hairdresser would warrant more attention than her own daughter. It was actually for the best because now I could ask the doctor what I needed to once he returned. It didn’t take long for that to happen and when he did, he told me that the physician in Los Angeles would be willing to fly out. I got his name and conferred with Jonas once more, then had Dr. Green send him the flight and hotel information. When all that was done, I sat beside my daughter’s bed once more, and had almost fallen asleep when I heard a soft voice.

“Daddy,” she croaked, her voice cracking.

“Princess,” I breathed, then cupped her small face between my hands. I kissed her forehead, then began to stroke her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t wanna be sick no more,” she told me.

“We have someone on their way who is going to make you all better,” I swore vehemently to her.

“P-promise?” she stammered, and I nodded.

“You have my word, Kaylee.” She then closed her eyes, and I watched as she drifted back off to sleep. I wondered why she had only been awake for a few seconds, so I checked her chart. It looked like they had given her a sedative to help with the seizures, which made sense.

I hated to see her so sick, especially since she used to be so vibrant. Despite her diabetes, she was a very healthy and active little girl. Something was wrong and neither the emergency room doctors, or her own pediatrician could figure out what it was. I was hopeful that the specialist flying in would be able to shed some light on what was going on. Until then, I intended to stay by her side since her own mother couldn’t be bothered.

The minutes turned into hours, and outside of getting up to pace across the room, I stayed seated beside her. She didn’t wake up, but the doctors were encouraged by her numbers. I was, too. The specialist finally did arrive, though. Once he was caught up to speed with her medical history and he studied her chart, he insisted on doing some other lab panels on her. She hated needles so much, and I was glad she wasn’t awake for all the blood they had drawn. The poor thing would be all bruised tomorrow, but if we could get to the bottom of what it was affecting her, it would be all worth it.

Eventually visiting hours ended, and despite my stature in the medical community, even I was made to leave. Being honest, I think it was because I looked like hell. I had been there in her room for over ten hours. Hayley never returned, not that I really expected her to. I’m sure she was off with her friends showing off her new hairdo.

Sometimes, I would actually think it was best to just give in and up the sum in the divorce settlement, but my pride wouldn’t let me. I’d suffered years of physical and verbal abuse at her hands, and I wasn’t going to let her continue to manipulate me into funding the lavish lifestyle that she cared more about than the children we made together. I did intend to use this as just another example of her incompetence as a mother, and hopefully the family courts would rule in my favor.

“Are you sure I can’t just sneak back inside once the doctor leaves for the night,” I asked the young nurse who had just taken over for the other one.

She smiled sympathetically at me. “No, but we will call you if there’s any change.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” I said, then thanked her and left the wing of the hospital.

By the time I made it to my car, the fatigue was starting to settle in. I needed a shower and a couple good hours of sleep. I didn’t know how much of the latter I would get with my daughter in the hospital, but I would try so I could be back here first thing in the morning. I hopped into my Aston Martin and soon arrived home.

My penthouse was dark, so I flipped on a few lights before going into the bathroom to shower. I turned the tap all the way to hot, testing out the water before stepping under the scalding spray. As I closed my eyes, I saw the one face I hadn’t been focused on all day. Alessia. I still missed her so damn much, and I had no idea if I would be able to get her back or not. Once Kaylee was on the mend, I would double my efforts when it came to showing Ale how much I loved her. Until then, I would spend my nights dreaming about her body next to mine.

After showering, I had just gotten a towel wrapped around my waist when I heard a knock on the door. I made sure the knot was snug, then cursed as I wondered who in the hell would be here at this time of night.

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