Chapter 125
Luckily, a waitress came up to us and asked for our order. While he ordered a muffin and a green tea, I replied, “Nothing for me, thank you.”
Deciding I could no longer stand the awkward silence, I spoke up. “Look – let’s not pretend like either of us wants to be here. Why don’t you just tell me why you wanted to see me, and this way we can both move on with our lives.”
He seemed taken aback by my abrasiveness at first, but he quickly masked it up. “I… um
need your help, Scarlett.”
“With?”
He gave me a soft smile before picking up his phone. After a few taps, he slid it over to me. Glancing down, it was a picture of a little girl who couldn’t have been older than seven, maybe eight years old. She had his hazel eyes and light brown hair. “That’s my daughter –
Brittany.”
“Your daughter.” I breathed out.
Of course, he had a daughter!
“She just turned eight, and she’s been diagnosed with aplastic anemia.” He continued. “It’s a rare condition in which the body stops producing new blood cells. She needs a bone marrow transplant, and we’ve been trying to find a donor for her for the past nine months. We haven’t had much luck, and her condition is only worsening.”
My stomach tightened at his words.
“What does any of this have to do with me?”
“My wife and I were hoping you could be a donor -if you’re a match of course.”
My wife.
Donor.
I gnaw at him, trying to assess if those words did really come out of his mouth. “Are you…
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The Divorce Contract: Five Requests to Let YOU Go!!
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Chapter 125
are… are you serious?” I asked in utter disbelief.
Twelve years of radio silence, and the only reason he comes back is to ask me to donate
bone marrow to his daughter?
Maybe I should have ordered that cup of coffee.
“Patients who receive a bone marrow transplant from a sibling have the best prognosis.” He
shifted in his seat. “The survival rates are lower for patients treated with a bone marrow
transplant from an unrelated donor.”
“You’re serious.” I repeated as I held his gaze.
“Screw you!” I muttered as I abruptly pushed my chair back and stood up.
So much for not saying anything stupid.
Pushing my way through the crowded café, I finally came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk
just outside. I was struggling to breathe because for some reason, my lungs had decided to
stop working. When I looked down at my hands, they were visibly shaking and I all of a
sudden felt the urge to be sick.
I’m ready for the camera crew to come out any time and tell me I’ve been pranked.
I had finally calmed down enough to be able to walk back to my car and drive home. When
I walked through the door, I saw mom was in the kitchen cooking lunch. However, when
she saw me, she immediately set down the knife and lettuce, and made her way to me.
“Scarlett, what’s wrong?”
Then, I finally burst.
My sobbing was uncontrollable and I couldn’t formulate any concrete words. Instead, I let
her guide me to the couch where I cried into her shoulder for god knows how long. The
entire time, mom held me in a tight embrace and whispered comforting words to be. “Why would you let him come back? Why would you let him do this to me?” I cried out as I distanced myself from her.
She knew what he wanted to talk to me about.
Why the hell would she let him?
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Chapter 125
“Baby,” Her eyes softened. “I know you’re angry, but could you really have lived with
yourself if you found out later on that there was something you could have done to help another person and I didn’t tell you about it?”
God, there goes that stupid logic of hers.
“You’re an adult and the decision is entirely yours if you chose to go through with the
transplant.” She continued.
“It’s not fair!” I continued to let the tears stream down my face.
“I know it isn’t.”
An hour later, I was all cried out and no longer hyperventilating. Although I tried to gage mom’s reaction to the whole situation, she kept her opinions to herself and maintained that the decision was entirely my own.
I had retreated to my room where I was contemplating what to do when I figured it was time to call in reinforcements.
Not even thirty minutes later, Caroline and Brooke barged into my room carrying ice cream and a bag of Reece’s peanut butter cups. Brooke was wearing workout clothes, and she looked a bit flushed so I’m assuming I interrupted her gym session. Caroline, however, was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that looked a little too big to be hers and her hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions – I did not want to know what she was doing before coming over here.
“What happened?” Caroline asked when she took in my puffed up face and red eyes. Despite washing my face and no longer crying, I didn’t look much better.
And I felt even worse.
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