A Sip of Regret

After returning to the hospital, I found Andy awake. The moment he saw me, he pouted and started crying.

I quickly asked the nurse to look after him again and rushed to prepare some formula for him.

But when I came back, I was shocked to see Jamie, who was supposed to be with Tara.

Jamie's shoulders slumped as he silently took the bottle from my hands and began feeding the baby.

The atmosphere grew so tense I could hear a pin drop.

Unable to stand it any longer, I broke the silence. "Why are you here? Aren't you worried about leaving Tara alone at home?"

He froze for a moment. Looking a little guilty, he said, "I was worried about you and the baby being in the hospital."

He hesitated before continuing, "Look, I really just see Tara as my little sister who died an untimely death. Don't overthink it, and please don't make things hard for her. Just do me this favor, okay?"

"Oh, do you see her as your late little sister? She certainly doesn't see it that way," I retorted mockingly.

Hearing my tone, Jamie turned to look at me, his hand unintentionally lifting the bottle. Andy choked and started coughing violently.

My face darkened. I instinctively rushed forward, snatching my son away and comforting him.

Realizing his mistake, Jamie looked regretful and was about to say something to me when his phone rang.

Perhaps irritated or driven by some other intent, Jamie answered the call on speaker right in front of me.

As soon as the call connected, an unfamiliar voice spoke in exasperation, "Hello, are you a relative of Ms. Klein? She's been in a car accident. No matter how much I tried to convince her, she refuses to go to the hospital and insists on waiting for you to pick her up…"

Before the person could finish, Tara's aggrieved voice came through.

"Jamie, I'm so sorry. I only went out because I heard Andy was hospitalized and thought I could help take care of him. But look at me. I'm so useless. I can't even go out without getting hit by a car…"

Right after that, the line went silent.

When Jamie tried calling back, Tara had turned off her phone.

Utterly panicked, he immediately turned to leave.

I, on the other hand, was secretly delighted. But just as I set my son down, Jamie stormed back in and grabbed my arm forcefully.

"Tara's in trouble. Are you seriously gonna just stand there doing nothing?" he said angrily.

"Hurry up and come with me to find her. If Andy wasn't in the hospital, she wouldn't have left the house late at night!"

I slapped him hard across the face. "She clearly left the house to look for you! Is she shifting the blame onto me and my son? You blind, heartless fool!"

In the end, I couldn't shake him off, and he dragged me out of the hospital and into his car.

Before getting in, Jamie hurled a caustic remark at me. "Don't bother coming back if we don't find Tara. And if I find out you were half-heartedly helping out, or if something bad happens to Tara, I'll make Andy pay for it with his life."

I was trembling all over, but I had no idea whether it was from anger or the cold.

Whether or not Jamie meant it, I couldn't risk my son's safety.

I called the hospital to ask the nurse to take care of my son. Then, I began searching street after street.

By the next day at noon, I was completely exhausted. Just as I was about to give up, my phone rang.

I wanted to hang up upon seeing Jamie's number, but my hand slipped, and I accidentally answered the call.

"Tara said she wants some of your homemade soup. Hurry back and make some," Jamie said.

In the background, I could hear Tara whining coyly, "Jamie, you've been by my side for hours. Go home and rest!"

"How can I rest when you're in this state?" Jamie replied gently.

Listening to the two of them flirt, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the nearby glass window.

My hair was a mess, my lips were cracked and peeling, and I hadn't had a sip of water in hours. The sudden break in my search efforts made me feel dizzy.

I barely made it home before collapsing onto the couch.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. Opening my eyes, I saw Jamie had already answered it.

"Has your passport expired?" he asked.

My heart sank. I snatched the phone from him immediately.

After finishing the call, I turned to see Jamie staring at me, expecting an explanation.

"A friend's passport expired. She's abroad and asked me to handle it for her," I quickly said.

Jamie nodded, grabbed a set of Tara's clothes, and walked out without another word.