Wanted 3

Chapter 3 

I quickly pushed the incident to the back of my mind. 

With Zoe around, life didn’t seem so hopeless anymore. 

But annoying people always seemed to pop up when one least expected them. 

Brandon called me again. 

Zoe had just fallen asleep in my arms. 

She’d been having a rough time with the medicines lately, and falling asleep was really hard for her. 

I didn’t want to wake her, so I hung up. 

But Brandon was relentless, refusing to give up until I picked up. 

I had to step out onto the balcony to answer. 

“Is something up?” I asked. 

There was a pause on the other end, and after a moment, he said, “Viola, must you talk to me this way?” 

I was a bit puzzled. “What else do we have to talk about?” 

There was another silence. 

I glanced at Zoe sleeping on the bed and said impatiently, “Look, if you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up. Brandon, stop calling me.” 

“Don’t you dare!” Brandon barked. 

His words made me freeze for a second. 

I’d almost forgotten how full of himself he always was. Nobody would dare to hang up on him. 

But I wasn’t about to indulge him. 

Just as I was about to hang up, he said, “Did you sell the house in the south of the city?” 

That house was given to me in the divorce. What I did with it was none of his business. 

“Yeah, I sold it,” I replied. 

He growled, “Why the hell did you sell it?” 

I shot back, “I don’t even live in Rhett City anymore. Why should I keep it?” 

His voice suddenly shot up. “Why didn’t you stay in Rhett City? This is your home. Keegan is still here. Do 

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you know Keegan had another allergic reaction? What kind of mom are you? You don’t even bother to check 

on him…” 

Zoe shifted in her sleep, and I impatiently cut him off. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I don’t know how to be a mom. So, get him a new mom. Tanya would be perfect for the job.” 

With that, I hung up the phone and blocked his number. Then I snuggled under the covers, holding Zoe close in my arms. 

The night was cold but Zoe’s body was warm. She warmed my lonely, troubled heart. 

Zoe got clingier by the day. 

I had no idea what would happen to her if I were gone. 

Just so I could be with her a little longer, I started taking my treatment seriously. 

But no matter how much medication I took, I couldn’t stop my body from falling apart. 

Because of the side effects of the medication, my hair started falling out in clumps. 

My stomach hurt so much most days I could barely eat anything. 

But no matter how bad things got, just seeing Zoe made everything feel a little less awful. 

One day, while Zoe and I were watching Peppa Pig, Keegan called me out of the blue. 

That was when it hit me-I’d blocked Brandon, but totally forgot to do the same for Keegan. 

I thought Brandon was calling with Keegan’s phone and I had no idea what Brandon wanted this time. 

Honestly, it felt like Brandon had called me more in the past few weeks than he ever did during our entire seven years of marriage. 

To my surprise, it really was Keegan on the line. 

“Where’d you put my meds?” he demanded, his tone gruff and impatient. 

I hesitated for a second before replying, “They’re in the medicine cabinet. If you run out, just have your dad get more from the hospital.” 

There was another silence on the other end. 

Zoe was already reaching for the remote, ready to start the next episode. 

I asked impatiently, “Anything else?” 

After a beat, he finally said, “Do you know I had another allergic reaction and ended up in the hospital? Why didn’t you come see me?” 

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I wasn’t expecting him to ask that. 

I rubbed my forehead and replied, “Do you need me to come see you? You’ve got your grandparents, and your favorite Tanya there with you. I’m pretty sure you don’t want me around.” 

“Yeah, I don’t want to see you!” Keegan suddenly shouted. “But you can’t just not come. 

“Moms are supposed to care about their kids. Why don’t you care about me anymore? Everyone is saying you don’t want me. Is that true? Do you really not want me?” 

I gave a bitter laugh. “Keegan, you were the one who stopped wanting me first. Don’t call me anymore. I don’t really like you that much now, either.” 

There was another long silence, and then I heard someone quietly sobbing on the other end. 

I had no idea why Keegan was crying. After all, he abandoned me first. 

The line changed hands, and then I heard Brandon’s voice. 

“Viola, what’s going on with you?” he asked. He was finally starting to realize something was wrong. 

However, it was too late now. 

He wasn’t someone I wanted to open up to anymore. 

“I’m fine,” I replied flatly. 

“Where are you?” he pressed. 

I let out a sigh. 

ening to Keegan sobbing on the other end, I butted in one last time. 

Laid, “Where I am is none of your business. Brandon, start acting like a father and actually take care of Keegan. 

“He’s been in and out of the hospital so many times lately because of his allergies. If you don’t want to be making midnight runs to the ER, maybe stop letting Tanya give him random stuff to eat.”