Chapter 3<\/p>\n
I took a long leave from the hospital.<\/p>\n
Then booked a flight to Hawaii I\u2019d always wanted to visit.<\/p>\n
Twenty days after I left, Tristan called.<\/p>\n
\u201cCeleste, where the hell have you been? Even sulking has its limits!\u201d<\/p>\n
I stayed silent.<\/p>\n
His tone softened. \u201cLook, don\u2019t take what Mom said seriously. She just really wants a grandkid. She didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused, choosing his words.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabe, Ivy and I agreed-once the baby\u2019s born, I\u2019ll give her a payout and send her abroad. She\u2019ll never come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll be the mom. We\u2019ll be a family again. Just the three of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded along, pretending to be moved.<\/p>\n
After hanging up, I opened the home monitor.<\/p>\n
On screen, Tristan had his arm around Ivy, grinning.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry. I got Celeste under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you have the baby, I\u2019m filing for divorce. She\u2019s infertile. She\u2019s got no leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret beamed beside them, handing Ivy a bowl of soup.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son\u2019s so smart. We\u2019ll keep that nitvh calm for now so she doesn\u2019t stress you out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIvy, sweetie, eat more. Hope you give me a healthy grandson.\u2019<\/p>\n
I watched the whole \u201chappy family\u201d scene.<\/p>\n
And I laughed until my sides hurt.<\/p>\n
Ivy\u2019s body was a biological disaster zone. That baby? It wasn\u2019t making it to term.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d be lucky if she survived delivery.<\/p>\n
11-07<\/p>\n
Congrats Hubby! Your $1M V Card Deal Came with Free HIV<\/p>\n
28.6%<\/p>\n
Chapter 3<\/p>\n
And those two idiots were living with her, eating with her, sharing everything.<\/p>\n
They were probably marinating in her virus cocktail by now.<\/p>\n
Sure enough, a few days later, Tristan called again.<\/p>\n
This time, his voice was shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabe, Mom\u2019s sick. She\u2019s got a high fever that won\u2019t break. And she\u2019s covered in a rash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like crap too. Can\u2019t eat. Can\u2019t sleep. My whole body hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stifled a smile, keeping my tone soft.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably just the flu or some virus. It\u2019s been cold lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake care of mom. I\u2019ll fly back as soon as I\u2019m done here. I\u2019ll get you guys medicine from the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. Please hurry\u2026\u201d His voice was so weak.<\/p>\n
I hung up and booked the next stop on my trip.<\/p>\n
Days dragged on.<\/p>\n
Tristan kept calling non-stop.<\/p>\n
I got tired of it and finally blocked him.<\/p>\n
Until one day, his assistant called me, panicked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Blackwell, Mr. Blackwell collapsed during a board meeting. He\u2019s in the ER.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd his mother-she\u2019s in the ICU. The doctors said multiple organ failure. She doesn\u2019t have much time.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew it was time.<\/p>\n
I booked the next flight home and got to the hospital that night.<\/p>\n
The attending doctor pulled me into his office, face grave, handing me a stack of reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Monroe, as the patient\u2019s spouse\u2026 I think it\u2019s better if you\u2019re the one to tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Blackwell and his mother tested positive for over twenty different infectious pathogens. Including HIV and syphilis. I strongly suggest you get tested immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
11:07<\/p>\n
Congrats Hubby! Your $1M V-Card Deal Came with Free HIV<\/p>\n
33.3%<\/p>\n
Chapter 3<\/p>\n
I nodded, expressionless, taking the reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I suited up-full PPE, mask, face shield, and walked into Tristan\u2019s isolation room.<\/p>\n
He lay in bed, gray and weak. IV in his arm. Monitors beeping.<\/p>\n
When he saw me dressed like a hazmat worker, his eyes went wide.<\/p>\n
Then terrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabe, what\u2019s wrong with me? Is it serious? The doctors won\u2019t tell me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see my mom? How is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
Just sat down next to him and handed him the report.<\/p>\n
(0)<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
\u2299<\/p>\n
(0)<\/p>\n
11:07<\/p>\n
Congrats Hubby! Your $1M V-Card Deal Came with Free HIV<\/p>\n
38.19%<\/p>\n
Congrats Hubby! Your $1M V-Card Deal Came with Free HIV 3 Chapter 3 I took a long leave from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sold-for-a-million-ruined-for-life-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23565,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23559\/revisions\/23565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}