Chapter 6 Motherly Love
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As Shiloh put down her coffee to head upstairs, Adrian grabbed her wrist, his post–fever warmth still lingering on his skin.
Adrian said. “Shiloh, don’t you feel any guilt when you see your sons?
“After disappearing for over two years, holding your daughter in your arms, do you still remember that you’re also Travis and Marty’s mother?
“They’re just six years old. Did it never occur to you that they need a mother’s love too?”
The Turner family, two decades ago, had been a prominent household, well–matched with the Frost family. Shiloh’s engagement to Adrian had been arranged at birth.
But when the Turner family went bankrupt and moved away, the engagement was put on hold.
At 18, Shiloh was approached by Gilbert Frost with the marriage contract, reigniting the arrangement. Adrian and Shiloh got engaged while she was still at university, married after her graduation, and soon had children.
Shiloh had believed they would live a steady life, even without love, and that they could at least respect each other.
But five short years into their secret marriage, Adrian had failed to do so.
“Guilt? Why should I feel guilty? The one who should feel guilty is you, Adrian. When you were off playing happy families with your mistress, did you ever stop to think you were still a father to two children?”
-Adrian said, “You’re being unreasonable. It was just a meal. Was that worth all this?”
Shiloh fought the urge to roll her eyes. Even now, his first instinct was to defend Jessie.
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “Shiloh, Jessie isn’t the kind of woman you think she is. You can misunderstand me all you want, but don’t slander her.”
Shiloh thought her heart had become numb after two years.
But his words were like needles, piercing her all over again.
Anger surged through her.
Shiloh said, “We’re divorced, and I’m remarried. Adrian, please behave yourself.
She forcefully pushed him away and turned to head upstairs to her daughter.
Adrian caught her wrist again, pulling her back in front of him. “Who’s the man you left your husband and
sons for?”
She didn’t trust him, but did he ever trust her?
Shiloh yanked her hand free and spoke with deliberate sharpness. “A man who’s a hundred, no, a thousand times better than you.”
She stormed off, only to hear the sound of Adrian collapsing behind her. His fever, which had subsided the night before, had returned.
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Chapter 6 Motherly Love
Despite their heated argument, the rain hadn’t stopped.
With Jeff acting as a mediator, the two finally reached a verbal agreement:
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They would stay at Shiloh’s home until Stone Bridge became passable. For the duration of their stay, they would pay her one million a day in lodging and medical fees,
What was meant to be a short stay stretched into a full week.
Nora was thrilled to have two new playmates. Her happiest moments were spent playing with Travis and
Marty every day.
Marty, still a child at heart, was eventually charmed by Nora’s cheerful personality under Travis’s
encouragement
Every morning, the boys would pull Travis to Shiloh’s room to wait for Nora to wake up.⠀⠀
Adrian, recovering in the guest room, was constantly busy with meetings.
After wrapping up an international conference, he stepped into the hallway and saw something unexpected. Nora, who was supposed to be napping upstairs, lying on the staircase.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she toddled over to Adrian with her arms outstretched. “Hug,” she demanded.
Adrian hesitated but stiffly picked up the little bundle.
Elma burst through the door in a panic, and Adrian finally learned Shiloh had gone out to treat the village
elders.
She can do that?
Before leaving. Shiloh had asked Elma to watch Nora. However, Elma had gone home to bring in her laundry, leaving Nora to crawl down the stairs alone.
Adrian’s icy gaze sharpened, his commanding presence bearing down on her. “Do you realize how dangerous that was?”
A child barely over a year old could encounter any number of risks when left alone.
Elma tried to laugh it off, never expecting Adrian to react so furiously.
She stammered in defense, I just remembered the clothes weren’t taken in, and it’s raining so house is next door, so I thought I’d be quick, but Nora woke up sooner than I expected.”
hard. My
Feeling his anger, Nora leaned forward and planted a wet kiss on Adrian’s cheek. Mimicking Travis, she called out sweetly, “Daddy, no mad.”
The little girl was just learning new words and didn’t even understand what “daddy” meant.
Adrian’s arms instinctively tightened around her as a flood of thoughts raced through his mind. Even the most critical business deal couldn’t match the tension he felt now.
Could it be that Nora is my child? No. It isn’t possible. I have taken precautions back then, and the timeline didn’t match. Adrian thought.
Two hours later, Shiloh returned after treating the sick elders in the village, standing at the doorway for a
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Chapter 6 Motherly Love
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moment to disinfect her hands with alcohol. The prolonged rain had aggravated the villagers‘ chronic ailments, and it had taken her a long time to treat them with acupuncture.
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Chapter 7 Dissatisfied with Elma
