Chapter 15 Why Call Me? You Should Call Doctor?
Blackwell Villa.
Once again, Demi hung up on Orion. The boy felt both wronged and angry.
He just liked playing with Rhea. His dad liked her too. Why did his mom have to be so petty?
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“She doesn’t deserve to be my mom! She’s a grown–up, but she fights with a kid like me!” he shouted.
“From now on, I won’t even call her Mom!”
He raised Helga’s phone, ready to throw it, but Helga quickly caught it. “Mr. Orion, please don’t say that,” she said gently. “Mrs. Blackwell must be busy. Maybe there’s just a misunderstanding.”
From the way Nevin spoke about Demi, Helga knew the true lady of this house was still her.
After all. Demi was the one who hired her. The least she could do was speak up for her.
The boy stomped and went back to his room. He didn’t believe for a second that his dad wasn’t working late and was out having fun with Rhea.
Orion wasn’t fooled by his mom’s words. Her attempts to turn him against his dad and Rhea didn’t work on him.
That night, by the time Nevin came home, Orion was already asleep.
Nevin stopped at the doorway, watching the little figure on the bed for a moment but didn’t go in.
“Mrs. Blackwell hasn’t come home yet?” he asked.
“No, Mr. Blackwell,” Helga replied, following him down the hall. “Earlier this evening, Mr. Orion called Mrs. Blackwell, but she didn’t answer. Later, he tried again with my phone. She picked up this time. He looked a little sad after that. I think he misses her.”
Nevin gave a low hum in response, his face cold and dark as he climbed the stairs to his study on the third
floor.
So that’s it, huh? She wasn’t coming back to this house anymore?
The next morning, Orion didn’t get up on time, something completely unlike him.
Demi had trained him to be disciplined since he was little.
Nevin checked his watch, then went upstairs to call him.
“Orion, time to get up for school.”
No response.
He stepped closer. “Orion?”
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Chapter 15 Why Call Me? You Should Call Doctor?
Finishet
Still nothing. Nevin moved to the side of the bed and froze. Orion’s eyes were shut tight, his face flushed with an unhealthy red.
He reached out to touch his forehead and nearly flinched.
The boy was burning up.
“Demi!” Nevin shouted instinctively, his voice echoing through the hallway. “Orion’s got a fever!”
Someone rushed in after hearing his voice. It was Helga.
Nevin froze for a moment. He finally recalled Demi hadn’t come home for two days.
“Mr. Orion’s running a fever?” Helga asked nervously, clapping her hands in regret.
“This is my fault. Mrs. Blackwell had written down that Mr. Orion kicks off his blanket in his sleep. I should check on him during the night.”
Nevin touched Orion’s forehead again. Helga’s words hit him harder than he expected.
So Orion always kicked off his blanket? He’d never noticed.
If Demi hadn’t mentioned it, he realized how little he actually knew about his son’s habits.
Orion had hardly been ill. Demi always took good care of his schoolwork. He never needed Nevin’s
attention.
Demi had handled everything herself.
Helga glanced up carefully, watching his expression.
She felt awful for forgetting.
“Bring the first aid kit,” Nevin said calmly.
Nevin kept his emotions in check. Aside from the faint flicker in his deep eyes, no one could tell what he was thinking.
He remembered what Helga had said before Demi left. She’d handed the maid a thick stack of printed pages. Each one was filled with notes about him and Orion: what they liked to eat, what time they usually woke up, and little habits and routines only someone who truly paid attention would know.
Demi had always been focused on them–heart, mind, and soul.
Maybe that talk about divorce was just something she said in anger.
A few minutes later, Helga brought in a glass of water and some fever medicine.
Nevin patiently woke Orion and stayed by his side until the boy swallowed the pills and drifted back to sleep.
One Studio.
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Chapter 15 Why Call Me? You Should Call Doctor?
Demi’s phone buzzed on the desk.
She paused her work and looked at the countdown on her screen. Nine more days to go.
Finished
For a moment, she just stared, her thoughts blank. Then she lowered her head and went back to her sketches. There was too much work waiting for her. No time to think about anything else.
Demi had just gotten back into work when her phone started buzzing again.
She glanced at the screen, frowned, and ignored it.
But the caller didn’t give up. The phone kept ringing–again and again.
Nevin wasn’t the type to call more than twice unless something was wrong.
Frowning. Demi finally picked up in irritation.
He’d better have a real reason this time.
“What is it?”
“Orion has a fever!”
They both spoke at once, then fell silent for a few seconds.
Nevin drew his brows tight. Was that all she ever said to him now–what is it?
He swallowed down his temper, though it burned in his chest. “Demi, what are you so busy with that you can’t even come home?”
Demi let out a deep breath. Whatever worry she had for Orion vanished under his accusatory tone.
“He’s sick. Then, you should take him to the hospital or give him some fever medicine. I’m not a doctor. What do you expect me to do? Magically cure him over the phone? Or are you saying even taking him to the doctor is somehow my duty as the mother?”
Her words came fast and sharp, one after another.
For six years, she had done everything–meals, medicine, bedtime stories. Meanwhile, Nevin had played the hands–off dad.
Now the kid’s sick, and suddenly she’s the only one who knows how to take care of him?
Nevin hadn’t expected her anger to flare hotter than his. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to say anything.
After a pause, his tone dropped lower. “He already took the medicine and fell asleep. I’m just asking you to come home and look after him.”
Demi let out a humorless laugh. “Helga’s a professional trained for that. It doesn’t have to be me.”
Then, she asked in a flat tone. “Besides, isn’t Rhea around? She’s sweet and gentle–great at taking care of people. Orion adores her. Let her take care of him. Works out for everyone, doesn’t it?”
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Chapter 15 Why Call Me? You Should Call Doctor?
Finisher
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