The Mark He Bit Into Me novel Chapter 70

Chapter 4

“Oh, Lord, have mercy! My daughter-in-law is throwing me out!”

“I worked my fingers to the bone to raise my son, sold everything to come here for this baby.”

“So the city girl looks down on us country folks now? How are we supposed to live with

that?”

Her voice was a piercing wail, clearly intended to carry down the hall.

Sure enough, I heard our neighbor’s door creak open, followed by the faint sound of curious

whispering.

Nathan’s face flushed with pure embarrassment. He grabbed Sophie, yanking her up from the

floor and dragging her back inside.

He turned to me, his voice suddenly low and pleading. “Ella, please. I’m begging you.”

“This is not easy for them, okay? They’re old, they just want to be near their family.”

“Can you just… let it go for now? The neighbors are listening. You’re putting me in an

impossible position!”

He dragged his hands down his face, playing the part of the tormented husband.

“The retreat is gone. We cannot find a good maternity nurse this late, and your parents are

out of the country.”

“Just let my mom help. Is that so bad?”

“I promise. Just give it one month. Once the baby is settled, I’ll find them their own place to

rent. One month, Ella. Please?”

He really knew how to play both sides.

I looked down at our son, who was wailing now, startled by the noise. I decided to give him

one last chance.

“One day, Nathan. You have one day to find them an apartment.”

I woke in the dark for the nightly feeding and felt it immediately. My son was burning up.

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I ran out with the baby to get Nathan, needing him to drive us to the hospital.

But the apartment was empty. Besides me and my son, everyone was gone.

I fumbled with my phone, my voice cracking with panic.

“Nathan, where are you? The baby’s burning up, he has a high fever! You have to come home

now!”

The line was silent for two long seconds.

“I’m at the airport.”

“What?!”

“My parents sacrificed everything for me. I finally built a life here, and you just expect me to

abandon them.”

“Since you clearly cannot stand my parents, I figured I’d use my paternity leave to get them out of your hair. We’re going on a trip for a few days.”

I literally could not believe what I was hearing.

I was two weeks postpartum, and he was using his paternity leave to go on vacation with his

parents?

“Nathan, are you listening to me? The baby is sick! He has a high fever! I do not care about

your trip, you get back here now!”

I was screaming. His voice in response was cold as ice.

“You’re the one who said my mother wasn’t good enough. You’re the one who said my family

was in the way.”

“So… you handle it. Maybe after you’ve actually tried being a mother, all by yourself, you’ll

finally appreciate what they were offering.”

“And you will stop acting so… delicate.”

“We’re boarding. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

I stood there, gripping the dead phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

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Feeling the heat radiating from my sick child, a single, bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Tears burned my eyes, but I forced them back.

And then I remembered fragments of a conversation from last night, whispering in the dark.

“Once she has the baby, she’s trapped. She’s not going anywhere.”

“She really thinks having a son makes her royalty now?”

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