Dorothy locked eyes with Everett's smirking gaze and she really got nothing to say.
"What more do you want, huh?" At this rate, with the daily demands, Dorothy was seriously questioning if she'd make it out of this hospital alive.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"You know exactly what," he teased.
"But you said you just need once today!" Everett shrugged, "Well, you wanted to learn new things. So if you're upping the game, | need to up the reward.” "Forget it. I'm done learning." She'd rather face the grim reaper anywhere but in a hospital bed.
Watching her almost physically recoil at the suggestion, Everett couldn't help but smirk, "By the way, | was thinking of bringing Langston and Abigail over." Though still bedridden, he figured having the kids around might speed his recovery, not to mention it would ease Dorothy's mind about the goings-on back in the home country.
Truth be told, he had nearly drained Dorothy's power the last couple of days. His appetite wasn't fully satiated, but he had to consider her limits. Now that his desire had somewhat abated, so his thoughts turned to the kids, especially little Abigail.
He still owed that girl a fiver! "Is that what your dad wants?" Dorothy asked instinctively, assuming Jonathan was becoming impatient.
"Our kids, our decision. He's got nothing to do with it." "How can you say that? He's their grandfather,” she protested. That was a fact that would never change.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmJust like Amanda and Jonathan, who would always be Everett's parents.
"But Abigail and Langston are ours," Everett spoke soothingly, trying to quell the unease in her heart. "Where they are and who they're with — these are up to us to decide.” "Yeah, Everett, I've always known you'd be a great dad." She had seen firsthand the kind of man he was. Especially the joyous harmony between him and Langston, which she witnessed, was something she, as his biological mother, could only aspire to.
She felt guilty for the time she wasn't there for them, particularly Langston. The more understanding he became, the heavier her guilt weighed.
"Of course! And you're the best mom they could ever have." Dorothy suddenly looked up and met Everett's gaze. She bit her lip, and after a long pause, she finally spoke with a husky voice, "Can you promise me something?" Without a moment's hesitation, he nodded, "Anything." "No matter... no matter what happens to us and to your parents, just always protect Abigail and Langston well and love them as much as you can. Even if... | mean, if we're not together, if we split for good, or if you find someone new and have other kids, don't treat Abigail and Langston any differently, okay?" Everett's handsome face darkened in an instant.
Her words sounded like a last testament.
"As long as you don't push me away, we won't split up." "I'm talking hypothetically! | mean “if so”. Don't you get it?" Dorothy tried to mask her concern with a laugh, but Everett's expression remained grave.
"There are no 'if s0'." "| just want you to promise me. Is that so hard? People change so nobody can predict the future. Okay, even if we stay together, everyone has to face life and death and you can't stop that. Suppose | die, promise me you'll treat each of your kids with the same love, can you do that?" Everett was silent for a few seconds, his deep eyes locked onto hers. Slowly, he said, "I won't have any other kids. When | get out of here, I'm getting a vasectomy.”