That night Evelyn had a dream she had many nights before. It was more of a memory, one she wished to forget but will never be able to. The painful experience of losing a child will forever be etched in her memory.
It was three years ago, she had just announced to her family that she was expecting her first child.
They were throwing her a celebration party at the Wei Manor that day.
She put on a slim pink dress with pearls embroidered on the front. She wore a matching pearl jewelry set and had on a pair of short heels.
Shawn had asked her not to wear heels because he had worried about her safety. Evelyn hadn't even begun to show but Shawn had became more protective toward her. He had even begun to dote on her more.
At the office, he had constantly brought her lunch, or would take her out. In the evenings he had massaged her feet and drawn her a bath. He ran around doing anything he thought she needed. He had often opted to do it himself instead of asking the servants to do it. He had said that he wanted be the one to take care of her and their baby.
Some would have called what he did hovering but she hadn't minded. She had liked that he was taking care of her and their unborn child.
On this particular day that she was dreaming of, Shawn had driven them to the Wei Manor. After he had parked, he had run to the other side of the car to open her door.
Evelyn placed her hand in his as he helped her out. She kept her hand in the crook of his arm as they walked inside the house together.
Deming had greeted them both then bent down to say talk to her stomach. The last time Deming had done something so silly was when her mom was pregnant with Ben and Chloe.
"Ba, the baby can't even hear you yet," Evelyn had said, laughing.
"Shush, I'm talking to my grandchild," he had said. Shawn was beside her with a big grin on his face. He was so proud and excited to be a father.
"Okay, but at least let me sit down first," she had said. Shawn immediately began guiding her toward the couches in the living room. He hovered over her until she sat down, then he knelt on the floor to be more level with her belly.
She had thanked him. He looked up at her beaming, he had kissed the top of her head. Everyone else had begun to filter down into the room and surrounded the happy couple.
"Jie Jie!" Chloe said rushing over to throw her arms around her sister. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" Evelyn patted her sister's arm.
"Thank you, Mei Mei," she had said. Her face was full of smiles.
"Congrats sis," Ben congratulated her, patting her on the shoulder. Evelyn smiled up at him and said her thanks.
Her grandparents were there as well. They were all chatting about baby names and imagining the baby's future.
Evelyn did not begrudge them that as she too jumped the gun and imagined all those things as well.
Her and Shawn had not settled on a name they both liked yet. Though that was probably because they did not know the gender of the baby yet. They spent their nights reading books about what to expect.
This was one of the happiest moments in Evelyn's life. Her family felt whole and it was growing. She was falling more and more in love with the growing fetus by the day.
They had dinner that night, Shawn and her maternal grandmother piled on foods that were healthy for the baby. They took the notion of 'eating for two,' quite seriously.
Evelyn did have a big appetite so she had not minded and ate everything that was placed in front of her.
After dinner that night she had gone upstairs with her sister to have some quality time with together.
"Jie Jie, it's so exciting! You're going to have a baby! You're going to be a mom!" Chloe had chirped. Evelyn had felt the excitement and fear.
At the time Evelyn was twenty-two years old. It was actually the week before her twenty-third birthday. She worried that she wouldn't be a good mother. But she was excited to pass on the things her mother taught her.
"Are you scared?" Chloe asked her. Evelyn thought about how to answer her for a second.
"It's more like I'm anxious. Anxious to meet the little one. But I also feel anxious because I worry about whether or not I'll be a good mother," Evelyn answered.
"You're going to be a great mother! You practically raised me and Ge Ge after Ma died. You made sure we ate our meals regularly and checked our homework," Chloe said. Evelyn gave her a half hearted smile. Her heart twisting as it always did when she thought of her mother.
"Xiaoli! Xiaoqing!" Deming had called from the ground floor.
Evelyn and Chloe had headed back downstairs in a hurried manner. Evelyn hadn't seen the fold in the rug at the top of the stairs. Her foot had gotten caught and she wasn't able to get a good grip on the banister.
Evelyn had begun to fall and she tumbled down the stairs. Her stomach hit the edge of the stairs hard, breaking a rib. Intense pain had shot through her body. She fell to the bottom of the stairs in a heap.
The last thing she had remembered was her name being shouted by numerous people. Then all was dark.
- - - - -
Evelyn's eyes shot open and she curled into a ball on her side. Her palm was pressed against her stomach. She was facing the walls of her bedroom.
When Evelyn had woken up from that fall she was in a hospital bed. She was told that her rib had cracked and punctured her right lung. The trauma was so severe that she had lost her baby.
Just like that the life she had carried in her slowly came to an end. There was nothing she could do. That loss became overwhelming and completely unbearable.
As a soon-to-be-mother, she had felt the duty to protect her baby. A duty that she had failed. There had been nothing she could do as she felt the pain in her uterus as it contracted.
Soft mewling by her side got her attention. Garfield has crawled closer to her and was rubbing his furry head against her arm.
Coffee gave a low bark and hopped onto the bed, cuddling against her side. Evelyn allowed their warmth to comfort her.
Jinhai and Zain were amazing for thinking of this. Jinhai was right in that they would bring her comfort when she didn't feel well.
She reached for her phone remembering her promise to Jinhai. She had promised that she would call if she had another nightmare.
When the light illuminated her face she was surprised to see a text from Jinhai.
Jinhai: Remember, if you have another nightmare, you promised you would call.
Jinhai: Any time, any where, you can always call me.
Something in the wording of the text, broke through her haze. It was what still bothered her about him ignoring her over the years. She was finally able to pinpoint it.
Her finger hovered over the call button for a minute before it darkened and her screen locked. She tapped on the screen again. It was just after one in the morning.
She opted to text him.
Evelyn: Are you awake?
Her phone began to ring as Jinhai's name appeared on her screen. She pressed the button to accept the call.
"Hello?" she answered.
- - - - -
JINHAI'S HOME
Jinhai was home on his couch looking over the previous weeks statistics. Notably Zheng's stocks had plummeted. Jinhai noticed that the projects that Li Corp had with them were not doing so well this week.
He considered pulling the projects now but decided to wait it out. He would give Shawn a little bit of hope before he tore it all down.
His thoughts traveled to Evelyn as they so often did. He thought back to how he held her against him earlier. She had melted into him, her body molded to his.
He had thought that this was exactly how it should be. That he would be there to hold her and give her comfort on days that drained her. She had fit so perfectly. He smiled, at the thought.
He picked up his phone, glancing at the screen. He wondered if she would call him tonight.
He hoped she didn't. Even though he wanted to hear from her, it would mean that she had another nightmare. He didn't want her to have any more nightmares.
Almost like his thoughts conjured her, his phone vibrated up with an incoming message from Evelyn.
Evelyn: Are you awake?
He put his papers down and got up. He dialed her number as he walked to stand in front of his sliding doors.
"Hello?" Evelyn's voice came though the phone.
"Evelyn? Are you okay?" Jinhai answered.
"Yes," she answered.
"Did you have another nightmare?" he asked her.
"I dreamt of the day I had my first miscarriage," she answered. He was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry," he offered in a soft voice.
"It was about three years ago," she continued. He decided to let her continue without interruptions from him.
"I had fallen down a flight of stairs. One of my ribs cracked and pierced my lung," her voice was sad but restrained. Jinhai remembered the day it had happened.
When he had heard she was in the hospital, he had dropped everything to go to her. He was in the middle of a meeting when Zain had notified him.
He had mumbled excuses and ran out the door. He had broken every traffic law to get to her that night.
"The trauma ended up being too much for my baby," her voice cracked.
His heart tightened. When he had arrived outside her room that day, the doctor had just finished giving her the news.
She had began to sob. But what had stopped him that night was Shawn. He was there to comfort her.
Evelyn had gripped onto him and sobbed against his shoulder. Shawn had held her against him and gently swayed her.
"Where were you?" she asked him bringing him back to the present. "You never called, showed up, or even texted," she said.
"I tried to be there, but you had refused everyone," he answered. He had tried to contact her after. His brother had shamed him into showing up at her front door. But Butler Chu had claimed that she didn't want to see anyone and turned him away.
"No one told me anything," she said slowly. He smiled wryly.
"You were at Beijing University Hospital, VIP section, room 7B," Jinhai said.
"How do you," she began to ask.
"I was there. But when I had gotten there, they just gave you the news. You were crying against Shawn," Jinhai answered.
"You wanted space from everyone, so I didn't push it. You stayed in your house for almost half a year. You didn't come out," he said. He realized what she wanted now. She felt he had abandoned her. He would clarify that that was not true now.
"I sent medical supplies and all sorts of things to your house. There were ingredients meant to help you recover," he said. "I did it again the second time too," he said.
"Wasn't that from Zain?" Evelyn asked.
"No, well maybe. I know I sent him with stuff to give to you, he might have added more stuff," Jinhai answered.
"I see," she answered. He could hear mewling in the background.
"Go back to sleep, Garfield," she said softly. He smiled, feeling a little relieved that Garfield and Coffee were there.
"Are they treating you okay?" he asked her.
"Yes, they were there when I woke up. You were right, they helped calm me down," she answered.
"Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to come over?" Jinhai asked. 'Say yes,' he thought.
"No, it's late. You should go to sleep now," she said to him. He was disappointed.
"Are you sure?" he tried again. "It's really no bother. Just say the word, and I'm there," he said.
The phone was silent as if she was contemplating accepting his offer.
"Maybe tomorrow. Good night, Jinhai," she said.
"Good night," he replied. She hung up the phone and he set his phone down staring at it. He blew out a breath.
Suddenly tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.