When his daughter was out of danger, he contacted his lawyer to start drawing up the divorce and sole custody papers and once he had them, he waited patiently. Every night, Jacob had gone to Sierra’s room until she was able to wake up.
The doctors had induced a coma while they dealt with the brain swelling, the multiple broken bones, and the massive cut and burn on her face. The air bag had deployed, not only cutting open her cheek and part of her forehead but also singed it, luckily just missing the eye.
Eventually, the doctors reduced the medication. After a routine check-up, he had requested privacy from the doctors. She was still asleep, so Jacob endured another wait at her bedside.
Glancing away from the clock, he had heard her moan and gasp sharply. Her hand lifted to her forehead as if she had a headache there. He watched as she blinked a couple of times, then opened her eyes to slits, then wider as her eyes adjusted to the low light in her room. She had slowly turned her head and her eyes lit up at the sight of him seated there. Jacobremembered thinking how he used to enjoy seeing how happy she would seem in his presence. Her look had been adoring in the beginning and that had stroked his ego and enacted his downfall.
She gave him a tentative smile, stopped when he didn’t return it.
“How long—” He heard her clear her throat. Her voice had been weak and husky when she tried talking. Her throat must have been dry.
He got up and retrieved the cup of water and a straw left by the nurse. He touched the straw to her lips, the gesture clinical and cold. He had felt her eyes on him the whole time, but only focused his attention on the task at hand. He had been so angry he couldn’t even look at her.
“How long have I been out?” Her voice sounded stronger.
He sat back down and faced her. “A couple of days, they had to put you in a coma to deal with all the swelling.”
She had suddenly looked frightened and reached out a hand to him, wincing. He knew it was pain from the fracture; her arm was in a cast with her fingers poking out. “How is Kaitlyn, is she all right?”
He looked at it and she tucked it back into the bed when he didn’t reach out to touch her. “She is recovery nicely, no thanks to you.” His angry gaze took in the hurt and regret etched in her features.
“I am so sorry, Jacob; it was an accident. I didn—”
“You didn’t, what, mean to harm her, get into an accident that nearly took her life and yours, didn’t mean to drive drunk?” Jacob had tried to keep his voice calm, but the volume increased the more he spoke.
She shook her head, slight beads of sweat now appearing. “No, I didn’t mean to drive us off the road. We were arguing and I took my eyes off for just a split second.”
He snorted in disbelief. “There is always a reason for you doing what you are doing; it’s never your fault. You lost control of the car because you were intoxicated, Sierra. The police report showed 2.0! And the eyewitness said there had been nothing in your way to make you swerve like that.”
“I am so sorry; I promise this time for good I will get help.” The tears glistening in her eyes, leaving him cold and disgusted.
“Save it, you are lucky that you’re not in handcuffs right now. Your father pulled some strings for the last time.” He was infuriated with her excuses, exhausted with the same story.
She closed her mouth, stared at him with pleading brown eyes.
He stared back, feeling nothing, just a dull ache in his heart where he once held a fondness for her, maybe even love. Or if he was being honest with himself, she was like a drug he couldn’t shake, and her wanting him the way she did was a stroke to his ego. But this accident was enough; he couldn’t do it anymore. Sierra’s refusal to learn from her mistakes could have killed Kaitlyn.
He grabbed the briefcase at his feet and pulled out two documents.
“What is that, Jacob?” Her voice sounded weak and tired.
“Divorce and custody papers.” He dragged the hospital bed table up and over her legs, then stabbed his finger onto the button to raise up the head of the bed. The crack of his pen striking the table was deafening.
“Please Jacob. I am sorry, I will—” She tried to reach out again with her fingers; he moved his hand away.
“If you don’t sign, your father will have you arrested and locked up. And I am not going to fight him on it.”
She had searched his face, then her eyes dulled. She picked up the pen with her functioning hand and signed where he indicated. He held the paper steady so there would be no arguing the signature.
“I will pay for the rest of your stay here and your recovery. You will need to have some cosmetic surgery to your face, plus physiotherapy. The doctor said with help, you should be able to walk again, but probably with a cane.”
He gathered the documents and returned them to the briefcase. “Your doctors have my number if you need anything, but I don’t want you to try and see Kaitlyn or contact me for any reason other than your recovery.”
She’d just nodded, not fighting him, and had turned her face away. Jacob took a step back and had halted his escape, feeling like a monster; he could see that she was fighting back tears. He was surprised because she could call them at will to make him feel bad or guilty when she’d done something wrong. She slowly turned her back to him, and her shoulders began to shake. He left, rested against the wall outside her room. Taking deep breaths, he clenched his hands into fists.
His marriage to her had been a constant battleground. She had been the jealous wife, picking fights over his female clients or when he’d spend “too much time in the office.” Over time, she had become a mean drunk and a selfish mother to Kaitlyn.
He’d had an inkling that getting involved with her was not a good idea, but he was enamored with her. And she’d gottenpregnant during another careless mistake, where he’d forgotten to put on a condom. He found out after they said their vows that they’d lost their child; she started spotting three weeks before the ceremony and their honeymoon.
