His voice was soft, full of warmth.
“My daughter’s fine with just her mom. But you... you’re different. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“And honestly, if Riley can’t even handle taking care of one kid, maybe she’s not cut out to be a mother.”
Hearing that, fury surged through me.
He had abandoned our daughter right when her pneumonia flared up, the very reason she didn’t make it to the hospital in time, the reason she died.
And now he was blaming me?
I pushed the door open hard.
There they were, curled up together.
I caught a glimpse of Yara’s underwear tossed carelessly on the bedroom floor.
Yara saw me and smiled sweetly, saying, “Hi, sis,” without even bothering to move from Cody’s arms.
She faked a wince, pressing herself deeper into him, saying her ankle hurt and now she had a headache too.
Cody was quick to comfort her, fussing over her every word.
She glanced at me, a smug look in her eyes, like she was saying. You’ll never beat me.
I gave her a cold stare.
“Is my bed comfortable enough for you?”
Hearing that, Cody's face darkened. “Riley, stop with the attitude. Yara really did twist her ankle, and since she came back, she’s had no one to help her. She’s been lonely enough. If you’re not going to comfort her, fine, but why act like this?”
“And I was only with her for a few days. Is that really worth hanging up on me?”
I laughed bitterly to myself. To Cody, I was just the jealous wife. Maybe he wasn’t wrong. There had been plenty of times when I fought with him over how little he cared for me and our daughter.
But now, with my daughter gone, I didn’t have the energy for their drama.
“I don’t care what you do,” I said quietly. “There’s no need to explain anything to me.”
I turned and walked straight to my daughter’s room, starting to pack up her things.
Cody frowned, clearly confused. In his world, seeing him with Yara should’ve made me furious, but my indifference seemed to unsettle him.
He started to follow me, but Yara tugged at his sleeve, holding him back.
It wasn’t until I passed by them with my suitcase that Cody seemed to realize something was really off.
He thought I was mad about him not taking our daughter to the hospital.
His voice softened, “You’re upset because I didn’t take her to the hospital, right? But you did, and that’s what matters. She’s fine now, isn’t she? Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”