Page 79 of Dirty Money
Aulora looked up at him and found his golden eyes glossy with unshed tears. “Come on. Let’s go up to the hospital too.”
The couple left the home Aulora grew up in and made their way to the hospital. The ride was eerily quiet. Aulora had no idea what to say to Weston. She wondered how he could want to have another child. How could anyone put themselves in the place where you might watch your child die someday?
Once at the hospital, the day progressed far too slowly for any of the adults to handle well. Hope was in the NICU, lying in a clear box with a respirator helping her get the oxygen she needed. Aulora found it nearly devastating to see her tiny sister in such a state. She seemed so far away, lying in that box.
Weston and Aulora stood by as Clara and Charles watched the nurse check the baby’s vital signs. “She’s improving,” the nurse let them know. “Is she on formula or are you breastfeeding?”
“She’s on formula, but I want to try breastfeeding,” Clara said.
The nurse nodded then pulled the baby out of the confines of the incubator. “Then you should try to feed her. Even though she isn’t crying yet, you still need to get her to eat some. It’s important to feed her every four hours, whether she’s crying or not.”
Clara nodded and took a seat in a large rocking chair. The nurse draped a blanket over her shoulder and helped her get the baby situated to eat. Aulora took Weston’s hand and whispered, “We should leave them alone to do this.”
“You should watch and learn,” he whispered back.
She shook her head and tugged at him to go with her. He followed along but wasn’t happy with how Aulora was acting. She was shutting down.
They went to the cafeteria and picked up a couple of coffees then took a seat in a booth. Aulora finally spoke, “Weston, would it be a deal breaker if I never had kids?”
He leveled his eyes on her.Would it?
“Aulora, this is the wrong time to be thinking about having kids. I can see how this is affecting you. Let’s not talk about things like that right now.” He sipped his steaming hot coffee as he looked away.
She could see it written all over his face. It would be a deal breaker if she didn’t want to have kids. And she was more than sure, she didn’t want to ever be put in the position her father and stepmother were in. She really didn’t want to put herself in the position Weston had been in when his baby was killed in that car wreck.
She knew what she had to do. Weston deserved someone who would give him children. He wanted them badly, and Aulora wasn’t about to do that to herself.
“I should go to the bathroom,” she found herself saying.
“I’ll walk with you,” Weston said as he got up too.
She sighed then got up. “You stay here. I’ll be right back. It might take a while.”
He nodded and sat back down. “I’ll be right here, peach. Take your time.”
She nodded and left. At the door, she turned back and looked at him for what she thought might be the last time. Aulora couldn’t take it anymore. She was done pretending she could be what he needed.
Her feet were heavy, but she made them move. Aulora had to keep it in her head, she was doing what was best for Weston. As she walked out the sliding glass door of the hospital, she felt a chilly breeze hit her face.
A few taxicabs were parked near the exit, and she got into one of them. “Fifth Avenue in New York, please.”
The driver took off with her, taking her to her penthouse where she had things to do. Her heart was heavy. Things were getting desperate, and much like her father had, years ago, Aulora was leaving the tough times behind her.
When half an hour had passed, Weston went to find Aulora but couldn’t. He called her cell but got no answer. He didn’t want to burden her father and stepmother with anything else, so he went up to see them and made up a story about taking Aulora home to freshen up.
He was happy to find out, Hope was doing much better. They wanted to keep her overnight just to be safe, though. Weston headed out to find Aulora, pretty sure she was freaking out and doing something stupid.
Once he’d slipped into a taxi, he texted her
-Call me. I know you’re thinking about doing something that will hurt us all.-
He had the cab take him back to her father’s mansion first. The staff told him she hadn’t gone there, so he got back into the cab and took it to New York. To her penthouse.
The ride was long, and he still couldn’t believe she hadn’t answered him. Then he got a bright idea and called her mother. “Hi, this is Weston, Evelyn. Have you seen Aulora, by chance?”
“No,” she said. “But I haven’t been out of the house today. I’m feeling a bit under the weather.”
“Sorry to hear that. I know this is asking a lot but can you go down to her penthouse and see if she’s there? She took off from the hospital earlier, and I’m afraid she might be trying to run off.”
