Chapter 500 Awake
Although Nicole fell asleep, her sleep was not a peaceful one as she kept having nightmares. In her dream, she saw her child taken away by a mysterious figure. She kept shouting and chasing after that figure, but to no avail. Then, she woke up with a jolt as she sat up straight on the bed.
Sitting beside her, Colton covered Nicole’s face with a towel after he noticed she had woken up. The towel was warm and seemed to have been prepared for some time. The warmth of the towel was just right as it was comfortable when covering one’s face with it.
After Nicole woke up and realized she was sticky with her sweat, she wiped her face before she got out of bed to find Hayden still unconscious without any indication of waking any time soon. Worried, she looked at the child in bed first before turning her attention to Colton. A brief moment later, she asked hesitantly, “Did anything happen to Hayden last night?”
Colton shook his head. Although he stood up straight, one could easily see from a glance the dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t slept a wink last night. “Everything’s normal.”
As Nicole looked at Hayden and found that his breathing had stabilized while the medical equipment showed no signs of abnormality, she heaved a gradual sigh of relief. Then, she turned her attention to the exhausted Colton and said, “President Gardner, you should get some rest. Your body won’t be able to take it any longer since you’ve watched over Hayden the entire night.”
With a faint smile, he patted Nicole on her head and said, “I’m fine. However, you should call me Colton from now on. President Gardner just sounds too distant.”
Nicole pursed her lips with her eyes lowered and, without any intention of refusing, said softly, “Alright, Colton.”
Grunting in response, Colton got up and walked out the door as he said, “I’ll get you some chowder. It’s still early, so you don’t have to worry.”
Nicole didn’t refuse the man’s kindness as she knew that only when she had taken good care of herself could she take good care of Hayden. Hence, she nodded at Colton.
After Colton left and brought back the chowder, Nicole was already by Hayden’s side, watching over the child. When he brought the chowder to her, she took a glance at the child before she focused on eating the chowder one spoon at a time. Although the chowder made by the chef of the Gardner Family was delicious, she couldn’t taste anything at all. Nonetheless, she continued to feed herself with each spoon as though she was a machine. After she was done with the bowl of chowder in no time at all, she put away the bowl and continued watching over Hayden.
Seven o’clock in the morning. The sun rose slightly later today as it was still on the horizon even though it was already seven. As the curtains were drawn open in the room, the gentle sunlight poured through the window into the room. Ever since Nicole woke up, she had never let Hayden out of her sight, while Colton continued to stand beside her and kept her company. Finally, the child in bed opened his eyes in the sun-illuminated room.
Looking at the child waking up, Nicole felt a burst of joy as she hurriedly hugged the child. “Hayden.”
However, Hayden looked lifeless as he showed no reaction even though he was in the arms of his mother. His dark, black eyes were listless as though it was devoid of all hope.
After Nicole hugged her child for a while, she realized that something was amiss, so she released her arms around Hayden and stared at him. There, she found that Hayden’s eyes were lifeless and tinged with signs of dementia.
With his mouth slightly gaping, Hayden kept muttering, “Ah, ah!”
Upon such a sight, Nicole felt a tug at her heartstrings. She hurriedly embraced the boy and said, “Hayden, Hayden, it’s me. Hayden, can you hear me?”
However, Hayden showed no indication that he understood what his mother was saying to him, as he continued to mutter “Ah, ah,” over and over again.
Looking at the demented child in front of her, Nicole felt as though her heart was seized by an indescribable pain. Gritting her teeth, she held the child in her arms.
