Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 413

The next morning, Daniel woke up to find his fever was gone. The first thing he saw was the long body pillow in his arms, which made him laugh in exasperation.

He should’ve known—Amelia was never one to let him hold her all night.

He left the bedroom and spotted Ashley carrying breakfast out from the kitchen.

“Good morning, sir. There’s a new toothbrush and towel on the table,” she said. “Once you’ve freshened up, breakfast is ready.”

Daniel glanced around. “Where’s Amelia?”

“She took Ruby to school,” Ashley replied. “She said she won’t be home for lunch. And, um…” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “If you’re still here by dinnertime, she won’t be back for that, either.”

The truth, of course, was far less diplomatic: If Daniel was still lazing around at home, Amelia would toss him out with a broom. In fact, if he didn’t leave, she and Ruby simply wouldn’t come home.

Daniel knew Amelia too well to be fooled. Ashley’s words had clearly been edited for politeness.

He shot her a wry look. “Thanks for looking out for my delicate feelings.”

Truth was, he needed to leave. He was finally over his fever, and work had piled up during his absence—there was plenty waiting for him at the office. Besides, Ashley was keeping a hawk’s eye on him, pretending to sweep while making sure he didn’t try to linger.

After Daniel left, Amelia stripped the bedding from his room and put it in the wash, then disinfected the whole house. Still, despite her efforts, Ruby came down sick.

Ashley was especially worried about the little one, and couldn’t help blaming Daniel a little—if he knew he was contagious, why come home? It’s one thing for adults, but when a child falls ill, it’s a whole different story.

But in truth, Daniel wasn’t to blame. That afternoon, Amelia learned that a fifth of Ruby’s preschool class had already caught the flu. With such a high infection rate, it only took one sick child to pass it on to the rest. Kids with weaker immune systems, like Ruby, were especially vulnerable.

The preschool had to close temporarily, disinfect the premises, and try to stop the outbreak from spreading further.

For Ruby, things were even more complicated—she needed to be admitted to the hospital.

During the day, her fever had seemed to subside, but by nightfall it shot back up, spiking to a dangerous 104 degrees.

She stared at her pale reflection, forcing a smile.

It looked stiff and unnatural—Ruby would see right through it.

Amelia practiced her smile in the mirror until she could hide every trace of fear, then finally walked back to the hospital room.

Ruby was still hooked up to an IV. It was the middle of the night, the nurse on duty dozing in her chair, but Ruby herself was wide awake. When she saw Amelia, she called out in a sweet, scratchy voice, “Mommy!”

The nurse quickly straightened up. Amelia told her to go get some rest, then bent down to stroke Ruby’s hair, her eyes gentle. “Why aren’t you asleep, sweetheart?”

“I want to hear a bedtime story,” Ruby whispered.

Amelia pulled a book of fairy tales from her bag, settled against the headboard, and began to read softly, her voice warm and soothing in the quiet night.