I'm Done Bidding for His Time

Yves Zeller auctioned off his time. He'd built an internal bidding app that opened every Sunday at 8 p.m. Whoever bid the most got to decide how he'd spend his free time the following week. His mother, Diana Zeller, was on there. So was his ex, Yvette Xavier, and his business partner, Caleb Mercer. And me, Jenna Langford. Except I could never afford to win. Because every time I placed a bid, Yvette tripled it. The first time was our daughter, Lucy Zeller's, Parents' Day at preschool. I bid $2000. Yvette offered $6000, with a note saying she wanted James to go to a home design expo with her. Lucy stood outside her classroom, watching the other kids walk in holding their fathers' hands. "Mommy, did someone buy Daddy again?" The second time, Lucy was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition and had to be hospitalized for further evaluation. I bid $10,000 and attached her medical report. The system updated. Yvette had bid $15,000, with her note stating that said she was feeling down and needed company. Yves chose Yvette. The third time, Lucy needed surgery. I'd finally saved up enough in my account to win an entire week of Yves's time. Then a notification appeared on my screen. [Yvette Xavier did not submit a bid. Priority for this week's companionship remains with Yvette Xavier.] I stared at those words until I finally understood. It had never been an auction. The rules were just something Yves had invented to disguise the fact that he would always choose her. Lucy looked up at me. "Mommy, can we just stop wanting Daddy?" My eyes burned as I tapped the button to leave the system. Chapter 1 The second I left the system, Yves Zeller called. "Cancel the request." His voice was perfectly even, as if I'd submitted a report with the wrong numbers. I held Lucy Zeller tighter and looked down at the bruised needle marks covering the back of her hand. "I can't." "IT can restore your account. Register again. Don't hold everyone up because of this." A laugh escaped me. Our daughter was scheduled for her pre-op evaluation first thing tomorrow morning, yet he hadn't asked a single question about her condition. All he cared about was losing one bidder from his precious auction. "Yves, Lucy's having surgery tomorrow." There was a two-second silence. "I know." "The doctor needs both parents there to sign the paperwork. Come home tonight." "I'll be there before nine tomorrow morning. Yvette just moved, and she's having a rough time. I'll come back after I finish helping her unpack." I checked the time. It was 11:40 p.m. "Doesn't she have family?" His voice turned cold. "Jenna Langford, you left the system. You don't get to ask who I belong to now." He hung up. Lucy looked up at me. "Daddy still isn't coming home?" I gently tugged her sleeve back into place. "The doctor said you need a good night's sleep tonight." At nine the next morning, Yves still hadn't shown up. The doctor slid a surgical consent form across the desk. "The hole between Lucy's ventricles is more serious than we initially thought. We can't delay the surgery any longer. Is her father still not here?" It took seven calls before someone finally answered. Yvette's voice came through the phone. "Jenna? Yves is in the shower. Is it urgent?" "Put him on." "We were busy until three in the morning, and he just got to sleep. There are doctors handling Lucy's surgery, aren't there? It's not like Yves can do anything if he goes." A moment later, Yves took the phone, sounding groggy. "I misjudged the timing. Sign whatever you can for now. I'll be there for the actual surgery." "There's a form you have to sign yourself. The doctor needs a family history of hereditary heart disease. Your father had bypass surgery, and you're the only one who knows the details." "Send it to my assistant. I'll have him take care of it." The doctor had heard enough. He took the phone from me. "Mr. Zeller, a medical history interview cannot be completed by your assistant. Your daughter's condition is serious. You need to come to the hospital immediately." "I can spare twenty minutes after three this afternoon." Then he hung up. Lucy sat in the chair with her feet dangling above the floor. She looked at the doctor, then at me before suddenly picking up the pen and painstakingly writing her own name on the consent form. "I can sign it myself, Doctor. Daddy's really busy. I can say yes to the surgery myself." I pulled her into my arms, my nails digging deep into my palms. Yves finally arrived at 3:17 that afternoon. Yvette came in behind him, wearing the silver bracelet I'd spent three months searching for. It had been Yves's gift to me for our seventh wedding anniversary. My name was still engraved on the back of the charm. "Take it off." Yvette drew her hand back. "Yves found it in an old box. He said nobody wanted it, so I thought it was okay to wear." Then she added softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. If it bothers you, I'll give it back." She said she would return it, but her other hand closed protectively over the clasp. In the struggle, the bracelet suddenly snapped and fell to the floor. I instinctively bent to pick it up, but Yves stopped me. "It's an old bracelet. If it's dirty, throw it away. I can buy you another one." Instead, he turned to inspect the red marks on Yvette's wrist. "You hurt her. Apologize." Lucy suddenly jumped down from her chair and shoved Yvette away with all her strength. "You're a bad lady! Stop taking Mommy's things!" Chapter 2 Yvette stumbled into the corner of the table and immediately burst into tears. Yves's face hardened. He caught Lucy by the arm before she could get away. "Who taught you to hit people? Apologize to Yvette." Lucy winced and hunched her shoulders, trying to pull free. "No." Yves took out his phone and reopened the bidding app I'd already quit. "Then you lose your time with me next week. You can have it back when you apologize." For a few seconds, Lucy only stared at him, as though she didn't understand what he was taking away. Then her gaze dropped to the floor. "Daddy, I'm not bidding for you anymore." Yves went still, his finger suspended over the screen. Before he could respond, a nurse hurried into the room with a test report. "Ms. Langford, we just picked up an abnormality in Lucy's heart rhythm. We need to move her to the ER for observation immediately." Lucy crumpled before the nurse had even finished speaking. Yves and I both lunged for her. At that exact moment, Yvette pressed a hand to her side and gave a small cry of pain. Yves instinctively turned toward her, just enough to miss Lucy. His fingertips brushed her as she fell, but didn't catch her. She hit the floor hard. "Move!" The medical team swept in and rushed Lucy away. I tried to follow the gurney, only for Yves to grab my wrist. "Why did she suddenly get so much worse?" I tore myself free. "It wasn't sudden. The doctors warned us she could develop an arrhythmia at any time. Her latest test results have been sitting in the bidding system for a week. You never even opened them." Yves's brow tightened slightly. Yvette steadied herself against the table. "Yves has been busy, and there are so many attachments in that system. Jenna, you should've told him directly." "I did. Eleven times." I looked at her. "The first time, he was helping you choose curtains. The second time, your stomach hurt. The third time, he told me that if I wanted his time, I should follow the rules and bid for it." Yvette bit her lip. "Then you could've bid higher." I slapped her. Yves shoved me back so fast that my lower back struck the door handle. Pain shot through me, and for a moment my vision went black. "Apologize." "Not a chance." He didn't argue. He simply took out his phone and called the finance department. "Freeze every household account under Jenna's name. Restore access when she apologizes." For a second, I couldn't believe what I'd heard. "That's Lucy's medical money." "The money is still there. You're choosing not to back down." Yves checked his watch as though this were nothing more than an inconvenience in his schedule. "I'll take responsibility for Lucy. You still have to take responsibility for what you did." The doors to the resuscitation room burst open before I could answer. "Your daughter needs an emergency cardiac catheterization," a nurse said. "We need a $30,000 deposit immediately." I pulled out my phone and opened the account. The balance was zero. Yves stood only a few feet away, waiting. He knew exactly what I would have to do. Yvette dabbed at her tears. "Forget it, Yves. Jenna's only acting this way because she's worried about Lucy. I don't need an apology." "She has to apologize." The red light above the resuscitation room was still on. I stared at it, then lowered my head. "I'm sorry." Something almost like a smile flickered in Yvette's eyes. Yves finally called finance and had the accounts unlocked. I made the transfer, and the nurse hurried back inside with the payment confirmation. Afterward, Yvette complained that her back hurt from hitting the table. Yves took her to orthopedics, and that was the last I saw of them that day. The doctor pulled up the images for me. His expression told me enough before he even spoke. "Her condition is worse than we expected. We need to operate as soon as possible. There's a specialist abroad, Dr. Chenault, who can take her next week, but he only has one opening. We need the deposit today to secure the spot." I was about to tell him to take the slot when my phone vibrated. A transaction notification filled the screen. $800,000 had been transferred out of our household account. Before I could even process it, another notification appeared. Yvette had posted an update. She was sitting in the middle of a brand-new studio, smiling for the camera while Yves hung the sign behind her. [The best gift when you're at rock bottom is someone helping you start over.] I called him immediately. "Did you take Lucy's surgery money to pay for Yvette's studio?" "I'm borrowing it. I'll replace it later." "The overseas specialist, Dr. Chenault, has one opening." "There are local doctors. We don't have to choose the most expensive option." His tone remained maddeningly calm. "Yvette had a breakdown after you slapped her. She needed something to take her mind off it." I gripped Lucy's test results until the paper crumpled in my hand. "So helping her feel better matters more than your daughter's life?" "Don't twist what I'm saying. I'll get the money together for Lucy's surgery. If that slot is gone, we'll take the next one." "She can't wait for the next one." "Doctors always make the risks sound more serious than they are." Yvette called to him in the background. They were about to cut the ribbon. Yves told her he'd be right there, then said to me, "I'm opening tonight's bidding early. If you want me at the pre-op meeting, bid for my time like everyone else." The call ended. Almost immediately, the app sent me a notification. [Your account has been reactivated by an administrator.] I'd quit. He had put me back in anyway. At eight o'clock, the only available slot appeared. I put everything I had on it. $300,000. For one brief moment, the screen showed that I'd won. Then the page refreshed. [Yvette Xavier: $300,001] Underneath was her note. [I'm scared to sleep alone after the studio opening.] Chapter 3 I sent Yves a screenshot of the final bid. [This is what you call fair?] His answer came almost immediately. [Yvette bid more.] [With what money? She took $800,000 from Lucy's surgery fund, and now she's bidding with money you gave her.] [The money became hers the moment I gave it to her. Keep bidding if you want. Don't start questioning the rules just because you lost.] I had $2000 left in the account. There was nothing more to say. Yves didn't show up for the pre-op meeting the next morning. The doctor explained that they still needed a detailed medical history from Yves's side of the family, and because Lucy's surgery was high-risk, both parents needed to review the consent forms. I photographed every page and sent them to him one by one. He read them all. Half an hour passed without a reply. Then a picture arrived from Yvette instead. Yves was at her studio in a paint-spattered white shirt, rolling blue paint onto the wall. [Stop bothering him, Jenna. Yves promised he'd stay until we finished painting.] I shut off my phone and went through the paperwork with the doctor alone. That was the last I saw of Yves for the next three days. Then Lucy's preschool called to tell me she'd been suspended. When I arrived, the office was already crowded with angry parents. Somehow, they all knew how serious Lucy's heart condition was. One demanded to know who would be responsible if she collapsed in class. Another shoved a phone at me before I could even ask what was going on. Yvette's studio account had posted an article. [A truly independent woman doesn't use her child or an illness to manipulate her partner. No one has unlimited time to give. If you want respect, start by respecting the rules.] The comments had already identified Lucy's preschool. Someone had also posted the hospital video of me slapping Yvette, carefully edited to remove everything that had led up to it. It showed me striking her, then cut to me bowing my head and apologizing. That was the story everyone had been given. Lucy was hiding behind her teacher, her face drained of color, when one of the boys pointed at her. "Your mom hits people, and your dad doesn't even want you." I pulled her against me and asked the teacher who had put the video in the parents' group. The teacher hesitated. "Her father. He requested the suspension as her legal guardian. He said Lucy was aggressive and had pushed Ms. Xavier." A chill went through me. For Yvette, Yves hadn't just jeopardized his own daughter's surgery. Now he was personally having her removed from school. Lucy twisted a fistful of my shirt between her fingers. "Mommy, I didn't hit anybody." "I know, sweetheart." I carried her out while the other parents whispered behind us. "No wonder her dad would rather be with someone else." "Poor kid. Imagine having a mother like that." Lucy heard them. I could feel her trembling against me all the way down the hall. We hadn't even made it past the stairwell when she clutched her chest. Her breathing turned ragged almost instantly. Then her lips began to turn blue. I called 911 and, while we waited for the ambulance, tried calling Yves. He declined the first call. On the second, Yvette answered. "What do you want now, Jenna?" "Put Yves on. Lucy's having an attack." "Today's the studio's media open house. Why do you always have to cause a scene when something important is happening to me?" "Give him the phone!" My voice shook from how hard I shouted. A moment later, Yves finally came on. "Where is she?" "At preschool. The ambulance isn't here yet, and her emergency medication is in the medical kit in your car. You're five minutes away. Bring it now." He offered to send the driver. "There isn't time. She can barely breathe!" Yvette's voice drifted through the background, reminding him that the press had arrived. For several seconds, Yves said nothing. Then he decided his assistant could bike the medication over in fifteen minutes. "She doesn't have fifteen minutes!" "Jenna, calm down. You're only going to make her more agitated." Then he hung up. Lucy was already going limp in my arms. I couldn't wait for the ambulance anymore. I ran outside carrying her, begging passing drivers to take us to the hospital until someone finally stopped. I had barely gotten Lucy into the back seat when a black sedan came through the intersection. I knew that car. Yves was sitting inside. He was five minutes from the preschool after all. He'd heard me say his daughter couldn't breathe. He'd heard me beg him to bring the medication that might help her. And he'd still chosen to go to Yvette's studio. "Yves! Stop!" Our cars drew alongside each other for a few seconds, and he turned at the sound of my voice. He saw me. More importantly, he saw Lucy unconscious in my arms. The sedan's brake lights came on. Then Yvette reached across and took hold of his arm. The brake lights went dark. Their car accelerated through the intersection and disappeared. I looked back down at Lucy and put my fingers beneath her nose, desperate to feel even the faintest breath. She didn't respond. Her hand lay limp in mine, the hospital bracelet still circling her tiny wrist. As I held on to her, her fingers slowly slipped free of my palm. Chapter 4 After Lucy was rushed into the resuscitation room, the doctor came out with the news I'd been dreading. "She's developed a severe arrhythmia. We need to operate immediately." My hand shook so badly I could barely sign the emergency consent form. "Where's her father?" the nurse asked. I stared at the crooked J I'd managed to scrawl at the beginning of Jenna. "Dead." Ten minutes later, another doctor came looking for me. The surgeon who was supposed to operate on Lucy had been reassigned at the last minute, and the hospital had received a request from a family member to postpone the surgery and transfer her to a private hospital. "I didn't request a transfer." The doctor pulled up the authorization. Yves Zeller's electronic signature was right there at the bottom. It took nine calls before he finally answered. Wherever he was, people were applauding in the background. "Why did you stop Lucy's surgery?" "Yvette contacted a medical team abroad. They have a higher success rate." "She can't even be transferred in her condition!" "You can't take everything the doctors here say at face value. Yvette wouldn't do anything to hurt Lucy." Yvette's voice floated through the phone. "Jenna, I've already sent her records to the specialists. They said she's too young for surgery. She needs to wait at least three months." The doctor beside me heard her and held out his hand for the phone. "Who told you this child can wait three months? She's at risk of heart failure at any moment. If we don't operate tonight, she may not survive." Yves was quiet for a moment. "Then get another surgeon." "This is a highly complex procedure. We can't just put anyone in the OR. The surgeon assigned to her has already been called away, and the earliest we can get him back is six hours from now." The call ended. I spent the next several hours outside the resuscitation room. Yves didn't arrive until five that afternoon, with Yvette following behind him carrying a bouquet. She came straight toward me, her face arranged into an apologetic expression. "Jenna, I'm sorry. I was only trying to help Lucy. I didn't realize the doctors here would be so conservative." I shoved her away. The flowers hit the floor. Yves immediately stepped between us. "Are you seriously going to hit her again?" "Withdraw the request." "I already did." He bent down, gathered the bouquet, and handed it back to Yvette. "The doctors are working on it. Stop blaming her for everything." "Was she the one who told you to stop the surgery?" "I'm the one who signed the authorization. If you want to blame someone, blame me." I looked at him. Of all the things he could have said, that was almost funny. The resuscitation room doors opened before I could answer. A doctor emerged, pulling off his mask. "We've managed to stabilize her heartbeat for now, but she's still in critical condition. You need to be prepared." They finally let me in to see Lucy. She lay beneath a tangle of tubes and wires, struggling just to open her eyes. "Mommy, I dreamed Daddy came to get me." Fighting back tears, I told her, "He's here. He's right outside." Lucy's eyes brightened at that. When I glanced back, Yves was still standing in the doorway without coming in. Then Yvette suddenly clutched her chest and sank down against the wall. "Yves, I can't breathe." He immediately went to help her up. After a moment's hesitation, he turned to me. "I'm taking Yvette to the ER. I'll be right back." I moved into the doorway before he could leave. "Lucy almost died." "Yvette isn't feeling well either." I had enough. I grabbed him by the collar. "She's your daughter!" Yves pried my fingers loose one by one and pushed me back into the room. "That's exactly why I trust you to take care of her. Yvette only has me." Then he left, closing the door behind him. Lucy's hand slowly dropped back to the mattress. "Did Daddy leave?" I turned away to wipe my eyes before she could see. "He went to get you a present." "Okay. I'll wait for him." She closed her eyes again, still holding on to that tiny bit of hope. By eight that evening, the operating room was finally ready. As the nurse wheeled Lucy down the hall, she kept watching the far end of the corridor. No one came. Just before they took her through the OR doors, she whispered, "Mommy, did Aunt Yvette buy Daddy again?" I bent down and kissed her forehead. "No." I held her gaze. "This time, we're the ones walking away from him." The doors slowly closed behind her. At that exact moment, my phone buzzed with two notifications from the bidding app. [Administrator Yves Zeller has changed family member permissions.] [Yvette Xavier has been designated the permanent priority companion.] I stared at the messages, took a screenshot, and called Diana Zeller. "Mom, you once told me that if I was willing to return the shares Yves's father left me to the Zeller family, we could negotiate any terms I wanted." Diana was silent for a moment. "What do you want?" I looked at the closed operating-room doors. When I answered, my voice was calm. "I want Yves to walk away from this marriage with nothing."