Ethan Mark: Billionaire in Disguise

5. The Payment.

Throughout the night, Ethan couldn't get a peaceful sleep. Every time he closed his eyes to slumber, he would jolt awake, as if he had just had a terrible dream.

Two things troubled his mind. First, he doubted whether Mr. Smith would fulfill his promise to send him the money. Despite knowing Mr. Smith as a man of his word since childhood, Ethan found it hard to believe that he would receive the money before morning.

Secondly, he was worried about his wife's whereabouts. It was past midnight, and she hadn't returned home. This was out of character for Isabella, and Ethan wondered if she was still upset with him and chose not to come back.

Restless as a bird returning to its nest, Ethan repeatedly checked his phone for any notifications.

"It's 5 a.m. He should have made the transfer by now," Ethan muttered, standing up from the sofa where he had been sitting all night and grabbing a glass of water.

As he took a sip from the glass, his phone's distinct chime, reminiscent of a delicate church bell, interrupted him. Startled, he hastily put down the glass and brought the phone to his face.

"He did it! He sent the money!" Ethan exclaimed in excitement, feeling like a child who had just received a handful of dollar bills. "Isabella!" he called out loudly, momentarily forgetting that his wife hadn't returned home.

"Oh!" he muttered, realizing his wife's absence. Without wasting any more time, he hurried to the hospital, still wearing the clothes of the previous day and definitely not having taken his bath.

At 6:30 a.m., Ethan arrived at the hospital entrance. The surroundings were calm, with only a few nurses walking around and no one at the reception desk.

He entered the hospital and decided to call his wife. Even if she wasn't willing to talk to him, she would at least hear that he had received the money and that their daughter's surgery could proceed without further delays.

As he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone and dialed his wife's number, he spotted her emerging from the preoperative room. Clearly, they had kept their daughter waiting until they secured the money for the surgery.

However, Ethan's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed a man standing beside Isabella, holding her hand like a groom, walking his bride down the aisle. He strained his memory but couldn't recall ever seeing this man before.

"I have never seen him before," he murmured, his mind searching desperately for recognition like a lost wanderer.

"And this is the poor fool I told you about." Isabella's words interrupted Ethan's thoughts. He was not only shocked that Isabella called him such a name in front of a stranger but also surprised by the stranger's mockery.

"I see. He's exactly as you described him.” He said.

 "Well, my name is Davis, your wife's boyfriend," he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Oh, sorry, your ex-wife’s new boyfriend," he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.

Ethan still couldn't believe what the stranger was saying. He needed to confirm it with his wife herself. "Babe, what's going on here?" He asked, looking into Isabella's eyes with a bewildered gaze, his expression reflecting the shock of an unexpected revelation.

But as soon as he talked, Ethan only saw Davis covered his nose and immediately wore a screw up face. "Babe, do you smell anything?" Davis asked, turning to Isabella in obvious jest about Ethan's odor and breath.

However, Isabella said nothing in agreement with Davis'. She looked at Ethan and said, "You heard him right, Ethan. I'm tired of you and your poverty. You were never in my league. I thought I saw potential in you, but it turns out I was blinded by love. I should have never married you. You're just a poor bastard who will never amount to anything in life."

Isabella's words struck Ethan like a bolt of lightning, sending shockwaves through his senses and leaving him momentarily stunned. His heart grew heavy, and a sudden agony pierced him like a dagger.

"See, Ethan? This marriage is over. I'm with Davis now, and we've already been intimate. I don't care what you do; I just want you out of my life." she yelled. 

"My parents have already paid for Sophia's surgery, so you don't have to worry about your broke ass contributing. Besides, you couldn't afford it anyway. And let me warn you, if you don't sign the divorce papers we send you, my parents and I will make sure you rot in jail."

Still in shock, as if everything Isabella said was a dream, Ethan watched her walk away with her new boyfriend eyeing him disdainfully before following behind.

Not knowing what to do, he gathered the shattered pieces of himself and slowly walked towards the preoperative room. He wanted to see his daughter and hold her hand, even if she was unconscious. "I should be there with her throughout the surgery and be the first person she sees when she wakes up."

Just as he was about to open the door to the pre-op room, three nurses interrupted him, blocking his path.

"Whoever you think you are, the mother of the child gave strict instructions not to allow anyone to see the child except her," one of the nurses said.

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise once again. "But I'm her father," he explained, trying to reason with the nurses. However, none of them were willing to listen.

"Security!" they shouted, and three uniformed men appeared almost instantly, as if they had been waiting to be called.

"Throw him out," one of the nurses ordered, and they did. Even when Ethan struggled not to, he could not overcome three security guards at a time; instead, he only met his buttocks behind the hospital exit.