Ethan Mark: Billionaire in Disguise

8. The Acknowledgment

Parked at the hospital, Ethan was still in the limousine with Mr. Smith and the chauffeur. Beside the chauffeur in the front seat, Mr. Smith sat, and none of them said anything to one another.

Ethan took a deep breath. The thought that Isabella had just stolen his right to see his daughter away from him baffled him, and he was still broken within like a shattered mirror.

"Mr. Smith," Ethan called suddenly, and as Mr. Smith answered him and turned to look at him, he talked on.

"What do you think?" he asked, his eyes brimming with sincerity like a child's innocent gaze.

"Young Master, you are the heir to your father's billionaire companies. You have all it takes to get down here, walk into that hospital, and get your child out with you, and everyone can do nothing about it, not even your wife or her father. They have nothing compared to what you have," Mr. Smith said.

"But I will be depriving Sophia of the right to motherly care."

"With everything you have, sir, you can always hire a governess to care for her. She would turn out good," Mr. Smith suggested.

"No!" Ethan refused. "I will not steal Sophia's rights," Ethan said.

"So what will you do?" Mr. Smith asked. But Ethan only remained silent, like a lost puppy. He did not know what to say to Mr. Smith or what to do about his daughter.

"Can you do me this last favor, Mr. Smith?" Ethan asked after several minutes of silence.

"I will do anything for you, young master," Mr. Smith answered almost immediately.

"I cannot go into the hospital as they have been ordered not to let me in. I need you to go in my stead, visit the prep room where my daughter is, and leave this card beside her bed," Ethan said as he drew a symbol of love and a picture of a father and a daughter on the small cardboard he saw in the limo.

"What if your wife saw the card before your daughter did, especially because there is your email on the card?" Mr. Smith asked, glancing at the card.

"I will leave my fate to decide that. Just do as told, Mr. Smith."

"Yes, young master!" Mr. Smith stepped out of the limousine.

***

Isabella and Davis stepped into the beach house. They had just arrived from Davis' mansion after having all the fun there is to have.

Each security guard they passed bowed their heads like obedient subjects in a kingdom, acknowledging their presence.

As soon as Alexander set his gaze on his daughter and Victoria heard her voice from her study, she came out, and they both expressed their satisfaction that their daughter listened to them by ditching the poor bastard like a discarded toy, forgotten and forsaken.

"He came here, you know?" Alexander uttered it suddenly.

Isabella, who was sitting near Davis and was rubbing her hands into his hair and her other hand into his beard, became shocked by what her father said.

"Who came?" Isabella wore her attentiveness like a garment, facing her father to hear more of what he was talking about.

"The pauper. He came here to want me to talk you out of your decision," Alexander said.

"What did you tell him, dad?" Isabella asked.

"Trust your dad, Isabel. The fool was reminded of who he was and told to get an ugly girl from the gutter, as he is from the gutter, and get married to her, but he should leave our daughter alone," Victoria answered.

"You are such a monster, Dad, but I love you still." They all laughed, raising a glass of wine in cheers like a family in harmony.

Each of them gulped down their glass of wine at a single time, and Davis at this moment said, "Now that the pauper is out of our way, I'd like to inform us all that Isabella and I are getting married. I proposed, and she said yes!"

Alexander and Victoria, being the happiest parents in this moment and hearing Davis' words, could not hide their excitement. "Congratulations, darling. This is so right, and I am happy for you," said Victoria as she let Isabella into her arms like a welcoming embrace.

While Victoria still held Isabella close, Alexander joined them in the embrace, and he said, "I have always known you are meant for great things, and now our dream is coming true. I am so proud of you, daughter, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you."

"Come, Davis, join us in this wonderful embrace, and let us be one big happy family," Alexander invited Davis, and like that, Davis hugged them all from behind.

"One more thing, guys." Davis interrupted, and everyone stood on their own, separating from the family's hug.

They looked at Davis, paying attention to what he wanted to say.

"About Sophia, I promise to love her like my own daughter. She wouldn't miss a thing that the pauper had done for her before. I would like to have your permission to take her on a holiday in Paris after she is discharged from the hospital. I want her to have the lifestyle the pauper could not provide for her."

A few tears dropped from Isabella's eyes. She was moved by what Davis said he would do for her daughter. In that moment, even in the presence of her parents, she rushed into his arms and interlocked her lips with his.

"I love you," she said passionately, like a romantic movie star.