What does she operate on?" William asked curiously.Jake smiled, pride momentarily softening his otherwise worried features. "The heart, sir." William raised a brow, clearly impressed. "Wow… you are full of surprises, aren't you?"
He turned his gaze back to Aurora and smiled softly at her unconscious form. "You know… it was always my greatest dream for my daughter to become a surgeon. And somehow, Aurora reminds me so much of her." Jake tilted his head slightly. "Sir, you have a daughter?"
William nodded, his face falling. "Yes. Her name is Hazel. But she was kidnapped the very day she was born." Jake's expression darkened with empathy. "I'm so sorry to hear that, sir." William gave a small, hollow chuckle. "It's alright. My wealth… my power… all of it feels pointless. People envy me, but for what? I have no son. No daughter. No one to carry on my legacy. My name ends with me."
His eyes lingered on Aurora again, the ache in his heart deepening. Then he sighed and took a step back."I've spoken too much. I'll take my leave now." He turned to go but then…
"Dad…"
The voice was barely above a whisper, fragile like a ghost slipping through the wind. But William heard it.He froze.His world stopped spinning.He didn't breathe. He didn't blink.
Jake's eyes widened. "Sir… she's regaining consciousness!" he cried out.
William rushed back to her side, dropping to his knees beside the bed. He clutched her hand, trembling with hope."Please… say it again," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Please call me that again…"
It was as though the heavens answered his prayer, for once again, Aurora's lips parted and the word came out soft, slow, and soul-shaking.
"Dad…"
A floodgate broke within William. Tears streamed down his face as he pulled her hand closer to his chest. That single word just three letters was more valuable than all the gold in the world. For a moment, he was no longer the powerful, stoic CEO. He was simply a man who had waited his entire life for a daughter to call him Dad. He wept freely.
The joy that filled him was too vast for words.
Then Aurora weakly lifted a hand and pointed toward the door.Both men turned.And there he was.The one person Aurora never wanted to see.Charles stormed into the room and rushed straight to her side. William stood up, stepping back instinctively. His presence was suddenly unwelcome."Jake! I thought I told you to inform me immediately if anything happened to my daughter!" Charles barked.
William stiffened. So… she's his daughter? he thought, watching the interaction with sharp eyes.But something didn't sit right.They look nothing alike, William silently observed. And as far as I know, Rose bears no resemblance to Aurora either.His mind raced. Something is off…I've known Charles and Rose since high school, he recalled. Neither of them had any hereditary illness. So how… how is it possible that they passed on a genetic disease like leukemia?
He narrowed his eyes.It doesn't add up.
Trying to mask his suspicion, he said calmly, "Charles… you don't resemble Aurora at all. And neither does Rose. I mean, no offense, but there's no resemblance between either of you and her."
Charles shot him a sharp glare. "That's enough, William. Learn to mind your own business. You have no right to question me about my daughter." He stepped protectively in front of Aurora, clearly agitated."You haven't changed one bit," Charles sneered. "Still the same nosy William, always meddling in affairs that don't concern you. Stay away from my daughter. You can leave now. Her real family is here."
William clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
Charles then turned his anger toward Jake. "And you! Why the hell didn't you call me? I trusted you!" Jake, tired of the act, folded his arms. "I'm sorry, sir, but you don't order me around. Stop pretending to be a caring father." "What did you just say?"
"You heard me," Jake said coldly. "Do you think I don't know why she's in this condition? She called me, crying. She told me everything how you were mistreating her. Torturing her emotionally. You pushed her to the edge."Charles' nostrils flared. "You dare—!" "If something bad happens to her, I swear on everything I have you will pay dearly," Charles snapped.
"Yes, I admit I treated her badly," Jake added, voice quieter, full of guilt, "but that doesn't mean—" PAK! PAK! PAK!
Before Jake could finish his sentence, William struck him three heavy slaps, one after another.The sound echoed through the hospital ward.Jake staggered slightly but didn't retaliate. He understood. William's anger wasn't baseless.He lowered his head in shame.Aurora lay there, silent.Watching.
How I wish I had a father like him, she thought, eyes following William with a kind of aching admiration. A father who would stand up for me… fight for me… cry for me…
Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes again not from pain, but from longing.From the cruel, beautiful ache of imagining a life she never got to live.