“You have a child with Nicole?” Ethan repeated the question.
Valerie and Nicole turned their gazes to him. He scoffed in disbelief. “I'm not surprised that you kept such a secret from me.”
“We don't have a child together. What are you talking about, sir?” Valerie blinked hard.
Nicole laughed a little. “I wish.”
“You jerk! What are you saying, Nick?” Valerie nudged Nicole.
With that, Ethan gulped hard and sighed in relief. “So… you're saying that I didn't hear you talking about a child?”
“The child you heard is not ours like you described.” Nicole snapped.
Ethan shook his head, but it was obvious that he wasn't satisfied with the explanation they gave him. He was still eager to know what child they were talking about.
Valerie stared at him, and saw how unsettled Ethan looked. Even though she didn't want to, she just had to tell him so that he wouldn't get the wrong impression. “Actually, Sir, the child you heard us talking about is mine.”
Ethan turned sharply with his eyes narrowed. “Yours? You… Do you have a child? Are you… are you married?”
“I'm not.” Valerie bowed her head. Tears circulated in her eyes again. She wondered why each time she wanted to talk about this, she always shed tears. The feeling of having a child and not being recognized as the child's mother made her feel bad.
Confused, Ethan scratched his head. “If you are not married, then why do you have a child? Are you divorced or is the child a love child?”
“I heard the child when I was 20. But I was opportune to be a mother to the child.” Valerie burst into tears, and Nicole hugged her tightly.
Seeing them that close made Ethan feel so bad, but he had to get a hold of himself. “I'm sorry. I didn't know that you lost the child, I shouldn't have brought back those memories to you.”
“No, sir. I didn't lose the child to death, I'm certain that the child is somewhere safe and sound, and that's my only source of happiness. Even though I wasn't able to play the role of a mother to the child, I just hope that wherever my baby is, she's doing well and living a comfortable life.” Valerie cleaned her tears.
Curiously, Ethan inquired. “I don't understand. I'm sorry if I'm being too inquisitive, but I'm just wondering how you lost your child. I mean, you just told me that the child didn't die, so which other way would you have lost your child if not to death?”
“I… I had the child out of… I…the child… I didn't want the child at first because I wanted to further my education. My family forced it on me and…” Valerie couldn't continue because tears didn't let her.
Nicole patted her hair and replied. “She was forced by her family to be a surrogate at a young age for money. You won't believe that she didn't even see her baby's face. That's not even worse, what's worse was that she was kicked out by her stepmother.”
Ethan freaked out. “What?”
“I apologize for boring you with my story, sir. I just wanted to clear the air and let you know that Nicole and I don't have any children together.” Valerie wiped her tears off with her fist and sniffed hard.
After a few minutes of silence, Ethan fluttered his brows, and then broke the silence. “Did you say you became a surrogate mother?”
Valerie nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
Ethan thought of his precious daughter, Audrey. He quickly turned to Valerie and stared at her without blinking, then he suddenly thought within himself.
“She looks so much like Audrey. The resemblance is really deep. Does this mean that she is…? That can't be, right?”
“Sir? Are you okay? Do I have something on my face? Why are you staring at me in that manner, sir?” Valerie asked anxiously.
Pushing him aside, Nicole snorted. “The way you're staring at her is really getting me scared.”
Ethan smiled dryly. “It's nothing. I was just lost in thought. Nothing much!”
“Sir, are you thinking of what I told you about my child? You don't have to worry about that. It happened a long time ago, and I've been living since then. I just let my emotions get the best of me. That's the reason I reacted the way I did. I don't think there's any reason why I should still be crying over spilled milk.” Valerie forced a smile.
Likewise, Ethan was still not satisfied with the information he had. The more he looked at Valerie, all he saw was the maximum version of his precious daughter, Audrey. “Uhm… I apologize for being too inquisitive, but I just want to know when this happened. How many years ago and in which hospital did you give birth?”
“It was…” Valerie was still speaking when a nurse walked into the room and interrupted them.
“President Ethan Davison, your daughter has just regained consciousness.”
“What?” Ethan sprang up and rushed out of the room immediately.
Nicole turned to Valerie with arched eyebrows. “You don't intend to leave this room, right?”
“I need to see her.” She snapped.
Nicole snorted. “But you're still in pain.”
“I have to, Nicole. Help me get up so that I can see her.” She cried out as Nicole helped her to her feet.
Meanwhile, Ethan stormed into the ward and slowly Audrey turned to him. Her vision was blurry.
“Miss… Miss old-fashioned!” Was all Audrey could say.