Chapter 4
Ethan's POV:
Today is the day; I'll be returning to work after being Jason's bodyguard for several weeks. My secretary handed me a stack of paperwork to sign, but she also informed me that many people want me to construct various projects. I am a pediatric nurse in addition to being an architect.
I enjoy looking after children, however it can be exhausting at times due to their misbehavior. I go to Carmel's hospital, which she owns, on weekends or when I'm not doing anything because she enjoys assisting individuals poor and needy.
[Kuya! I know you shouldn’t know this but I want to say that Ate Madelyn and I met! I know you've been looking for her for a long time,] Carmel when she was once called.
I stopped my writing and settled down. "Y-you see her?" I said in shock.
She sighed. [Yes! Mommy and Ate Katie met earlier because she was shooting here in Baler and we just accidentally met that's why I called you] I was stunned again.
I hung up and took a deep breath. Mommy has always despised Madelyn, and my Mom is always mad at her and I don’t know the reason why she’s so mad to Maddie, so when I saw Mommy talking to Madelyn, I turned away from her. I don't want Madelyn to be mistreated by anyone else.
That's why I'm afraid Mommy will hurt her. Mommy assured me that she would not approach Madelyn's family once I accepted the marriage. I don't want her to destroy Madelyn, so I'm forced to abandon the lady I truly love.
I spent the entire day and night signing papers in the office. Katie and I get along Really well, and I've never considered liking her. It was never in my best interests for me to like her since Madelyn has always been in my heart and no one can replace her even my wife.
"Sir, there is a building in Sorsogon that you need to see. Sir Vlad also called me saying that if possible he would like to see you," she said in a polite voice.
"Sure," I said simply. "Cancel all my meetings for today, I'll go to Jason’s school to fetch him, so I might not be able to go back to the office," I added as she nodded.
I combed my hair and gazed out the window at the nearby structures. I took a few deep breaths before taking up my blue coat and heading to Jason's school. I'm thinking about going to the hospital later to see the kids play.
I took the elevator and waited, then exited and walked to my car when I reached the ground floor. I immediately drove my car to Jason's school; even though we live in Manila, I often drive to Cagayan to take care of Grandpa's mansion; he died many years ago and he trusted me with his property.
I arrived at Jason's school and saw some kids coming out. I got out of my car and immediately went inside to pick up Jason, he said he wanted us to eat so I would follow what he said.
"Daddy!" Jason when he saw me outside their classroom.
I smiled and waved at him, he ran fast to me so I lift him up. "You're so heavy, I used to lift you when you’re a baby," I teased him with a grin.
"Come on Daddy! Let's go to the mall! I want Panda!" Jason in a hurried voice so I laughed and nodded. I helped him enter in my car while listening to his story. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I am amazed by what he tells me.
"Your Mommy is in Baler, she has something to do there. If you want, we can wait for her in the house," I said when he looked for Katie.
"Okay, Daddy." he smiled and looked at what was outside the window.
We got to the mall, I helped him get down and we immediately went inside. Upon our entry I saw a few photos of Madelyn, I gasped because they were not here before.
"Wow! My crush is here Daddy!" Jason as he stared at Madelyn’s picture while wearing a bikini.
I'm surprised. "Pardon son?" I ask because maybe I just heard wrong.
"She's Madelyn Eve. I like her name and when I looked at her I smiled automatically," he said while staring at her.
I simply rubbed my temples and pushed him away from there. If you only knew how much I adore her, you'd understand why I've been crushing on her since high school. I took him to Tom's World so he could stock up on toys. My gaze roamed till it came to rest on the girl reaching for something..
I went there and looked at the object she was reaching for. She looked up at me and snorted so I smiled at her and handed her a jar of gummy worms.
"Thank you, mister ..." she said in a small voice and hugged the jar.
I knelt down and stared at her. "What's your name? And where is your guardian?" I said calmly.
She pouted and fixed her sunflower clip so I fixed it in her hair. "I'm Khloe and I'm with my Auntie ..." she said in a small voice and I bet she's 5 years old.
"Khloe!" I looked there and was so shocked to see Emily, Madelyn's cousin.
I stepped away a bit and watched her talk to Khloe. She looked at me and smiled, so did I smiled back to her.
"Your child?" I asked and looked at Khloe who was still hugging the jar of gummies.
She shook her head and smiled. "She's not my daughter, she's Madelyn's daughter," she said in a calm voice and held Khloe. "Let's go, maybe your Mommy is looking for you," she added and left me stunned.
I blinked and turned to face their vanishing bulk. Is this Madelyn's daughter? When? To whom? I placed my hand to my chest because I could feel my heart pounding as a result of what I had heard. Maybe another Madelyn?
"Daddy," Jason called while frowning.
"Y-yes, I'm sorry ... I just helped a child earlier," I said in a calm voice. "What do you want to have? Have you bought it yet?" I added in a calm voice even though I was still floating on what I heard.
He smiled. "Yes! I was looking for you earlier," he said in a cheerful voice and pulled me to the toy car.
I wasn’t on my own even when we got back in the car, I was quiet because I couldn’t imagine Madelyn having a child. Who is his husband? We got home and Katie wasn't there yet, I helped her get down and immediately gave him to his babysitter. I sat on the sofa and removed my coat because too much had happened today.
Khloe and Madelyn. Damn I'm going to lose my mind. How come? Shouldn’t I be happy? Why is there a part of me that want to have a chid with Madelyn?
I got up and went straight to the master bedroom, where I stayed until we married, which was great because Katie agreed. Rather than being bored here, I grabbed my small suitcase and dressed in my hospital uniform, deciding to visit the children at the hospital.
"Jason, I'm going to leave because there might be a lot of patients in the hospital," I said in a calm voice.
"Sure, Daddy! I'll wait for you two and Mommy here." He kissed my forehead and smiled at me sweetly.
I got in my car, I wanted to get to know Khloe better so that I could know what Madelyn had been doing for seven years. I got to Laguna where Carmel’s hospital was located, I got off and immediately entered.
"Good evening, Sir!" Guard greeted and bowed slightly.
"Good evening," I said politely and smiled.
I went to my office and immediately changed my clothes, after that I went out and saw a few children with their parents.
"Doc, I hope you can help my son. Today is his check-up and his injection but he doesn't want to and has been crying for a while," said the woman with her 4-year-old son.
I smiled. "Let's go to my office, I'll take care of him," I said and helped them get to my office.
I smiled and invited them to sit down, I took a deep breath and figured out who had assigned them. The child has dengue so the parents want to inject him with anti-dengue but there is no doctor assigned to them yet.
"It's like an ant bite so you don't have to be scared. All right, just talk to me and just look at me okay?" I said softly as he nodded and held my polo shirt. "What do you want to be when you grown up?" I ask as I put alcohol on his arm and rub it.
He smiled. "I want to be a policeman, because I want to help my Mom to sell suman," he said in a low voice and smiled.
I smiled and remembered a woman who taught me how to struggle before achieving success. The woman did not stop raising her family just so they could eat three meals a day. Madelyn.