Chapter 4 - Echoes of the Past
Ethan knelt back down, keeping a respectful distance, aware that his sudden presence might frighten the little girl. Lily hid her face in the crook of Rosa’s neck, her small hands clutching Button the rabbit tight against her chest.
"Rosa," Ethan said softly. "Is she alright? We need to call a doctor. Her arm—she fell hard."
"She's scared," Rosa said, her voice shaking as the adrenaline began to fade, leaving behind a bone-deep exhaustion. "Her arm is bruised, but I don't think it's broken. I need to take her home."
"Home?" Ethan echoed, the word sounding hollow to him. "Rosa, you're not going anywhere right now. Please. Let me call Dr. Reynolds. He can be here in fifteen minutes to examine her. I need to know she's safe."
Rosa looked up, meeting his gray-green eyes. "We don't need your private doctor, Ethan. I can take her to an urgent care clinic."
"Rosa, please," Ethan pleaded, a rare note of desperation creeping into his voice. "Don't run from me again. Just let the doctor check her. For my own peace of mind."
Rosa looked at her daughter's tear-stained face, then down at the faint purple red mark beginning to form on Lily's small forearm where Victoria had grabbed her. Reluctantly, she gave a single nod. "Fine. But just the doctor."
Ethan immediately pulled out his phone, making a quick call to his personal physician, instructing him to arrive with urgency. Once he ended the call, he looked at Rosa, his mind swirling with four years of unanswered questions.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ethan asked, his voice low and heavy with remorse. "Four years ago, Rosa... when you found out. Why didn't you call?"
Rosa let out a soft, bitter laugh, looking around the pristine, cold walls of the east parlor. "Call you? Ethan, I was twenty-two years old, living in a studio apartment in Queens with no savings. When you stopped answering my texts, when you canceled our dinners and then disappeared completely... what was I supposed to think? That the heir to Caldwell Enterprises wanted a child with a catering girl?"
Ethan winced as if struck. "I was an idiot. My father had just suffered his first stroke, the corporate board was threatening a takeover, and my family was pressuring me to fall in line. I thought... I convinced myself that what we had was too fragile to survive that mess. I meant to reach out once things settled down, but weeks turned into months..."
"And by then, I was gone," Rosa finished quietly. "I dropped out of Columbia. I couldn't afford tuition and rent while pregnant. I couldn't risk calling you and having your family buy me off, or worse, fight me for custody of a child you didn't even want."
"I would have wanted her!" Ethan said sharply, his voice cracking with emotion. "I would have wanted you. I was foolish, Rosa. Blind and cowardly. But I never would have abandoned my child."
"You didn't know," Rosa said softly. "Because I didn't give you the chance to prove me right or wrong. I was terrified, Ethan."
Before Ethan could answer, a quiet voice cut through the heavy silence between them.
"Mama?" Lily whimpered, turning her head slightly. She looked at Ethan with wide, curious eyes, her tears drying into small tracks on her cheeks. "Is the loud lady gone?"
Ethan's heart melted instantly. He offered a small, tentative smile to the little girl. "Yes, sweetie," he said softly. "The loud lady is gone. She's never coming back here again."
Lily studied him closely, her innocent gaze bouncing between Ethan's face and her mother's. "You have eyes like me," she observed innocently, pointing a tiny finger toward him.
Ethan felt a lump form in his throat. He looked at Rosa, who swallowed hard and nodded subtly.
"Yes," Ethan whispered to the little girl, reaching out a hesitant hand, stopping just inches short of touching her tiny fingers, waiting for her permission. "I do."
Lily reached out with her small hand and touched Ethan's middle finger with her little palm. "My name is Lily," she offered freely. "I play the piano. It sings."
A soft, tearful smile broke through Ethan's stoic composure. "I know it does, Lily. It used to sing for my mother, a long time ago. And today, it was singing for you."
Dr. Reynolds arrived shortly after, stepping into the parlor with a medical bag in hand. After a thorough examination, he confirmed that Lily had suffered no broken bones, though her elbow and arm were bruised from the fall and would be sore for a few days. He applied a light ice pack and prescribed gentle rest.
While Dr. Reynolds concluded his notes, the silence of the mansion was suddenly shattered by the sound of heavy tires screeching up the circular driveway outside.
May you like
Ethan's brow furrowed. He walked over to the tall parlor window and looked out. A sleek black limousine had pulled up, followed by a dark SUV. Out of the vehicle stepped Richard Haynes—Victoria’s influential father—and Victoria herself, her face twisted in anger.
The backlash had already begun.
