Chapter 5 - “Please take good care of my daughter.” 

C H A P T E R  5  :  T O  L E A R N  T H E  H A R S H ,  P A I N F U L ,  A N D  U G L Y  T R U T H 

J A V I E R  S U M M E R S

“Let’s just say that what you have been telling me so far was the truth, do you have any proof?” Javier asked while checking his emails on the computer. When Ella’s father had yet to reply, he added with a more pressing tone, “Please think very carefully as this might be our last conversation should you have no proof at all.”

“There is no proof." The man let out what sounded like a mix of a grunt and a sigh. "I am afraid you just have to take my words for it, Young Man.”

Javier gave it a thought. “Then I suppose I could not take you to meet Ella. Thank you for telling me your side of the story. I really appreciate–“

“Hold on right there!” Derek Williams interrupted in a loud voice. “You can not just expect me to have proof when I have no idea what has happened that night with Eleanor. But I know for sure that Rachelle knows what it was. So if you asked me to prove it to you then you can simply ask either Eleanor or Rachelle. However if you ask me to give you concrete proof, I do not have it.”

Javier opened the file that was sent by his private investigator. In those files, there was proof that Dr. Derek Williams had been truly on duty that night and that a few days after that, he had submitted his resignation letter to the hospital which could mean that he was going to go on a trip to find Eleanor and Ella. Even though it could hardly prove that Derek was truly a good man, one thing could be concluded: Eleanor had been the one to run away and not Derek. The only way he could learn the truth was if he asked Eleanor himself yet he doubted she would ever tell him the truth. They had only met twice thus far. She might answer if Ella was the one asking and the only way to get Ella to ask Eleanor was if Ella were to meet Derek.

“Young Man, are you there?”

“Yes,” Javier replied then cleared his throat. “I am going to arrange so that you and Ella would meet. Let me know when you would be available.”

“Anytime. Just let me know when and I will clear my schedule,” Derek quickly replied then added, “Um, maybe except this Thursday because I have to help my colleague deliver a triplet.”

Javier briefly checked his schedule. “Okay. How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“Tomorrow is great!” Derek sounded genuinely excited. There was no doubt that he had a smile on his face right now. “Where should I meet you both?”

After giving him the address of a Korean restaurant that Ella loved to eat, he ended the call and leaned back on his chair. He closed his eyes and put his arm over his forehead. Even though he was happy that Ella would be reunited with her father, he could not help but be anxious about it. He did not regret it because he truly believed that Ella deserved the truth or at least heard the other side of the story from her father’s point of view. It was breaking his heart to see her hating her father and missing him at the same time. He reopened his eyes a few minutes later and rose to his feet. He strode towards the door and swung it open. “Miss Stanford, do you have Capaldi’s contract with you?”

“Yes. The legal team had just delivered it to me this afternoon.” She bent forward and opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a transparent document holder. “Should we look it over one last time before sending it to Roberto, Sir?”

“We do not have to go through the general parts. I only need to see if the Legal team has replaced the fourth clause.” He took the folder from Ella and took out the contract. He flipped it to the second page and skimmed through it. “They did brilliantly this time. I think this will do. Please get our courier to send this to Roberto with a note that we wish to have it back in two days’ time so we could countersign. Do not forget to remind our PR team not to release any news until we have it in the bag. I really do not need Star Magazine to cause more ruckus.” He handed the folder back to her.

Ella smiled as she accepted the folder. “I have already done that, Sir.”

“Hmm.” Javier rubbed his chin and lifted one eyebrow. “Are you trying to become a mind reader, Miss Stanford?”

This time, she laughed, shaking her head. “No. I simply remember how angry you were six months ago when our legal team did not liaise with the PR department properly.”

“Great.” He gave her a satisfied smile that dimmed a little as he said, “Do you have plans for lunch tomorrow?”

“Sir, I am not the one with tons of friends and colleagues,” she teased with a smile as she poked his arm. “But to answer your question, yes, I will be free for lunch tomorrow.”

Javier pretended to frown. “Who said anything about inviting you to lunch with me tomorrow?”

“Oh, you!” Ella tried to tickle his side with both of her hands but he quickly put his arms around her and pressed her body to his. Their eyes locked and both of them smiled.

He ducked his head and claimed her mouth. For ageless moments they stood wrapped in each other’s arms, and she was lost to everything but the wonder of it. His gentle kisses were subtly changing, becoming warmer, more tenderly, seeking and giving at the same time.

* * *

As he pushed the door open and held it for Ella to enter, he let his eyes skimmed the whole restaurant, searching for Dr. Derek Williams. His private investigator had sent him a full profile of him and there were some of his recent photos with his family: one wife, one daughter, and a golden retriever. Javier had them the file on a briefcase inside the car, just in case Ella would like to learn more about her father after the meeting today.

“Where do you want to sit? By the window or at the back?” asked Ella when one of the waitresses came and greeted them. When Javier did not respond, she touched his arm and he nearly jumped which baffled her further. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, sorry.” He cleared his throat. “We could sit anywhere you like.” He scanned the entire restaurant one more time and finally concluded that Derek was not there yet.

“By the window please,” Ella informed the waitress who then ushered them to one of the two seaters table by the window on the right side of the restaurant. “Would this be okay for you?”

“Is it possible if we get that table instead?” asked Javier as he pointed at a four seaters table one table away from them. “I think that is more spacious. I would prefer that one if possible.” He thought that with Derek joining them later, it would be best to have an available sit waiting for him.

“Sure. I will get that table ready for you, Sir.” The waitress worked efficiently in preparing the table and less than five minutes later, they both were already seated. “Here is the menu. Just let me know when you are ready to order.”

“Actually, I already know what I want,” said Ella with a smile. “Can I please have a kimchi pancake and one bowl of kimchi ramyeon with extra egg? As for drink, I would love a glass of water please.”

“Of course!” The waitress gave her a small smile before turning to Javier. “Anything you would like me to get for you, Sir?”

“I want the black bean noodle with seared beef and a bottle of Soju. Thank you.”

“Right away, Sir.”

Once the waitress had left to register their order, Ella lifted her brow and stared at him with confusion dancing in her eyes. “You are drinking at this hour? We still have at least four more working hours, Sir.”

“I just need something to make me relax.” He gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I will not get drunk over a bottle of Soju, Miss Stanford. Do not worry about it.”

“Okay.” She patted his hand twice then leaned her back against the back of her chair. “I know you have a lot in your mind right now and after this lunch, we will have another meeting with your brothers: Thornton and Draven, but you should not be so worried about it. The dinner,” Ella paused for a second and tried not to grimace, “well, the dinner has been quite okay, I suppose. I am sure your brothers are on good terms now.”

“Good terms?” Javier lifted one eyebrow and gave her a pointed look as if telling her that he knew she was only saying this so he would not worry. “He threw a glass on the floor, Ella, and if Ros has not been there to hold Tony back,” he let out a frustrated sigh, “I do not know what would happen next.”

“I honestly think Draven did not mean it.” She moved her hands down past his shoulder and rubbed his arms. “The glass was just slipped out of his grasp which I think it is understandable especially after he learned that his twin brother took his place and married a stranger just to fulfill your grandfather’s promise.” And in order to take his mind off of worrying about his family situation, she asked, “Who is Ros, by the way? I have never seen him before until that dinner.”

“He is my second oldest brother.” Javier smiled as he watched Ella’s eyes widened. “I did tell you before, right? Eight sons and one daughter? Well, it’s Thornton, Inaros, Piers, and then me, the twins: Declan and Draven, then Maxon and Reed. Then, of course, our little sister Clarabelle.”

“Wait a minute, let’s rewind a bit.” Ella let out a chuckle. “What was his name again?”

“Inaros but he goes with Ross.”

She bit her cheek to prevent herself from laughing. “Your parents named your brother Inaros?”

“Yeah, Thornton is not the worst name.” Javier laughed, shaking his head. “I think my first two brothers have the oddest name out of all of us. I guess I would consider myself lucky for being the fourth child.”

“And he goes by Ross.” Ella shook her head, wondering what Cedric and Tiffany had been thinking when they had named their kids. “Does this mean his middle name is even worse than his first name?”

“Oh, yeah.” Javier was grinning from ear to ear. “His full name was Inaros Equinox Summers.”

Ella gasped. “God forbid!”

“I know. He told me he got teased a lot growing up.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Tony too, actually, once people learn that his middle name is Hilfreich.”

She clasped her hands on her face and groaned. “Why did your parents do that? Gosh!” She quickly moved her hands and stared deeply into his eyes. “I swear if you even think of naming our baby with something that even I can not pronounce, I am going to kill you!”

“Do not worry. I will not.” He chuckled and let one hand touched her cheek. “Although I think my brother thought it was funny to name my niece Autumn. With our surname is already being Summers, you can imagine that she must have gotten a lot of teasing too.” He shook his head as he quite could not figure out why Thornton had done it. “Not sure what has gotten into him the second time around. He named his first child ‘Steven’ which is a common, classic name.”

“Well, whatever his reason was, I feel bad for Autumn.” She rose to the balls of her feet and planted a soft kiss on Javier’s chin. “I still stand by what I just said. No odd, unfamiliar names for our kids.”

“Kids, huh?” He gave her a mischievous smile, lifting one quizzical brow.

She blinked, confused. “What?”

“You are saying that we will have more than one kid?”

“Of course,” she answered almost immediately. “I am an only child and it sucks to grow up alone. I saw how big your family is and how vibrant the atmosphere is whether you guys get together for dinner or any other event.”

Javier groaned and added, “Yeah, and more family drama too. That is for sure.”

She cupped his face and smiled. “Maybe but it is always so lively. I want that for our kids. I want that warm feeling that I have been craving my entire life for our family.”

His eyes were soft and full of affection when he replied, “And you will have that, Ella. I promise.”

* * *

E L L A  S T A N F O R D

Ella was going to call the waiter and ask for more kimchi and side dishes when her hand paused midair as her eyes caught a figure walking into the restaurant. It had been years since she had seen that face and until this moment, she was not sure whether she remembered his face or would recognize him should they ever cross paths again. Yet right now, being at least ten feet away from him, she could tell who the older man walking towards their table was. Her first reaction after the denial was panic. She did not want him to notice her, she wanted to hide somewhere where he could not see her.

Javier! Her first instinct was to ask for his help yet as she turned to him, she caught the truth in his eyes. “You knew,” she whispered, almost too low for anyone to hear but he heard it.

“Yes,” he responded with a sigh. “Look, Ella, I know this might not be my place but you need to hear his side of the story. You have been hearing only your mother’s side of the story, you should give the man a chance to explain and tell you what really happened.”

Her eyes darted to the older man who was getting closer to their table every passing second then back at her fiancé, someone she would trust her life to. Someone, she was having a baby with. Someone that she was going to build a family with. Someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she was nearly choked by the realization. Unfortunately, he was also someone who had lied to her. Someone who had looked for answers behind her back.

“No.” She shook her head frantically. “No. You can not do this to me. Why did you lie? Why did you set me up?” Then without waiting for him to answer, she added through gritted teeth, “I have told you more than once that I do not want him in my life. I do not need him. My life is better without him.”

“You do not know that, Ella.” He tried to reach for her hand but she quickly pulled her hand away from him and hugged herself. “He has never run away. Your mother did.”

“No! He left us years ago!” Tears started to stream down her cheeks and she brushed them off with the back of her sleeves. “He left us with nothing but debts and Mom has to leave the town in order to get away from the debt collectors! I have to live on the run with Mom because of him!”

Javier took a deep breath. It pained him to see her like this but he had no other choice. She needed to learn about the truth. She needed to hear it from her father. “I know that is what your mother has told you but it may not be the whole truth, Ella. Please just give the man five minutes to explain to you. To tell you his side of the story.” When she merely stared blankly ahead, he begged for her to understand and give Derek a chance. “Please.”

“No.” Her voice was barely above a whispering level. She sounded unsure, almost as if she was battling with her own mind. She had believed her mother her whole life, it would be hard to learn that what she knew and believed to be the truth might not be the real truth. “No!” This time her voice was louder, loud enough to alarm the neighboring tables.

“Ella, my daughter,” Derek greeted her. His lips were trembling as if he was trying to hold back his tears. “We finally meet again, Sweet Pea.”

Ella shook her head. Even though her mind tried its best to convince her to give the man standing on the side of her table a chance, her heart refused to give in. Nearly knocking her chair off, she abruptly stood. “No. You are not my father. I do not have a father.”

Without saying any other words, she rushed through the crowd towards the exit where honks and the busyness of the road could be heard. Javier stood and gave Derek a sad smile. “I am sorry.” He shook his head. “It must be hard for her to take this all in and it did not help the fact that I did not tell her beforehand.”

“It is okay, Young Man. Just give her some time.” Derek Williams nodded solemnly. “Thank you for arranging this and please,” he chocked and quickly cleared his throat, “Please take good care of my daughter.”

“I will,” promised Javier then he walked towards where Ella had gone too two minutes ago. Little did he know that he should have gone a lot sooner for that would be the last time he would ever see her again.

* * *

Dear Gentle Readers, all five (free) chapters have been published! This author could only hope that you are intrigued enough to flip the page to the next chapter of Ella and Javier's story. Thank you to those who have taken some of their precious time to write a review and give this story a gem/diamond/vote. It is much appreciated! Stay safe and take care!