Genetics

Blaine stood outside the glass window with both hands in his pocket, watching Ariel inside the ICU. 

She looked helpless, lying there.

Now, with her eyes closed, she looked exactly like the shy girl he had first met. 

The one he would have moved the earth to take care of. 

The one he searched for for more months after, but had no idea she worked in the company, until Ruby showed up, creating a scene, and he saw the careful trap he had foolishly walked into those three days at the wedding party.

He watched Ariel now, slight and breathing through the oxygen tube, and his heart still broke for her. 

His stupid heart still wanted to find who did this to her and deal with them. 

He wanted to sit by her side till she woke up, until the new fire returned to her eyes and she looked at him condescendingly so he could go back to deeply hating her. 

He noticed the bathroom door opening, and then Sullivan walked out with a glass bowl and some wipes. 

He sat beside Ariel, and began to wipe her down carefully.

Blaine gritted his teeth and balled his fist beside him. He did not realize what he was doing till a few seconds had passed. 

He blinked and stepped back. 

What was his problem? This was Sullivan's wife. 

His only business with Ariel was finding his son.

He turned around and walked away to his car. 

“Back to the children’s hospital,” he said to his chauffeur, and took his phone out. 

He read the message from his assistant that confirmed that the meeting was still scheduled for later that afternoon. 

Kan can keep Ariel. He was going to reclaim Mõshon from beneath their feet.

At the children’s hospital, his daughter clung to him, while Ophelia’s assistant completed the paperwork for his daughter’s discharge.

“Baba.” The toddler moved her head back to look at his face, running her little hand on his stubble, but took her hands off, making a pricked sound, “Shhh.”

He smiled at her.

“My princess.” He kissed her cheek. “Yes. Father needs a shave.”

She had his exact eyes. 

That was the only thing she got from him though. Every other thing was her mother’s. 

He now fervently hoped she would not take her attitude. After watching Ophelia these past few weeks and then seeing what her father did to her, he had begun to fear for his daughter.

The Turners were not quite alright in the head. 

Her father had always struck him as weird and maybe a little evil, but he had not thought too much of it.

After all, he was not the one he was getting married to. But why did he not think about how he must have parented his daughter? 

Ophelia was.. 

Ophelia was Ophelia.

Always yelling and cursing at their staff, and she really did not care for anyone, not even their daughter.

He was not sure she had been to this hospital since the night Olivia was first brought here. 

“Do you want anything, my princess?” He looked down at his daughter. She understood him after staring for a few seconds and said, “Izza.”

He nodded. “Then we will get some Izza on our way home.” He giggled, mimicking the way she pronounced Pizza. 

She seemed to find his giggles amusing because she laughed, clapping her little hands together, and that amused him more.

They were still laughing when Ophelia’s assistant and nanny returned with the discharge papers. 

“We are going home, Princess.” Blaine turned to his daughter. “We need to get you into a nicer dress.” He said, taking the dress and pair of stockings the nanny was now holding out.

Olivia nodded, and he smiled. 

After changing her into her new outfit, he carried her out in his arms. 

As they stood waiting for the elevator, he noticed how clear the glass wall just in front of him was. He took his phone out and raised it up.

“Olivia.” He called, and she looked up at him, and then at his phone and he kissed her cheek soundly. 

She smiled brightly as the camera shutter clicked. 

The elevator chimed, and the door slid open. He got in first with the nanny and a guard, while Ophelia’s assistant and the others waited to follow on the next elevator trip.

Blaine smiled at how well the image turned out as he stared at his phone screen. 

“What do you think?” He raised it up to Olivia’s eye level, and she turned from playing with his hair and stared at the screen blankly.

Then she reached out, and rubbed her fingers down the screen. She stopped at a small spot and pointed with her index finger.

“Yes. A photo bumper.” Blaine nodded as he looked at the man in a baseball hat that his daughter’s finger was pointing at. “We’ll edit his face out so we can add this to our album.”

He nuzzled her neck, she giggled till he stopped, and went back to messing with his hair and twisting it between her fingers.

The elevator chimed and slid open. 

Blaine stepped out and joined the league of guards that were already waiting for him.

The temperature outside was cool, as the sun hid behind some clouds, sparing every one of its hotness.

“We’ll drop Olivia home, then head to the resort. He said to the chauffeur as he waved the nanny away, who stretched her hand out so she could place Olivia in her carseat.

“Yes chairman.”

Blaine grimaced as he lowered his daughter into her carseat. 

When would they stop calling him that? 

The only reason he had not made an issue out of it and forced them to stop was because he planned to reclaim the position soon.

It would not be fair to have them get used to not addressing him that way, only to change it again in a few weeks.

He walked around and sat beside his daughter in the backseat, and the cars began to pull out of the hospital as some people turned to watch.