Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 35

Elaine
“I’m sorry, you got the wrong person,” Amelia said instinctively, yet she couldn’t help but take a closer look at the old man. However, she had never seen that face in her life. “Please, excuse me.”

“No, that cannot be! You are Elaine!” The old man said frantically, gripping onto her hand for dear life, “The heavens have answered my prayer! You have finally returned to my side… Daddy is sorry he tossed you out…”

Amelia swallowed a sigh. This old man must have mistaken her for someone else― a daughter he had fallen out with. With his age, it was possible that he might even have dementia! She looked around, hoping that his family members were here to cajole him, but he was left completely alone. A frown crossed Amelia’s face. Surely his own family could not have been this uncaring to leave him unaccompanied.

Thankfully, Amelia had a lot of experience dealing with all sorts of people from her jobs.

“It’s alright, I forgive you,” Amelia said, patting him on the hand. “Can you let go of me now?”

“No!” The old man grabbed her hand even more tightly. “If I let you go, I’ll never see you again!”

Amelia racked her mind for a solution. She didn’t want to break this old man’s heart. Who knows― the daughter he was talking about might have died years ago, just like her mother.

Amelia could only sigh at the irony― her mother was also named Elaine. Perhaps women named Elaine were meant for short lives.

“How about… I will give you my phone number?” Amelia offered. “Then, you can call me and see me again.”

She highly doubted he would remember her, but then she caught sight of the tearful grin on his face. That gesture must have meant the world to him, she realized. He quickly handed her his phone with shaky hands, and she could only raise her eyebrows at how high-tech his phone was. She registered her number, but then paused when it came to entering her name.

If she put in her real name, it might result in trouble if someone else were to get a hold of this man’s phone. Not to mention this old man didn’t know who she was to begin with!

As such, she decided to use the name ‘Elaine’ instead. She handed the phone back to him, and he pocketed it with a relieved grin.

“Elaine, why are you here in the hospital? Are you sick?”

“No. I’m just visiting someone,” Amelia said. “My father―”

A dark look crossed the old man’s face. “What did I do? I’m perfectly well, thank you very much!”

Amelia groaned internally, desperately hoping for someone to help her. A doctor, a nurse, anyone. She wanted to see her actual father, and not babysit this old man! Where were his family members?

Thankfully, this time, an equally well-dressed woman caught sight of him and rushed over, her heels clacking loudly on the tiled floors.

“Dad! There you are! You made us worried! Emmeline is looking for you!”

Amelia heaved a quick sigh of relief. Finally his real family had arrived to resolve the issue. She used the opportunity to slowly pull her hand away, but the old man turned around and scowled, his fingers an iron grip on her wrist.

“Annaliase, why are you interrupting me and Elaine?”

The woman spluttered. “Elaine? Dad, we’ve been over this. You can’t keep calling every woman you meet Elaine!” She looked up and shot Amelia an apologetic look, but then she fell silent, her mouth falling open in surprise.

“Oh…”

“Excuse me? Is there a problem?” Amelia asked hesitantly.

“Oh no, nothing, nothing at all.” The woman caught herself and shook her head, a strained smile crossing her face. “I’m sorry for any trouble that my father might have caused you. Old age is catching up with him, and his mind is not as good as it used to be. Please, pay his words no mind.”

“It’s alright, I understand,” Amelia said reassuringly. “I’ll be going now.”

The other woman smiled and pried her father’s hands from Amelia’s wrist, waving her off. Amelia quickly darted into the room to see her father. The door slammed shut.

Once the woman was sure that Amelia was not appearing anytime soon, she turned to her father, a dismissive look on her face.

“Dad, give it up. Elaine is gone, and she’s never coming back. I’m your daughter now, and you have Emmeline for a granddaughter,” the woman said, all softness and politeness gone from her voice, leaving a hard, bitter tone.

She tugged at the old man’s arms roughly, pulling him with her harshly.

“You’ll do well to remember who your family is from now on,” she finished ominously.

Her eyes narrowed as she recalled Amelia’s face. Was it a mere innocent resemblance, or was there something else at play?

She had to investigate matters.

“Come now, Dad, you still need to get your check-up. We can’t have you collapsing when Emmeline announces her engagement to Matteo Montgomery!”

***

The beeping of machines greeted Amelia’s ears as she entered the room. Her father was lying on the hospital bed, sound asleep. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Amelia might have feared the worst.

Then again, it wasn’t as though her father was completely out of the woods. She took a seat next to him and clutched at his hand, tears welling up within her eyes. His hand was cold, the skin papery thin. When she took a closer look at his face, she spotted the graying hair at his temples and the wrinkles near his eyes.

Without realizing it, her father had aged tremendously in the past few years. Or perhaps it was simply because in her mind, he was always the active, vibrant man Amelia remembered, the man who always knew the right thing to say to comfort her whenever she was met with any hardship.

She should have visited him more often, but back then, her marriage with Caleb, and all the jobs she worked took priority.

Guilt welled within her.

“Dad… please… please wake up…. You can’t sleep forever, right?” Amelia asked tearfully, wiping her tears on the bedspread. Her head was bowed, and the words escaped through her throat in a muffled burble. “If you don’t wake, I’ll start banging the pots and pans. I’ll play all your favorite songs so badly, you’ll have no choice but to wake up… so please…”

A soft cough echoed through the room.

Amelia quickly woke up, not believing her ears.

“Dad? Are you awake?” She asked hopefully. Her father, frail as he was, fluttered his eyelashes in her direction. He tried to speak, but the oxygen mask kept her from making out his weak mumbles. “It’s okay, you don’t need to talk,” Amelia added hurriedly.

“You’re safe now. So am I, Dad. You don’t need to worry about anything. Just rest― I’ll get the doctor to look at you.”

Her father gave her the softest of sighs before closing his eyes again. Amelia had feared for a brief moment that her father had stopped living, but the beeping of the machines kept the worst of her anxiety at bay. With shaky limbs, she quickly left the room to call for a doctor.

In her haste, she failed to notice a pair of calculating eyes, following her every move.