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Dad grins and shakes his head as he checks his watch. “It’s not mine,” he tells me. “We’d better hurry. My new nurses are a bit strict,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure Carter hired them as payback.”
I freeze, my heart twisting painfully. “Carter?” I whisper. A wave of longing goes through me at the mere mention of his name and I bite down on my lip as I strap myself in.
Dad nods as he starts the car. He falls silent as he drives us home, and I look at him. “Why would Carter hire you a nurse?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly. His name sounds foreign on my lips. It tastes forbidden. I’ve kept myself from thinking of him for so long now. Even speaking his name feels wrong somehow.
Dad smiles tightly. “Carter has been a pillar of support unlike no other. He’s built me an entire treatment room with every piece of equipment I could ever need, so I don’t need to travel outside of town for my treatments. He’s arranged dieticians and chefs to curate my diet, and he’s given me access to his home gym so I don’t have to walk outside in the cold. But more than that, Emilia, he’s become like a son to me over the last couple of years.”
I blink in disbelief. “A son?” I repeat numbly, the mere thought of it horrifying me. Dad chuckles. He looks at me, his eyes twinkling.
“Well, sort of,” he says. “I’ll take him as a son-in-law too. I’m not too picky.”
I stare at Dad in disbelief, my heart bursting with longing. Carter as Dad’s son-in-law?
My heart feels funny at the mere thought of that, and I look at my dad through narrowed eyes. I raise my brows, ignoring his remark. “How? How did this happen? You haven’t mentioned him in years. How could you two possibly be close enough for him to do all of that?”
Dad smiles at me. “Princess, this is Woodstock, not London,” he reminds me, as though that’s sufficient explanation.
I sit back and glance out the window. Carter and Dad being close surprises me. I’ve forced myself to think of nothing but Dad, and I assumed Carter would still be in L.A. I’ve seen him and his company on the news a few times, and from the little bit I know about him, he seems to be wildly successful.
I didn’t think I’d even see him here at all. I can’t help but wonder if he’s with someone else now. If he’s happy. If he ever thinks of me at all. My heart twists painfully at the thought of him having moved on.
I’m probably just a reminder of everything Kate went through, a part of their lives they’d rather forget about. I wonder how long it’ll take before I run into her. I wonder if she’s happy now, if she’s healthy. I bite down on my lip harshly and force myself to turn my thoughts back to Dad. No one matters but him. I’ve put others above him in the past, and I’ve lost precious years with him because of it. I won’t ever make that mistake again.
“We’re here,” Dad says, and I look up in surprise. Dad drives up to giant gilded gates, and they open automatically. I stare out the window wide-eyed and glance at Dad.
“Where are we?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest. “This is not our house.”
Dad looks slightly nervous as he glances at me, a tight smile on his face. “This is where I’ve been staying,” he tells me. “Remember, I told you about the nurses and the chef?”
I stare at Dad in disbelief as he parks the car. I look up at the sprawling mansion in front of us, my heart in disarray. Slowly but surely, all the puzzle pieces are falling into place.
I’m about to question Dad further and object, when his phone alarm goes off, and he stiffens. Dad deflates, a sad expression on his face. He turns off his alarm and looks at me. “It’s time for my dialysis,” he tells me, and the despair in his eyes guts me.
I don’t have the heart to argue with him about him staying here, or about everything he seems to have kept from me. The last thing I want to do is hinder his treatments in any way.
I grab his hand and follow him to his treatment room, my eyes widening when two nurses in uniform greet us as we walk in.
I look around the room in surprise. It just looks like a luxurious sitting room, with some expensive looking equipment by the wall. I’m pretty sure those chairs are massage chairs too. Just how expensive is everything here?
I sit down in the chair next to Dad’s, and I flinch when the nurse inserts a needle into his arm. His blood starts to flow through the tubes, and I look at it in horror, my eyes filling with tears all over again.
Dad grabs my hand with his free hand and squeezes. “It’s okay,” he tells me. “It’s fine.”
I shake my head and sniff, trying my best not to cry. “It’s not, Daddy. Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow. I want to get tested. If I can, I’d like to donate my kidney. I just want you to get better as soon as possible.”
Dad looks at me, panicked, and he swallows hard. “Absolutely not,” he says, sounding angry. “I will never accept that, Emilia. Get that off your mind right now. If you so much as dare to even get tested against my wishes I’ll put you back on a plane myself.”
I sigh and lean back, my head dropping to his shoulder. I knew he’d be stubborn about this. It seems like I’ll have to ease him into the idea of accepting a kidney donation from me, if I’m even a match at all. He looks grumpy, but he presses a kiss on top of my hair, and I smile to myself.
Dad turns on the huge TV on the wall and I smile when he puts a chick flick on, obviously for me. He wraps his arm around me and I lean against him as we watch the movie. I’m exhausted from the endless worry in the last couple of days, and the flight on top of that, but it’s so good to be here with dad. I know there isn’t anything I can actually do right now, but just being able to hold his hand while he’s undergoing dialysis seems to make him happy.
“Tell me everything, Dad. Sam filled me in on what to expect, but tell me how it’s been. Tell me how you feel, and tell me what I can do. Tell me how to make you feel better.”
Dad presses another kiss on top of my head as he fills me in on all the medical procedures I had no idea he even underwent. I can’t believe there’s so much I missed out on, so much I wasn’t there for. I need to make sure I’m by his side for everything from now on. I can’t believe he’s been going through all of this by himself. What kind of daughter am I? How could I not have known? How could I not have been there for him?
Chapter 6
Emilia
