“It’s hard to say who owes the other more between your mom and me, but that pure and perfect woman whom I remember is long gone. I was biting off more than I could chew, trying to date an amazing woman like your mom when I wasn’t even worthy of her time and effort. Perhaps she had only intended to be with me for a while, but I thought she was going to stay with me forever.” It was the first time Nathan had spoken to me about Isabelle so openly.
He began to tear up as memories of their past filled his head. This was the first time I felt his love for Mom. He used to love her as much as Christopher loved me, and he genuinely wanted her to be happy.
I tried my best to calm myself down, but my fingers kept trembling as I stared at Nathan. I said, “I understand. Crystal is right: you don’t owe me anything. In fact, I’m the one who owes you after everything you’ve done for me. Don’t worry, I’ll ask Mom to spare the Tanner family as a means of making it up to you for not kicking me out back then. Thanks for raising me. Goodbye, Dad.”
Since I wasn’t his daughter, that could very well be the last time I ever called him “Dad.” I should be calling him “Uncle Nathan” from that point on.
I then pushed my way through the crowd of journalists and ran toward the exit. A few of them tried chasing after me but stopped the moment I flashed them a fierce glare. Just as a car pulled up outside the hospital, I got in immediately to escape from the journalists.
“What’s the matter? Did something big happen? Why are the journalists chasing after you like that?” Lucas asked in confusion as he watched me pant heavily.
Still unable to speak due to the shock, I shook my head and simply sat there in silence with my arms wrapped around myself. I eventually regained my composure after quite a while and saw that Lucas looked a lot better than when I was at the Goldstein residence. “Why are you here?” I asked casually.
“I was just passing by while helping my dad with some errands.” Lucas knew better than to press me for answers if I didn’t feel like talking about it.
I then sat up straight and told him, “I’ve just discovered something horrible and I can’t stay calm right now. What do I do, Lucas?”
“You should try talking to someone about it. I’m sure you’ll be able to calm down as long as you have your determination and pillar of support with you. Where’s Christopher?” Lucas asked curiously.
“He’s out on a business trip. You know how the Lane family business is just as big as the Goldstein family’s, right? His mother dumped everything onto him, so he’s really busy.” I slumped weakly against the seat. Whatever strength I had mustered earlier seemed to have disappeared once again.
“Lucas, I’m really thankful for you keeping me company the whole time I was by the seaside. I can’t imagine how difficult life would’ve been if you weren’t there to look after me when I lost my sight.”
Lucas had always been a very reliable friend to me; our friendship had gotten stronger the moment he carried me on his back looking for a doctor to treat me late at night. As such, I felt a strong urge to tell him about the problems I was facing.
“I’ve stumbled upon yet another problem now, Lucas. What should I do?”
“Just tackle your problems one by one. Tell you what, I’ve always firmly believed that no problem is unsolvable. If there is one, that just means you’re not strong enough,” Lucas replied while staring deeply at me.
“Certain things have nothing to do with strength, though. Guess what? I just found out earlier that I’m not a Tanner! Nathan Tanner isn’t my father! Funny, isn’t it? All these years, I’ve been complaining about Nathan not treating me like his daughter, only to realize he was never my father, to begin with! Not only that, but I now owe him big time for having raised me!” I shouted anxiously while pointing at myself.
“What? You’re not Nathan’s daughter?”
