After their visiting time ended, the babysitter, Ana soon left for her house when Cora insisted she go home and take care of her own family. After she left, Cora and Lisa sat in the waiting area in front of the emergency room with their fingers intertwined, praying in their hearts and at the same time giving each other much-needed strength and support.
Some minutes after, Zach arrived with Isabella's two doctors and some nurses. Cora immediately stood from her chair and ran to meet them halfway, closely followed by Lisa
"Hi Zach" Lisa greeted and Zach gave her a curt nod in answer
"Hey, how was the test? Is everything going to be okay?" Cora asked Zach. Even though she wasn't expecting him to answer her since he has been giving her hateful glares ever since they arrived at the hospital, she was surprised he answered.
"They will start the procedure as soon as they get her settled in a private and conducive room since this one is for emergencies."
While the doctors and nurses busy themselves with detaching tubes and preparing to move Isabella to her new room, Zach patiently explained everything the doctor explained to him earlier to Cora. He might be angry with her but he couldn't bear to see the worry lines etched into her face. He needed to assure her that their daughter will be okay.
"Everything will be okay, she's going to be fine. According to the doctor, since all the tests they performed on me came out okay then we have nothing to worry about. It's going to be a direct transfusion, which means the blood would be taken directly from my artery into her veins. The procedure shouldn't be more than four hours tops and then she's back to playing and jumping around just like that."
He finished explaining just as Isabella's bed was being wheeled outside. Cora smiled up at him in gratitude and they both followed beside their daughter's bed.
Zach felt his heartache seeing his daughter lying helpless on the hospital bed. He couldn't help himself when he reached forward and caressed her soft cheek with the back of his finger. He was not happy she fell sick but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if he would have had the opportunity to meet her if she hadn't. His anger started building up all over again.
'She kept her away from me! For six whole years, she kept my daughter's existence away from me! No more!'
The private room they were taken was on the same floor, large and spacious. Zach immediately offered to carry his daughter himself when he saw one of the doctors was about to carry her onto the bed they met inside the room.
"No, let me get her..." He stepped forward. The doctor was a bit surprised. He just wanted to change her bed, it's not as if he will hurt her, he thought to himself and paused from carrying Isabella.
"I'm not saying you can't... Just that I would love to carry her myself." Zach tried to explain his attitude to the doctor, pleading with his eyes for him to understand
"Of course Mr. King, I understand." The doctor said with a smile, stepping aside for Zach. Zach gently lifted his daughter like she was fragile and any sudden movements might break her into pieces. The one or two steps that took him to transfer Isabella into the new bed were precious to him as he quickly kissed her forehead before burying his nose in her hair, inhaling the sweet raspberries fragrance of her shampoo.
The IV lines were set and the procedure began. When their job was done for the moment, the doctors and nurses excuse themselves to check on other patients, leaving Zach and Cora alone with their daughter.
Cora was touched when she saw how affectionate Zach was towards Isabella. She knew right then without being told that there's no way he wouldn't want to be part of his daughter's life and considering what he did to save Isabella's life, it would be unfair if she refused to grant him that opportunity.
Cora was happy with his kind gesture of putting everything aside and making himself available even without prior notice from her. She was full of thanks to him for giving her hope. Seeing his blood flowing from his body into Isabella's body, she was finally assured that her daughter would be okay. She wanted to talk to him and thank him for being supportive but saw that his eyes were closed. The doctors just left. He couldn't be sleeping within that short time or could he? She wondered.
"Zach?..." She called softly. Seeing how he opened his eyes with a raised eyebrow questioningly, not saying anything to her, Cora knew his bad mood had been triggered again somehow. Was it not just now he was telling her not to worry that everything would be okay? What happened this time around? She wondered
"Uhmm... I just want to say thank you for doing this... I mean you put everything aside and agreed to help out without questions ask, and..."
"Don't!..." He snapped, not allowing her to finish her sentence. Even though his voice was low, it sounded cold and dangerous
Cora was confused. "Don't what? I was just..."
"Don't patronize me! Don't talk to me like I'm a fool. Like I'm some stranger you approached on the road to help you out of a difficult situation!... Since you seem to have forgotten, let me remind you about the fact that she is my daughter and it is one of my many duties as a father to see that my kids are safe!... Oh, unless you don't see me as her father. Afterall you already got your father acting like my child's father!?"
Cora was dumbfounded. "Well I'm sorry you feel this way, I-I was just thanking you for saving her life and..."
"Why thank me for doing what any father would do for his daughter? No, I don't need you telling me thank you because she's my daughter as much as she's yours!..." He said stiffly, looking at her like there was something wrong with her brain."
Cora sighed deeply in exasperation.
"Zach, I get that you're angry but can we not do this right now. This is hardly the time or place, can we talk about this later..."
"You're damn right we're going to talk about it later... Quick question though, I'm just wondering what you'll tell her about me when she wakes up?..."
Cora swallowed dryly when he said exactly what has been on her mind since when she went to his office to ask for his help. How would she introduce him to Isabella since she already told her, her father was dead! Won't her daughter see her as a liar! What a mess!
"What will you tell her, Cora?... Oh lemme guess... 'Isabella, this nice man was kind enough to lend us his blood, be a good girl and say thank you to him!?...' Is that it!?... Then I bet you would expect me to walk away like everything is fine?"
He laughed then…
"That's never gonna happen, Cora! You better start thinking about what you're going to tell her because I have every right to be in her life as much as you. I'm letting her know who I am as soon as she wakes up, I'm not waiting for another second" He finished talking and went back to closing his eyes. Shutting her out
Cora stood where she was for some time, staring at the man that just dropped a bombshell before shutting her out. Since there was nothing to talk about at the moment she decided to go and sit with Lisa outside in the waiting room. As soon as she sat down on the stainless steel bench provided, she rested her head on Lisa's shoulder.
"Hey, she's going to be fine, we know that now, right?" Lisa said to Cora
"Yes I know, just that things are never going to be the same again Lisa. He made it clear to me that nothing is going to stop him from being part of her life now."
"Well I already knew that would happen eventually..."
Cora sighed deeply
"He's angry with me..." She said and sat straight so she would be able to face Lisa. "Lisa, do you think I was wrong by not telling him about Isabella?"
"No!... I don't think you're wrong. He just broke up with you, said he loved another woman and she was pregnant with his child... If you had told him about your pregnancy then wouldn't it look as if you were using your pregnancy to get him to choose between you and the woman he loved?" Isabella asked and Cora nodded.