Harrington's family conversation continued. Daniel was still shocked by the fact that Anastasia's father's liver was the one inside his father. He recalled the time when his father was in critical condition with little hope of survival. A miracle happened the night before, when the doctor informed them of an organ donor. The day they learned his father might survive was the same day Anastasia lost her father.
"Did they know about this? I mean, Anastasia and her mother?" Daniel finally asked after a long pause.
"No," Edward replied. "Marleen chose not to know who the heart was going to, and I knew that because I pleaded with the hospital to let me know. Well, you know, for this reason. To give back whenever I can." Edward leaned forward. "Do you still not want to do this?"
"No!" Daniel's high-pitched refusal filled the living room. "I mean, I will do it. I will marry Anastasia." His smile was wide. "But Dad, Mom, I have a slight problem that I need to settle first…"
"What problem?" Diana narrowed her eyes, sensing something might be wrong.
An awkward laugh escaped Daniel's lips. "It's nothing big, but don't worry. I'll make sure everything gets sorted out. I'll marry Anastasia and help with Flynn's company."
Diana quickly replied, "What did you do this time?"
Daniel did his best to give a reassuring smile. "I didn't do anything bad. So, Mom, you don't need to worry."
"When you tell me that I don't need to worry, that's usually when I need to panic. I'm sure there's something wrong. Is it about yesterday?!" Diana suddenly recalled Marleen's phone call early that morning. "What did you do to Anastasia?"
"I... I…" He struggled to find the right words. "I mean… I didn't do anything…" He stuttered, clearly showing that something was definitely wrong.
"Ethan Daniel Harrington! Now tell me, what is it?" Diana demanded, using his full name, which she only did when she was truly angry.
Edward, sitting beside Diana, shook his head and said, "Are you sure you didn't do anything bad? This marriage can still happen, right?"
"Of course! I'll make sure Anastasia will be my only bride," Daniel grinned, though he couldn't completely mask his nervousness.
Suddenly, Diana stood up, sensing something fishy about Daniel's reaction.
"Mom, where are you going?" Daniel asked, following her.
Diana shot him a sharp glare. "I'm calling Marleen."
"Wait, Mom!" Daniel moved in front of her, trying to block her path. "I told you, there's nothing wrong. It's just… I have something to settle first before… I mean, you don't need to rush the wedding. I mean, no, I'll handle the wedding as soon as I can." He blurted out, his words coming out in a frantic rush.
"How old are you?" Diana tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "This isn't the first day I've known you, Ethan. You came right from my belly." She tapped her stomach and added, "Looking at your reaction, I'm sure you've already messed something up."
"Mom…" He awkwardly scratched his head. Everything felt itchy, probably because he was sweating a bunch while trying to cover the mess he'd caused with Leo the day before.
Ignoring Daniel, Diana headed straight for her phone. The moment she dialed the number and it was connected, Daniel knew he was done.
"Hello Marleen…" Diana smiled as she glanced at Daniel, whose face looked like he had constipation.
"Yes, Diana," Marleen's voice came through clearly as Diana put the call on speaker.
"About Anna, did she go home yet?" Diana started with the question as she was worried about it.
"Ah yes. I'm really sorry to bother you early this morning. She came back safely, around noon," Marleen replied. She didn't give much information because it would be a whole disaster.
"Really? Thank God. What happened?" Diana shot a look at Daniel, suspecting that his actions were the cause of the situation.
Marleen hesitated for a moment before responding, "Actually, Diana, about the marriage. Can we discuss something? There's something I need to inform you about."
The moment Diana heard that, her heart dropped. She started to worry. "What is it?"
"I mean, can we meet? I don't think this can be discussed over the phone," Marleen said.
"Sure. Tomorrow?" Diana tried her best to cover her shaky voice.
"Yes, that works. I'll see you then," Marleen agreed.
As Diana ended the call, she turned to Daniel with a worried expression. "You better hope you have a good explanation for this. I'm not going to let you mess things up."
Daniel swallowed hard, his nerves frayed. "I promise, I'll explain everything. Just give me a chance to sort things out first."
"No, explain first." The deep voice of Edward interrupted the conversation between mother and son.
"Ahhh…" Daniel let out a long sigh, clearly reluctant to reveal too much. "I said I can settle this by myself."
Edward's eyes narrowed. "It's not just about you. We need to understand what's going on if we're going to make this work."
Daniel hesitated, feeling the pressure of both his parents' stares. "Alright, fine. I might have made a mess with a few things yesterday. There was some confusion and—"
Diana cut him off, her voice tense. "What kind of confusion? You better explain it all now, Ethan."
"It was both of your faults too…" Daniel frowned with frustration. "If I had known Anastasia was Anna, I would never have done that…" He now put the blame on his parents.
"So… what did you do?" Diana couldn't wait any longer; she stood beside Daniel with both hands clasped.
Daniel looked down, a heavy sigh escaping his mouth. "I don't know… Anna is Anastasia, that was why I refused this marriage earlier. So…" he gulped, ready to reveal the truth, "so… I asked Leo to be me and meet Anastasia and tell her I wouldn't want this marriage." He barely explained the whole truth.
"Is that all?" Diana didn't believe that was the only reason making Daniel this nervous.
"I mean…Leo did…cross a bit of a line…"
'I'm sorry bro. I need to survive to get married.' The thought crossed his mind as he put the blame on Leo.
Daniel looked at his parents as they waited for him to continue. He looked down and took a deep breath. "Leo poured water on Anna." He bit his lower lip as he revealed the truth.
Diana gasped in shock, and her hand reflexively slapped the back of Daniel's body. "What have you done?!"