Chapter 287 Being a Dad for a Day
Ethan saw Nora bawling her eyes out and felt a headache creeping in.
Trying to keep his cool, he said, "Cut it out, kid. No means no!"
Ashley overheard and felt like smacking him upside the head. His icy tone was enough to spook any kid.
"I feel so miserable. My classmates are gonna bully me again," Nora sobbed, wiping her tears. After Ethan's rejection, she had no choice but to leave.
"Hold up," Ethan asked, "Do you get picked on a lot at school?"
Nora nodded, "Yeah, they all call me a wild child without a dad."
Ashley went quiet. 'Kids these days, how can they be so mean?' Hearing Nora's words tore her up inside.
Ethan felt a mix of anger and heartbreak too, but he couldn't just pretend to be her dad.
Ethan put an arm around Nora's shoulder and gently said, "Nora, you know I'm a public figure. Everyone knows Ashley's my wife. If I suddenly show up at your kindergarten claiming to be your dad, what do you think people will say?"
Nora's eyes widened, "Oh right, I totally forgot about that."
She rubbed her chin, thinking, "Then I'll just hire another dad, so they won't mess with me anymore."
Ethan sighed, "Your mom's not gonna go for that either. You're too young to make those calls. Didn't you leave with your mom? Why are you back?"
Nora stuck out her tongue, "I snuck back, Ethan. I'm leaving now."
Ethan said, "Hold on, I'll take you to your mom myself so you don't run off again."
He grabbed his phone, took Nora's hand, and left the room.
Seeing them go, Ashley let out a sigh of relief and shifted around on the bed, "Pretending to be out cold is no joke. My body is sore from lying here."
Thinking about Ethan and Nora's chat, Ashley felt for Nora. A kid from a single-parent home always gets a raw deal.
Ashley really liked Nora and wanted to help her out.
She got up, stretched, and called Liam, "Liam, what are you up to?"
Liam answered, "Ashley? I heard you were in a car accident and still out cold. Are you awake? I'm at the office."
Ashley said, "Liam, keep it on the down-low for now."
Liam immediately looked around cautiously. Luckily, he was alone in his office. He lowered his voice and said, "What's going on? Need my help with something?"
"I've got a friend's kid I really like. Her school has this parent-child event that needs a dad to join in. But she's from a single-parent family and gets picked on for not having a dad. So, I need a favor."
Liam got it, "You want me to play dad for her?"
Liam nodded, "So, does this have anything to do with you faking being unconscious?"
Ashley blushed, "Nah, that's a whole different thing. I just want to help her out."
Liam sighed, "Alright, since you asked, how can I say no? Send me their address, a photo, and a phone number."
Ashley said, "Liam, when you come, try to get Ethan to head back to the Yates Group office. He's been camping out in my hospital room every day, and I can't get anything done."
Liam chuckled, "You two are something else. I'll swing by the hospital later to see you."
They hung up.
Ashley heard footsteps in the hallway and quickly jumped back into bed. In her rush, she didn't set her slippers right.
Ethan came back after dropping off Nora and saw Ashley's blanket was all messed up. He fixed it for her.
But then, he noticed the slippers were out of place.
Ethan furrowed his brows, thinking hard.
Ashley half-opened her eyes, sneaking a peek at Ethan. Seeing him eyeing the slippers, she panicked. She'd forgotten to fix them in her hurry.
Ethan glanced at her, and Ashley quickly shut her eyes.
"Why are the slippers out of place?" Ethan muttered, "I just put them right."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
A cleaning lady walked in with a bucket and mop, "Hi, I'm here to clean."
Ethan thought, 'Maybe the cleaning lady moved the slippers while cleaning.' With that thought, he didn't dwell on it, fixed the slippers, and went to the desk to look over some documents.
Ashley peeked again and, seeing Ethan wasn't suspicious, let out a sigh of relief.
Ethan looked up, puzzled.
Did he hear it wrong? He thought he heard someone sigh.
"Sir, could you lift your feet, please?" the cleaning lady asked.
Ethan frowned, looking annoyed, but he lifted his feet.
As she mopped, some dirt from the mop got on Ethan's pants, making his face darken.
Just then, there was another knock on the door, "Mr. Yates."
"Come in."
"Mr. Yates, there's a meeting that needs you at the Yates Group."
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