The Choices We Make (Revenge)

Rescue

Hamptons, Grayson Manor

When Daniel entered the main house, he was already expected by Victoria, his mother.

"Where have you been?," she asked sharply.

Daniel hated it when she sounded like a dictator, even though he knew it was her usual way to deal with people. "Over at the beach house," he replied, reluctantly.

"And can you tell me the reason why you were there?"

Annoyed, he raised an eyebrow. "I'm an adult, mom! I don't need a babysitter!"

"Grown-up enough to make your own mistakes."

Her gibe hit him deeply, and he tried to justify himself. "For which I would take responsibility, if you'd let me!"

"Your father is right." Slowly she walked around him. "You are nothing but ungrateful! After all, he saved you from going to jail. And how do you thank him? "

"I didn't ask for it. But that you and dad are agree over something, I should mark red in my calendar. "

"Save your sarcasm, Daniel! You're not in the position for that."

He swallowed the remark that lay on his tongue. He knew she was right. Just one false word and he would go to jail. And it was not the first time he'd been convicted. He had once targeted and shot a man, only with the difference that Tyler had not died by his bullet at the time, but by another.

"So, are you going to tell me now what you wanted at the beach house?" Victoria resumed the conversation.

He couldn't reveal his true reasons to her. She would call him an idiot. He didn't understand either. Perhaps it was the need to be near her again; smell her perfume, touch her stuff. It still seemed unreal to him that she would never return to this place. If the day had taken another turn, they would be honeymooning in Paris. He didn't know why he had to think about it now. But since he'd been in the beach house, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't overheard the conversation between Emily and his mother. Would we have been happy, in spite of her lies? Could we have a shared future? Or was my mother right and Emily had only feigned her love? Was anything real about our relationship? He had no answers to the questions. He only knew that he had been serious, when he vowed his eternal love to her in front of the altar.

"Daniel!"

Startled, he looked up. He'd been so engrossed in this daydream that he'd totally forgotten his mother's question. "I sold the beach house to Nolan Ross," he said quickly. Watching his mother's facial expression changing, he could see that she was not particularly enthusiastic about the news.

"Why did you sell the beach house? I thought you had plans to move back in there."

"Are you going to kick me out?"

"Of course not! Don't be silly." She rolled her eyes. "But I can remember that you mentioned you wanted to keep it for yourself."

Yes, that was the plan, he thought bitterly. Before he had entered the house and had to deal with the memories. It was better this way. He would never be able to live in the beach house, with the constant remembrance of her and what he had done to her.

"I told him about the commemoration. He'll come," he said.

"Well, how lovely. At least one who will honestly shed tears," she said spitefully.

"Mom!"

"All right." She raised her hands apologetically. "I think it's no secret that Emily was not my first choice for a daughter-in-law. Sara on the other hand... "

"Stop it! Don't start again! And if I may remind you, Sara wasn't on your list for the perfect daughter-in-law either a few years ago."

"I've just changed my mind. This happens sometimes," she said shrugging. "But you have to admit that you chose the wrong woman. If you had decided for Sara, as I told you, Emily might be still alive. "

That's it, he'd had enough of her constant teasing. "You make me sick!," he yelled scornfully. "You are constantly trying to manipulate people on your own terms! You are not God! And you can also save the effort of matchmaking! Whatever Sara and I had together... it's over! And as for Emily... " He inhaled deeply before he finished the sentence. "If you think about her that way, it might be better if you don't attend the commemoration!"

Perplexed, she looked after him as he suddenly turned away from her and ran upstairs to his room.

"I told you, didn't I," Conrad said, who had overheard the conversation from a corner of the room. "You can't play destiny as you like. He still loves her, no matter what happened before."

"Yes," she admitted, sighing. "Then she won. Even beyond death, she has the power to take everything away from me."

He tapped lightly on her shoulder. "You still have Patrick and Charlotte, who you can manipulate," he said, then turned away and went up the stairs smiling.

IGM Hospital, Malé

Nervously, Aiden paced back and forth in the waiting room, waiting to get to know about Emily's condition. She had gone to the surgery immediately after her arrival in the hospital. The doctor, who had also operated on her the first time, was again under the surgical team. And Aiden had been relieved that he had not given too much details. A patient file already existed. His head jerked up as he saw the doctor coming.

"How is she?," he inquired anxiously.

"She's fine, given the circumstances." The doctor put the surgical mask off his face. "She lost a lot of blood. So we had to give her a blood transfusion. The wound was sewn again, and an ultrasound examination was made on account of the pregnancy. "

"Is the baby well?"

For the first time the doctor smiled. "It really is a miracle that the baby has remained intact this time. The mother was in a state of shock. This is often enough to trigger a miscarriage. But her child is really resistant. You rarely experience such a thing. "

Aiden exhaled with relief. Even if he couldn't be 100% sure that the baby was really his ... it didn't matter. It was crucial that Emily lived and the baby as well.

"May I see her?"

Slowly the doctor shook his head. "She's still on the intensive care unit. At least tonight we should give her some rest. If she's better tomorrow, we can move her to the normal station. She'll be under observation for the time being."

"How long does she have to stay in the hospital?"

"I can't promise anything at the moment," the doctor said. "We have to wait and see if there's any bleeding. But don't worry too much," he added comforting. "The worst part's over. She is in good hands here. If complications occur, we can quickly intervene." He patted Aiden lightly on the shoulder. "Go home and get some sleep. When your fiancee is awake, there'll be plenty of time."

"I wanted to fly back to the States with her," Aiden began hesitantly. "What do you think when this will be possible?"

"If no complications occur then perhaps in a week to ten days. But as I said, we have to wait and see how her recovery progresses. And if you go back with her, she should be given medical care there, too. "

"I'll get everything needed," Aiden promised, reaching out to the doctor's hand. "Thank you! You saved her and our child's life!"

"That's my job." The doctor smiled. "I'll call you if there's a change."

Aiden didn't like to leave her in the hospital. But he also knew that the doctor was right and he couldn't do much right now. Emily would sleep for a while and still needed rest. In the meantime he should prepare everything necessary for the return to the Hamptons. And he should call Nolan again and tell him about the changed situation. As soon as he had left the hospital, he pulled out his phone and began dialing Nolan's number.