Knight

Chapter 7 Courage

Callista had felt certain that she was ready, and she trusted Darrell to be there for her so she really had nothing to be afraid of. That didn't stop her from shrinking and hiding behind Darrell, clutching on his shirt when Mrs Soedirja entered the room. "Hey, it's going to be alright. To be honest the one who should be afraid in this situation is me." Her husband said lightly. She frowned "you? Why would you be afraid? " "I didn't exactly ask for their permission to marry you, didn't I? And ours was a rushed marriage. You might not be pregnant then, but now, who knows? " He grinned. 

"Ah, but I did want to marry you. If we explain the situation, they surely understand. " Her face turned serious and she nodded before stepping out from behind his back and standing in front of Darrell as if shielding him from her mother. Her husband chuckled in amusement as he pulled her back to the warmth of his arms. "Well, I'm not afraid yet, so don't put that fierce expression. You're going to scare them. " Callista blushed at that and Darrell patted her head fondly. 

Helena and her husband stared at the couple with a slight smile. In one hand, she was rather upset that her child had married so young, but in the other hand, her son-in-law looked very much in love with her and was very protective of her. "Hi" She pulled on her own husband's assuring hand to approach them. "Thank you for doing this. I'm very sure that you're my daughter, but you're right about making certain."

Callista stared at the woman and nodded, leaning back to her husband's chest to draw strength. They have both been taken to a room to draw blood, and now, all they had to do is wait. Darrell had asked for the lab to expedite their test results, so they only need to wait for three hours instead of the usual two weeks. He also informed Ryan about the situation and was waiting for news with her instead of in front of the delivery room. Isla was there instead and James was the designated babysitter as he needed to stand by the headquarters anyways. Darrell had explained that one of them must be on standby on the headquarter at all times, baring special occasions such as Ryan's wedding in Bali. Even then, it was Darrell who took the next flight back to be on the Headquarters. 

"It was mostly James though," Darrell had said on their honeymoon. "No one else had the patience to handle Antonio, Prescott's Head Chef. I so wanted to replace him with that Master Chef, but James always talked me out of it. It was so annoying, but it's better now Reynald opened his own restaurant under RDJ. I was thinking on investing on Fine Dining in the hotel, but it doesn't exactly suit the image of family hotel. Maybe for the Royal Grand Suites? " Callista smiled remembering how her husband sometimes went off tangent when he got inspired to make an investment. 

Helena watched her daughter's face and smiled in amusement, it seemed that Callista was daydreaming, her cheeks bloomed red as she unconsciously snuggled to her husband, who looked increasingly uncomfortable, being in front of Helena and Robert. "So" She decided to help him by cutting through Callista's daydream. "You have children already? " It was the foremost question in her mind. The little girl looked like she was at least five, and that meant that her daughter had her when she was really young. 

"Ah, no, we adopted them, actually" Callista squeaked. "Sierra and Felix were my younger siblings. The circumstances required Darrell to adopt them. He married me to save us. " She tightened her grip in Darrell's hand. He patted it comfortingly. "Save you? Why? What happened? " She told them everything. 

Helena and Robert were horrified. She couldn't imagine her daughter's fate had she not met Darrell. "Oh my God, that's horrible. Can anything be done to Mr. Wong? " Darrell shrugged. "We've tried, but as long as he had backings, it's difficult to pin him with anything. But one thing I am sure is that Callie is safe. We went out of the city without any problems for a month, and there's no problem getting them a passport too. " "You'll tell us if there's anything we can help? " Darrell tilted his head in thought, then shook it. " I will." Then his phone rang and it was Isla, announcing the birth of Ryan and Raina's daughter. 

Callista looked at him and her mother, then nodded to Darrell. "Can we meet you later, my friend gave birth and we should see them. " She asked her mother shyly. "But of course" Helena was delighted. She never thought that she'd be given a second chance to reconnect with her daughter. "We'll be waiting here."

An hour later, Callista went to see her friend Ivo in the pediatric oncology department, leaving Darrell who was talking with Ryan and accidentally saw Helena and Robert in a room with a boy. "Ivo! " She called her friend who happened to pass by. "Callista! What a surprise! " Ivo drawled. "When is your break? " "I'm due one now. Why? " "Have some tea with me? " The doctor shrugged. "Hey Ivo? " "Hmm? " "Who's that patient? " Ivo looked at the direction of her eyes. "Oh, Samoedra Soedirja. He's my patient. That's his parents with him. " "Oh, what's wrong with him? " "He had acute Leukimia. He's waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but they haven't gotten a donor yet." 

"Hmm… " Callista stared at them thoughtfully. "It's the mother's biological child? " Ivo nodded. "She was quite devastated that none of her, her husband's and her daughter's matched. None of the husband's family either, but it's not surprising. They were all very different." Callista was silent for a moment. "Hey, Ivo, can you do me a favor? "