Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Other Options
The following morning, soon after Isabella's dressing was changed, Greyson sent her breakfast.
When Isabella and Ricky thanked him, Greyson waved his hand in response. He knew how to be nice and friendly in a comfortable way without going overboard.
"Miss Thompson, I'll leave you and Ricky to enjoy the food. Call me if you need anything," he said with a grin
and then left.
Isabella's expression turned pensive. Greyson was Draxton's subordinate and was of high status. The fact that Greyson was so considerate to her and Ricky implied Draxton's attitude toward them. Halfway through the meal, Draxton showed up.
Isabella put down her fork and fixed her beautiful eyes on him.
The hospital gown she was wearing didn't make her any less appealing.
There seemed to be something ethereal and pure about her temperament that made her beauty stunning but not at all aggressive.
She'd grown into a woman now but still looked like a girl.
Draxton gathered that her adoptive parents had abandoned her, and they had set her up and drugged her, which led to their unpleasant encounter five years ago.
After that, she met her birth parents, who wouldn't take her in. Then, when she left Dawton City, her flight crashed.
Draxton wondered how such a weak and timid girl had survived all those hardships, given birth to Ricky, and managed to raise him.
It must have been so hard for her.
It was an undeniable fact that he had been offended five years ago.
However, she hadn't meant it to happen because she was the victim too.
During the five years of searching for her, Draxton had been infuriated at first but gradually calmed down. The passage of time had pacified him better than anything and anyone.
His wrath and the impulse to kill her had ebbed away in the past five years, which made it possible for him to consider this matter in a more reasonable way.
After the itch to kill her subsided, he just wanted to find her and properly deal with her to put an end to this
matter.
Of course, if she wouldn't play nice, he would consider doing away with her.
Draxton had never expected her to be so fragile and chicken-hearted like a harmless bunny.
And that boy Ricky was surprisingly adorable.
"Go on eating. Don't mind me," Draxton said in a tender voice.
He then sat down on the sofa next to them.
Isabella and Ricky exchanged glances and resumed eating.
Draxton didn't stare at them. Instead, he turned on his laptop and started reading files.
Isabella stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. Draxton should be very busy and wasn't supposed to be able to take time off to visit them in the hospital. Ricky was peeking at Draxton too. Draxton's serious expression made him look unapproachable.
The ward was quiet, but the atmosphere turned odd before long.
"Ricky, you peeked at me 15 times in seven minutes and thirty-two seconds. So that would be one peek every half a minute on average."
Ricky stiffened.
Being caught stealing glances at Draxton, he blushed crimson with embarrassment, and his lips tightened. The corners of Draxton's eyes slightly crinkled in amusement.
He was not finished yet. Moving his eyes to Isabella, he continued, "You peeked at me from the corner of your eye eight times. That would be a little more than one peek per minute."
Isabella was at a loss for words.
She choked on the porridge she had just put into her mouth.
Seeing her coughing violently, Draxton frowned. Then, after a few seconds of hesitation, he reached out his long arm and gently patted Isabella on her back.
When Isabella stopped coughing, her eyes had turned red, and crystal tears were hanging on her long, thick eyelashes.
Isabella suspected that Draxton meant to take revenge on her by making her choke to death. Draxton's gaze locked on her face for a second. He found her endearing but also alluring. Isabella lost her appetite after this minor incident.
Seeing her put down her fork, Draxton furrowed his brows and said, 'Have some more." Isabella flicked a gaze at him in silence. Then, meeting his grim eyes, she lifted her fork again. She continued to eat with Ricky quietly, neither of them stealing glances at Draxton this time. Draxton then focused his attention on the laptop screen, and the corners of his mouth tilted slightly.
The rain had stopped by the morning. Leaves were dewy, and the sky was azure.
While Isabella and Ricky were eating, Draxton was working quietly beside them. A shaft of morning sunlight through the window shone on them and gilded their faces, making it a loving and beautiful moment. When Greyson walked in and saw that, he was dazed. "They just look like a family of three," he thought.
For some reason, he turned around and left without bothering them.
After Isabella and Ricky finished their breakfast without being interrupted again, a nurse went in and cleaned the table for them. Then Isabella sat face to face with Draxton.
"I've asked the butler to prepare rooms for you and Ricky. After your wounds heal, you will move in with me. We can bond before getting married or get married first, and feelings will come in time," said Draxton without any sort of preamble.
Isabella didn't know how to react.
"Can I say no?
"Looks like I can't," she thought.
"Mr. Lockwood, do I have other options?" Isabella asked carefully.
The gingerly way she asked that question made Draxton frown slightly, and he cast Ricky a glance.
In a firm voice, he said, "I won't allow my son to be excluded from the Lockwood family. Do you understand?
"If you don't want to marry me, you'll have to part with Ricky."
Draxton was sure that Isabella wouldn't leave Ricky no matter what.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
When he saw them at the airport, he found them as beautiful as a painting. It had never occurred to him that they actually belonged to him.
Ricky was playing by himself at the side and snapped his head up when he heard that Isabella might have to part with him. He looked at Draxton unblinkingly with an unnoticeable trace of coldness in his eyes. Isabella parted her lips but couldn't get any words out.
It was actually good news that Draxton wanted to include Ricky in his family.
H
"You will not do any harm to Ricky, will you?" Isabella asked the question that concerned her the most.
Draxton's gaze fell on Ricky. With a loving light in his eyes, he answered, "Of course not. He's my son.
Although the birth of Ricky was never part of his plan, now that Ricky was already a lively boy in front of him, he had no choice but to accept him and watch out for him for the rest of his life. Isabella replied, "I believe you.”
She believed that a man of Draxton's background and status wouldn't lie to her about something like that.
Draxton gazed at Isabella with unreadable eyes. “What do you think? You want to part with Ricky?"
"1..."
Isabella took a deep breath. The man in front of her was handsome and exalted, the dreamboat of numerous women, but...
Isabella lifted her gaze to Ricky. There was nothing she wouldn't do to stay with Ricky.
Therefore, she met Draxton's gaze with a solemn face and asked, “Do you mean it that you want to marry me?"
Draxton found her grave tone intriguing and suppressed a smile. Then, with a nod, he said, "Yes."
Isabella fell silent for a moment. Then she responded, "Okay. I'll marry you."
After a pause, she added, "I hope you can promise me one thing."
Draxton stared at Isabella and waited quietly for her to finish her words.
Isabella continued, "I want you to promise me that if you meet someone you truly love one day and have children with her, you can let me and Ricky go. "Ricky and I won't get between you and the woman you love."
Draxton's face darkened instantly.
"We're not even married yet, but you're already planning to divorce me and take my son away from me?" he asked in a voice thick with gloominess. Isabella's face turned pale. "Don't be angry. I just don't want you to blame me when you meet someone you love
"My point is that Ricky and I won't hold you back when that happens."
"That scenario will never happen." Draxton's eyes flicked to Ricky. "I just need one heir."
Isabella had already made herself clear enough and said nothing more.
No one should jump to conclusions about things that haven't happened.
Isabella touched her cheeks and felt inexplicable feelings.
She had actually agreed to marry Draxton.
She decided not to shut this matter out of her mind for now. Three days later, she recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital.
Draxton went to pick her and Ricky up in person. Alan and Martin were with him, and it was the first time they had met Isabella.