Chapter 100: |Road to the final 6|

"Nicole... It's Elaine." Those three words sent a strong shiver down Emma's spine, her heart raced. She swallowed with difficulty.

"What? Nicole is Elaine?" she huffed. "How can it be her? That, that, that means... Am I her daughter? Is that what it means?" her voice trembled. "It's impossible. Elaine has always been Elaine, it must be a mistake. Nicole? No, no, no, no," said Emma, starting to feel short of breath, which Jack noticed and began to worry.

"Calm down, sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart! I'm not your daughter, Elaine told me my father is dead," she began to falter. "She couldn't have lied to me about that," her eyes glazed over. "She couldn't have hidden such a big and important truth from me." Tears started to fall down her now pale cheeks.

"Emma, please, I need you to calm down, think about the baby, my grandchild..."

"You can't be my father!" she tried to suppress the feelings of anger she had towards her mother, she didn't want to break down, she had to be strong and think carefully. "You can't be my father..." Jack had come to her side and sat on his heels.

"Why not?" asked Jack, his voice breaking. Emma looked at him, sobbing.

"Why not?" her voice broke, but she continued, "Because you're too good to be my father, I don't deserve to have a good man as a father, especially with what I've lived through. I can barely process having a good man like Max by my side, who will be the father of my child," she tried not to break with what she was about to say, "It's hard to believe I can now have a father who... has been looking for me, who has been watching over me, who continues to take care of me silently, without telling me the truth... I don't deserve so many good things in my life... I..." Emma covered her face with her hands and broke down crying inconsolably.

"Oh, my girl," Jack hugged her, and she accepted his embrace while crying inconsolably against his chest. "Never doubt that you deserve good things," Jack broke down, "I can't imagine the harm you've suffered to think and doubt that you deserve the best in life." He paused, "You deserve much more, sweetheart, much more." He looked up when he saw someone approaching them, realizing it was Max, with a man behind him, who was Secretary Min.

"Is everything alright?" Max asked worriedly. Jack nodded, and Emma pulled away from him when she heard Max's question. Max sat on his heels on the other side of her with utmost care, trying not to be rough because of his injury, then took her hand. She was crying and couldn't speak. "My God, you already know." He looked at Jack, "Did you just tell her?" Jack nodded, then looked at Emma.

"D-Did you know?" she said between sobs. Max's face softened.

"When you were hospitalized due to the miscarriage threat, but I couldn't tell you anything as it wasn't my place, only his. But we were worried about your state and how you'd handle the truth..."

"Jack is my father, Max." Then she hugged him around the neck and cried. Max stroked her back from top to bottom to calm her down.

"He is, love. He is your father, and you have to do your best not to feel bad, remember our baby feels your state." Emma seemed to react, pulled away, and sniffled like a small child, nodding, placing her hand on her belly, then following with Max's. Jack moved to stand behind Max and wiped the corners of his eyes. Emma looked at him and signaled to Max that she was going to get up. Max carefully stood up with Jack's help, then gave Emma the chance to stand up.

"Forgive my immature reaction, it's just that..." her voice broke, avoiding continuing to speak.

"There is no immature reaction, my dear. It's normal, you just found out you have a father, one you thought had died, who knows how long ago." Jack, fearing rejection, slowly raised and opened his arms to receive her. "But what matters is from now on, now that you know I'm your father, that we can have a father-daughter relationship, and soon, father, daughter, and grandson..."

"And son-in-law," Max said from behind Emma.

"Of course," Jack said, smiling. "And son-in-law." He looked at Emma. "So," a brief pause, "Can we start being a family...?" Emma's lower lip trembled, and she nodded, finally accepting Jack's embrace. They both began to cry. Max was moved by the scene and worried about Emma and the baby. The scene before his eyes filled him with so much happiness that, for a moment, he forgot his wound had started bleeding. When Jack pulled away, he noticed the stain on Max's dress shirt. Not wanting to alarm Emma, he approached Max to hug him and whispered.

"You're bleeding." Max tensed.

"Thanks," he said, then covered his stomach with his coat. He looked at Emma, approached, and kissed her forehead. As he pulled away, he smiled at her. "I'll leave you two so you can catch up and talk with him peacefully."

"Did you only come for that?" Emma asked with emotion.

"I was worried about how you'd take it, but I see you're okay, so I'll go rest. I'll wait for you at home. I love you, my lady." He left another kiss, this time on her lips, and said goodbye to Jack, who was already worried about his wound. Jack told him to take a seat while he saw Max off.

"Wait, wait," Jack said, catching up to Max, who had reached the outside of the restaurant. "How do you feel?" Max shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said, placing a hand on his stomach. "I'll go rest and have the nurse check it immediately."

"Let my secretary take you," Jack insisted, but Max refused. "Give me and Emma that peace of mind." Max hesitated for a moment, now fearing something might happen on the way to the attic, so he didn't want to take the risk.

"Thanks, I accept the help." Jack smiled with relief. He called his secretary Min, and moments later, he arrived beside them in the SUV. He helped Max into the back and gave instructions to his secretary to ensure he got to the attic and that the nurse attended to him.

Jack went back into the restaurant, and Emma still looked shaken, wiping her tears repeatedly. He worried something might be wrong. When he reached the table, he tried to talk to her.

"I think it would be best to finish dinner so you both can rest. A lot of emotions for today, don't you think?" A smile appeared on his lips.

"So, will you keep visiting me?" Emma asked, thinking he might stop visiting as he had until now.

"Of course I will, as long as you allow me. As I told you before, I want to form a family with you, try to make up for some of the time we missed. I want to see your pregnancy progress with good health, see my grandson grow..." Emma wiped the corners of her eyes, those tears threatening to fall again. "I want to be part of your life, daughter." Emma nodded and let out a sob, unable to believe she had a father in her life. She took his hand and caressed it.

"And so it will be, father..."

"In the dance of destiny, after so many years, the threads of time wove the long-awaited reunion between a father and his daughter, intertwining their hearts with the eternal magic of love."