The Billionaire's Substitute

Ethan's Surprise

 A year later Rachel found herself making funny faces at her little girl, Ava. The almost three months old was quite active this afternoon, making a lot of noise which caused her grandparents to pop their head into the nursery to join in on the fun. Rachel was near tears as she watched her mother and father talk and play around with Ava. Her baby girl seemed to love the attention she was getting. Rachel grabbed her phone when it went off, letting her know she got a new message. She had been texting with her sister all day, Valerie and Gabriel were ditching Ethan to come see little Ava. Ethan was unhappy with the fact that Gabriel chose to spend the weekend at Valerie's family house instead of having dinner with him and his fiancée. She understood why Ethan got upset. They planned that dinner weeks ago and the couple canceled last minute. But she also felt a bit attacked by the fact why Ethan got so upset. Ethan's displeasure was the reason why Valerie had been complaining about the man all day. The couple was boarding their plane right now, arriving at their hometown in a few hours.

"They're boarding their plane right now." Rachel told her father who was going to pick the couple up in a few hours, "Valerie is grumpy and in desperate need of a talk."

Her mother laughed quietly, "Ethan still giving them a hard time?"

Rachel let her daughter hold onto her finger, smiling brightly despite feeling like crap because Ethan made it seem like she was too needy. Always calling Gabriel and Valerie over to spend the weekend at the family house. She never once asked that of the couple though. They just couldn't share the real reason with Ethan since Gabriel gave her his word never to mention Ava to the guy. So now she was forever the bad guy, which lately made her feel like it was true. She had been determined never to let Ethan see Ava when she carried the little girl, but now that she was here and being sometimes so cute you didn't want to stop cuddling her or when she got ill and fear gripped her like an iron fist she wanted to share those moments with Ava's father. She regretted being that stubborn and hurt to never try and reach out to Ethan again. But some things you could never take back despite regretting them.

"Ethan blames me for not spending his weekends together with Gabriel and Valerie anymore."

"It would be different if he knew about Ava." Her mother reminded her.

"I know, but I can't change that anymore."

Her father flashed her a knowing look, she didn't need his words to know what he was thinking. It was on her mind as well, yet pride was a tricky thing.

"Just remember to do what's best for Ava." Her mother told her, "Even though things didn't work out between you two, Ethan is a good guy."

Rachel had to hide her smile, she knew Amanda was quite upset with the fact that Ethan no longer reached out to her mother either. The man completely pushed her and her family out of his life. He had to accept Valerie because she married his close friend Gabriel. If that hadn't been the case Rachel wouldn't have been surprised if the man even decided to cut Valerie out of his life. He was angry and he showed it.

"I know he's a good guy." Rachel sighed, "At the time I was so angry he ignored me even though I let him know in every possible way that I can that we really needed to talk. I emphasized that it was urgent. Angry and disappointed that's how he made me feel. Now though, I'm starting to play around with the idea to break the news to him but-"

"He's getting married and you don't think it's the right time?" Her mother asked her.

"He's getting married in three months, it's definitely not the right time to break that kind of news to him." She quietly admitted.

It was the first time her father spoke up about the subject which surprised her and Amanda, "I think the fact that Ethan is making a big step in his life is exactly why it's the right time to break the news to him. He'll be making plans for the future and without knowing about Ava it could hurt him a lot more when you show up at his doorstep when he made those big changes without including Ava in it."