Chapter 235: Matters Arising IV
"Are you sure of what you’re saying, Ewan? You want me to choose gifts for your children? What kind of father does that? You haven’t even started your daddy duties, and you’re already failing..."
Ewan sighed wearily, rubbing slow circles on his forehead, uncertain whether Zane was joking with him or bullshitting him truly. But his mind was too fogged by the present situation surrounding him, leaving no room for Zane’s antics.
"Zane, please. You know what I’m battling with at the moment, or haven’t you seen or heard the news?"
A resigned sigh echoed from the other end of the phone. "I have seen it, Ewan. And as much as I understand the terrible state you’re in—the forlorn condition of your company—choosing gifts for your children feels quite strange, considering they’re expecting you. Isn’t this something you’ve been craving?"
Ewan folded his lips, reclining deeper into his seat. Across the room, he spotted Sandro pacing back and forth, on the phone with anyone who could manage the fallout from the disaster at his company.
"Zane, I just think it’s more imperative for me to deal with the dead people in my company first, their families too, the losses and consequences, before getting gifts for the children. But time may slip away before I’m done, hence why I’m calling you. I... I’m sure they will understand. Athena too. Isn’t she an astute businesswoman? And after all, they don’t need to know. You just pick the gifts and wait for me at our spot. I’ll take it from there."
"Picking the gifts from the store isn’t the problem, Ewan. You want me to choose them. Don’t you want to do the honors? Don’t you want to feel the excitement that comes with it? The thrill of watching your children open the gifts and wondering if they’ll like what they find?"
Ewan didn’t think so. On a normal day, yes; but not today, when a throng of grieving families wept downstairs, crying for justice.
He pursed his lips, chastising himself for not being more careful, for not being sensitive about the consequences of his dealings. If he had been more prudent, this bombing wouldn’t have happened. Stupidity had clouded his judgment when he thought everything had ended with Fiona’s confinement.