The next day.Daniel woke up before Samantha did and recalling what they did last night brought even more misery when he thought about what he had to do just to save her. Looking at the woman sleeping soundly next to him, everything else no longer mattered. "I can"t let you die, Sam." He told himself. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and hugged her close for a while before he decided to get up.
Daniel showered, got dressed and left the villa after instructing the nurse not to let Samantha leave the house.
Instead of going straight to the office, he drove towards the Kim family"s estate.
It was eight in the morning and when he reached the front of the mansion. Samantha"s father was about to get inside the car when Daniel arrived. Surprised, Father Kim straightened up and waited for Daniel. His face was bright but he had a feeling that Daniel was not there for good news.
"Father," Daniel greeted with a slight bow.
"Hmm… What brought you here?" Father Kim wondered. He saw Daniel keeping his head low, obviously unsure of how to answer him. Understanding his son-in-law"s state, he turned around and headed back inside the house, "Follow me."
Daniel briefly closed his eyes before he walked behind his father-in-law. The entire time that he drove towards their estate, he had already thought about what to say but when he got there, it seemed like he was no longer confident.
Father Kim entered his study and instead of serving Daniel a cup of tea, he opened his cupboard and served a shot of the limited edition malt whiskey that Daniel gave him the last time.
Even though Samantha and Daniel did not tell their families anything, his instincts were on point. The moment that he saw Daniel, he knew that something was wrong. The mighty Daniel Cho going to him while looking defeated was not common. And his gut was telling him that it had something to do with his daughter.
Daniel remained standing by the door until Father Kim called for him to sit down. Hesitant, he moved and received the gla.s.s that was handed to him before he sat on the armchair. Father Kim sat opposite him and waited for his son-in-law to start.
Daniel looked at the gla.s.s in his hand but he did not want to drink it. The taste of alcohol from drinking too much the night before still lingered in his tongue. Placing the gla.s.s down on the table, he stood up from the chair and went in front of Father Kim.
Father Kim looked up to the tall man, not knowing why Daniel rose and faced him until Daniel slowly bent down both of his knees and lowered his head.
"I have failed Samantha. And to save her, I... must let her go." He spoke but it only made Father Kim knit his brows, both in confusion and frustration. "I am… sorry. I"m here to tell you that... I will bring your daughter back to you."
The words that Father Kim never expected to hear from Daniel was painful to hear. He closed his eyes and curled his hands — he had wanted to hit Daniel but he stopped himself. "Why?" He asked as if asking was going to ease his emotions but he had to understand. He had always seen Daniel as a man of his words but what could possibly make Daniel do something like this?
Daniel had not said anything yet but Father Kim already felt his heart ache as if it was going to get crushed. "Oh my poor daughter… how pitiful. She must be very sad." He worried.
His train of thoughts was interrupted when Daniel began to tell him everything that happened and why it happened. Though Daniel did not give him details about his dark past, he confessed enough for Father Kim to know about the situation. It was the only way to make him understand and Daniel believed he owed him his honesty.
Father Kim was enraged that his daughter was endangered because of Daniel"s past. But for whatever reason, he could not hate his son-in-law. He understood the circ.u.mstances that they were in and if he were in Daniel"s shoes, he would probably do the same.
The study was quiet for a long time. Daniel remained kneeling in front of his father-in-law and did not move or utter another word after. Even though he told him the truth, his heart was still knotted.
The silence was broken when Daniel"s phone rang. He hesitated to pick it up but he worried that it might be Samantha.
"Answer it. That might be important." Father Kim said.
Daniel took his phone out and pressed a b.u.t.ton. But before he could even say anything, Nathan had already spoken, "Samantha was rushed here. It"s bad. Come quickly."