SWNOVELS Chapter 43: Ethan's Admission
"So... how exactly did you and." Forcing a smile, Amanda Wright turned to Samantha and asked, "You and little Sami became... a couple? And when?"
From inside the one-carat conference room, everyone was now seated in front of a huge round table when Amanda began her interrogation.
It was already explained to Ethan how Samantha was apparently little Sami, the same girl that his mother had repeatedly mentioned to him.
Evidently, Samantha was the same girl Amanda wanted him to tie the knot with. That ultimately cut down his worries into half, and he knew it also eased Samantha's nerves.
Hearing Ethan's parents probe about the fateful night that created the twins, Diana volunteer to take the kids away. "I think for this part of your discussion, I will let the children and I sit elsewhere." Turning to the twins, Diana urged, "Kids, let's chat on the sofa?"
"Why? I can understand?" Kyle complained, frowning his face.
"Yes, exactly," said Diana. "Come on, Kyle."
"Kyle, Kenzie. Go with your grandma D. The adults are going to have a proper conversation... Children aren't allowed yet," instructed Ethan. "Don't worry, we will call you back when we are done." "Fine," answered Kyle.
"Okay, Daddy. Don't take too long," said Kenzie. She then flashed her charming smile at Amanda and Daniel, waving her cute little hands at them.
"Oh, my. She is just so adorable," remarked Amanda before smiling back. She looked at Samantha and said, "She has your charms. All the way from your mother."
"Thank you, though, Kenzie has a more bubbly personality than me," Samantha shyly answered.
While Diana and the kids, together with Matilda's caregiver, lingered a good ten meters from them, Ethan begun to discuss with his parents how he and Samantha first met. Clearing his throat, Ethan told, "Mother, Father... Sam and I met almost six years ago... at Lance Carter's wedding. Remember the hotel in front of the military camp?"
With eyes widening, Amanda said, "Oh... That was... a long time ago, son."
"Yes, so that's how you have near five-year-old grandchildren," answered Ethan.
"And? What exactly happened?" It was Daniel Wright's turn to inquire.
Ethan gasped. His eyes wandered over at Matilda's before he started with his story, "We both got drunk... and Samantha was misled to my room, made to believe it was her's. However, she ended up crawling into my bed, unaware of her surroundings."
"I, on the other hand, was not only drunk... Lance spiked my drink, and it acted at the feel of a woman next to me in bed. Hence your grandchildren happened," explained Ethan. "I only knew how that night had born fruits not too long ago."
"Sam, she." Ethan glanced at Samantha for a second before resuming his thoughts, "She did not have a way of telling me about the pregnancy because, I acted recklessly back then, and left her in the room alone in the morning when I woke up."
Amanda gasped and glared at her son. She scolded, "Ethan! How could you do that to little Sami?"
It surprised Samantha how Ethan changed the truth for her, but she understood. It was better that way and was more reasonable for her not to have reached out to Ethan over the years. "Yes, son. How could you?" Daniel Wright echoed.
With a sigh, Ethan explained, "I panicked back then. I did not know that I was." His eyes narrowed before telling, "Capable of doing it with a stranger. Moreover, at first, I thought it was Lance's scheme... I did not want him to have that triumph, knowing that I may have fallen for his trap."
Turning to Samantha, Ethan added, "So I just... left her in the morning and made arrangements with the hotel manager to make it appear that I never stayed overnight."
Looking back to his parents, he added, "I told Lance I only rested for a while and left the hotel. I made sure, there was no link to me and that evening at The Golden Eagle hotel."
"I'm very disappointed in you, son. How could you leave Sam just like that?" Daniel Wright hissed in dismay, shaking his head while he was at it.
From one side of the table, Matilda glanced at Samantha with a puzzled expression, but seeing her granddaughter purse her lips, she merely kept her mouth shut. Of course, they both knew that it was Sam and not Ethan who left early the morning after they made the twins.
"First of all, Mother, Father, I did not know Sam was little Sami. I had not even heard of little Sami until I took the CEO seat of the company. So hold your anger," Ethan reasoned. "The only reason why you are so uptight about my decision back then is because Sam happened to be your friend's daughter."
"Of course, had I known she was not someone whom Lance had purposely given a card to my room, I would not have left her that day," told Ethan.
"Now... years had passed. I had no idea how I had two children... out there... When I met Sam, I took an interest in her right from the very start back in Monroe City. When I met her kids, I felt connected to them... somehow, but what really made me realize that Samantha was that same woman whom I had been with that night at The Golden Eagle Hotel was aunt Diana's telling." Ethan narrated exactly how Diana had given him clues about how he could be the father of Kyle and Kenzie.
At the end of his piece, he said, "I had no qualms about Sam, I wanted her from the beginning and I wanted my children, so I convinced her to marry me. When she said yes, I grabbed the opportunity and bound her on paper... I did not want her to change her mind."
"Don't worry, Mother, Father, we plan to have a proper ceremony. We just needed to make it official first and change the name of the children," resumed Ethan.
It could not be helped. Ethan did not like sharing his innermost thoughts and desires, but he had to give his parents justifications for his abrupt decision to marry Samantha.
Samantha, on the other hand, was taken aback, hearing for the first time how Ethan admitted liking her from the very start. She wasn't even sure when was the start for him, but ultimately, it tickled her heart to know that Ethan may not have married her... just for the children.
Daniel and Amanda Wright looked at each other, nodding their heads at their son's resolution.
"Well, I suppose that was reasonable enough. I am proud that you took responsibility and took action," admitted Daniel. "Although, I had wished you told us about Sam, Ethan."
After exhaling, Amanda turned to Samantha and said, "Sami, I'm so sorry. So... you had to raise your children on your own all those years?" "Yes, Mrs. Wright - "
"Oh, well, aren't you married? Then you can call me Mother. After all, I am your godmother from the start," Amanda pointed out with a smile. Samantha wound up blushing before she conceded, "Okay, Mother."
"There, that is just right - but wait, how did your father take this? You getting pregnant without a husband?" Amanda probed before biting her lips.
There was utter silence in the air before Samantha told, "No... Umm... Father he - he kicked me out of the house and gave me no access to any of my funds... even the trust fund he set up for me." "Grandma Matilda had to send me to my aunt Diana so I have a place to stay," admitted Samantha. "I raised my children without the support of my father."
"No! No!" Amanda slammed her hand against the table and complained, "I can't believe him! How could he do such a thing? To his own daughter? To his own grandchildren - my grandchildren!" Amanda could not help but cry before she revealed, "All the more, I detest your father!"
It resulted in Matilda to cry, broken by Amanda's words. She also thought her son was wrong for what he did to her granddaughter. She said, "I'm sorry... I could not stop him. I - could not stop my own son!" "No - no. No," Amanda rushed to Matilda and embraced her from the side. She comforted Samantha's grandmother, "I'm sure... it was not your fault... I'm sure... We as parents, we can only do so much... but really, it's our children who make the decisions."
After a quick pause, Amanda resumed, "It was that witch's influence! What is the name of Winfield's new vampire wife?!"
"Catherine," Samantha weakly answer, sneering at how Amanda called her stepmother a vampire.
"Tell me, did Catherine have something to do with you getting mislead into Ethan's room?" Amanda probed in anger, clenching her hand at the same time.
Samantha cleared her throat and said, "Well... it was my stepsister, Annie."
"Hah! What a coincidence?" Amanda Wright showed a clear sarcasm in her expression. She pointed a finger at Ethan and instructed, "Ethan, you should put my goddaughter in a pedestal - make Winfield regret his decisions -
"Mother, I know what to do," interrupted Ethan.
"Well, I want... in on the plans," Amanda said with conviction while wiping her tears away.
With a heavy sigh, Ethan responded, "I'm sure you do, Mother... I'm sure you do... Just... don't get in the way, okay?"