The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

lan POV

The flat is quiet. Too quiet. Now that Faith and her mother are gone, all that's left is silence. It's exasperating, given that the rest of today has been filled with the musical sound of laughter and happiness. I take a large swig of bourbon scowling. Part of me felt lonely and was ashamed to admit it. I hadn't wanted Faith or Dawn to go. I would have been happier for them to stay, but I could hardly force them to. Faith was a little cutie, and she had almost broken my heart when she declared she wanted me to be her father. Poor Dawn had looked as though she was choking when Faith had said those words. It brought a grin to my face. Anybody would be lucky to be that little girl's father, but part of me couldn't help but picture myself in that role, no matter how much I tried to remember how unlikely it was to happen.

Another swig of the bourbon. I sighed. The dinner that Dawn had left me was delicious, a potato and vegetable bake with a side salad. I had eaten two portions of the delicious food already. The woman really knew how to cook. The smell wafted through the flat. If she kept going this way, I thought with a wince, I was going to end up as big as a house. I tapped my foot impatiently and then frowned. Had I just done what I thought I had done? I gritted my teeth and attempted to do the same thing again. I tapped my foot, slowly and carefully and then gaped. I could move my foot, but only slightly. I had no movement in the leg still but this was still an improvement in my function and was nonetheless exciting to see. I could feel my mind racing. My hand shakily put the glass of bourbon down. I rub my forehead. I knew that tomorrow morning I would be getting in contact with my doctor, but this likely meant that eventually, I would get control of all my functions again. I felt a stirring of excitement in my chest.

"That little girl was quite adorable" my father's voice came from the doorway, startling me out of my thoughts.

I frown "Yes, Faith is a little handful," I say gruffly "just like her mother can be."

My father chuckles "You're not fooling anyone you know" he adds as I glower at him "We can all see that you have feelings for Dawn, no matter how badly you try to hide it."

"You more than anyone have installed in me the repercussions of an employee falling for an employer and vice versa," I said stiffly, pinning him with a gaze "Are you telling me to ignore your advice now?"

He sighs "I'm telling you to follow your heart, lan. Knox has, and look at him now, a baby on the way, a wife, and a life he loves. I want the same for you," he says, shaking his head sadly "ever since that car accident in college, you've kept everything close to your chest and not shown an interest in another woman until now. I want you to go for it."

Will wonders never cease I mused, even as I fought the urge to do as he was suggesting.

"I can't" I snap "if something happens to Dawn because of me..." I trail off.

"You're more careful than ever. What happened back then was tragic, but it's not going to repeat itself because you won't let it. Are you really going to deny yourself the chance to have a happy ever after because you're afraid?"

"What if she doesn't feel the same way, Father? Has that not occurred to you? After all, I am hardly as powerful as I am right now, nor am I anybody's ideal picture-perfect partner" My voice is cool and dismissive.

"Dawn doesn't strike me as the type to be that shallow," my father says calmly "and anybody looking at the two of you could see the attraction in each other's eyes. I think you're not giving her enough credit lan. I think you'll find that Dawn has more courage and more bravery than you're willing to admit. I think you're the one who is afraid to pursue anything."

I grit my teeth. He's right of course. After such a devastating past and now my accident, I was having difficulty trying to find a way to pursue this without letting my fear get the best of me. I used to be so confident and now it was gone, my doubts surfacing all the time.

"What if it doesn't go anywhere?" my voice is quiet, reflective "What if there's no chemistry and it's all just imagined." My father raises a brow, "what if it's more than you can imagine? What if you both feel nothing but true love for each other, like the kind that I felt for your mother or the kind that Knox feels for Lorelai? Or that Flair feels for Grayson? Don't you want that?" he asks tightly.

I did. I badly wanted the wife and the whole family package. But there was still my infertility to consider as well. Most women, I found, wanted children. I had no way of doubting that Dawn wouldn't be the same. After having a daughter like Faith, how could she not want more adorable children like her?

"Just because you can't have children, doesn't mean she doesn't want you" my father blurts out and my eyebrows shoot straight up to my forehead in shock.

"You know?" I ask, stunned.

"Of course I know, I'm your father. I made it a point to know your medical record when you were in that car accident. I just never let on, because I was hoping you would see fit to divulge it to me. Do you know how much it hurts to know that you don't trust me with this kind of information? I was devastated when I found out lan because I knew how much you wanted children."

"Then you know that there's very little possibility that Dawn will date me" I snarl.

"Don't be ridiculous. Did you even look at the infertility results or question the doctor thoroughly?" my father demanded heatedly "Because I questioned the specialist, several times. There was every chance that the infertility could resolve itself on its own if you healed properly. But you never even listened to that did you?" he asked knowingly.

I hadn't. I bowed my head thinking. My father lets out a low growl "You should redo the test and see if it's resolved itself. It could have been temporary as the specialist claimed it could be before you go all doom and gloom. Stop feeling sorry for yourself lan" he argued passionately as I stared up at him, my mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a sound "and start being proactive. If you want something go after it. Christ if I never went after your mother, I would never have had you kids and I regret none of it" he declared "none of it. I love you children to pieces."

"We still haven't found Karen so there are risks" I began attempting to find any excuse to hold off on it.

"There are always risks. Karen is off the grid for now, but she'll make a mistake and when she does, we'll find her. Don't you worry about that? We have our best people on it and Knox is still searching for her. He hasn't given up."

I drum my fingers on my wheelchair, considering it. "You would be fine with a nurse as a daughter-in-law?" I check and see a crooked grin on my father's face.

"May I remind you of Lorelai's background?" he asked quietly "The only thing that has ever mattered to me lan, is that you are happy. That's all I want for you. So no, I don't care that Dawn has a nursing background or that she's a single mother before you ask that question as well."

"Am I expected to take back over the company?" I challenged, feeling motivated all of a sudden.

My father chuckled. "Dead right you are. I want to retire not keep the business going. Just because you're in a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't run it, the only one that thinks that is you" he pointed out wisely.

He was right. I had been holding myself back, I mused.

"She might not agree to go out with me" I mused.

"I have a feeling she'll say yes, humor me," my father said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Father, I want the number of the specialist in regard to my fertility and I also want the number of the specialist in regard to my paraplegia," I told him quietly, making up my mind.

He simply nods "About time you started demanding answers. Here" he grabs his cell phone out of his pocket and begins to flick through it, before reading off two numbers that I input into my own phone.

"I'd advise against calling them so late though" he advised, glancing at the darkening sky "They tend to get grumpy when you call past business hours."

I wondered how many times he had inconvenienced the doctors in order to be able to say that with a straight face and decided I didn't want to know. Instead, I merely nodded.

"You know, Knox still feels guilty for what happened to you. He feels like he's responsible" my father said, heading towards the door "I wish you both would just make up."

"I don't blame him" I began defensively but my father shot me a sharp look.

"Don't you?" he asked bluntly.

I fell silent. I had blamed him and Lorelia for what had happened. It hadn't been fair of me, but I hadn't cared. All I could see was that they still had use of their legs and I didn't. My father's eyes were all-knowing as he gazed at me. "Holding onto grudges just makes us more angry inside than what we need to be. Stop feeding the anger and start feeding the other happier aspects of yourself" he warned, and then headed back out the door, shutting it with a soft click behind him.

Start feeding the happier aspects of yourself. My father had made an interesting point. I pushed aside the glass of bourbon and then began to wheel myself around the flat. I had a lot to get done by tomorrow and not a lot of time to do it. I began to grit my teeth

and get down to business, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. Dawn was bound to be surprised by the new man I intended on becoming and I was hopefully going to sweep her off her feet. Or at least make her see me in a new light. I was going to impress that woman or die trying.