Ian suddenly stopped talking, sensing a familiar smell, he turned around, and sure enough, Mr. Nilson was standing a few feet away, and he hurried to press the phone, a glint of panic in his eyes, wondering how much Mr. Nilson had heard….
Nilson frowned….
That thing you offered to confess….
What does Leila have to confess?
Ian took the initiative and approached, seeing that Nilson was coming down alone with the baby in his arms and asked incredulously:
-Mr. Nilson, what brings you to Estela?
Before he could finish his question, Estela in Mr. Nilson’s arms began to cry again?
Nilson, unconsciously, gently clasped Estela in the crook of his arm and commanded:
-Call a locksmith to come immediately.
Ian speculated:
-Did Dr. Rain lose her house key?” said Nilson with annoyance:
-She locked herself in and didn’t open the door, and she said she’d give me Estela.
Ian pressed the phone for a moment, thoughtfully, and said:
-Mr. Nilson, shall I go upstairs and talk to her?
Nilson frowned looking at Ian, he had just asked him -do you like her?-, maybe he saw how Lluvia felt about her?
He nods his head.
-I’m going with you to…
-No, I’ll go alone, Mr. Nilson you are there, she could be even worse to communicate.
Nilson was silent for a long moment and then walked away with Estela in his arms, nodding at Ian’s decision.
Ian turned and went inside, not forgetting to look back at each floor he walked through….
He had taken it upon himself to research Rain’s background and had read it, so naturally he knew what floor and apartment she lived on.
As he went up to the sixth floor and saw the baby’s things strewn on the floor in front of Lluvia’s house, Ian wondered if Mr. Nilson had just gone upstairs and hadn’t been able to get in the door….
What exactly did they say that made Dr. Lluvia say, “He’s giving all of Estela to Mr. Nilson?
Clearly he loves that child very much….
Ian, full of confusion, bent down to pick up the things scattered on the floor and cradle them in his arms before knocking on the door.
-Dr. Rain, can I have a word?
There was no answer and Ian added:
-It’s just me.
For a while, the door opened just a crack…..
-It’s really just me,” said Ian.
Then Rain opened the door a little wider and Ian saw that her eyes were bloodshot and feared she had been crying for a long time….
Rain let go of the doorknob and turned to go into the house.
Ian walked in with those baby things in his arms, turned and closed the door, then followed him inside.
The house is small, clean and tidy.
Ian deposited the items in his hands on the cloth couch and sat down.
Lluvia poured himself a glass of water and set it on the small table in front of him.
Looking at Lluvia with a strong sense of grief, Ian spoke with a heavy heart:
-Doctor Lluvia, I’m sorry I messed up your life a year ago…..
Lluvia sat down on the couch across from him and interrupted him:
-No, you’re not wrong, it was me who didn’t accept your kind offer to take that check a year ago, it was me who took my colleague’s place and went to River City before running into you, and Estela was born by my own decision, so I deserved everything I’ve done today.
Ian felt more and more guilty.
-No, the fault is mine, it was me who bumped into you on the way to the doctor and took you to Mr. Nilson’s room, I actually knew what could happen, but I consented to it happening and then I paid you with money, I really deserve to die…..
Yes, it was the biggest secret in Ian’s mind that it was Dr. Rain who had sex with Mr. Nilson that night, and not Leila, who wasn’t even there…. Estela was Mr. Nilson’s daughter, and it was this blood tie that made them so close….
Rain let out a bitter laugh as tears quickly welled up in her eyes….
-Let Estela stay with him, with him Estela will be better taken care of, have a better living environment and perhaps a chance to leave Salamonsa later…..
Saying this, Lluvia’s heart ached like a million arrows, as she had thought when she decided not to take Estela, who was still in her womb, but almost a year later, she was very upset….
Ian stood up excitedly.
-Dr. Rain, you don’t have to do this, I don’t want to be difficult, in fact I can see that you have feelings for Mr. Nilson, just tell him that Estela is Mr. Nilson’s and that you can raise Estela together…..
-No, I refuse. I want to have a new life…