Mark’s POV

I stared at Ji Hyun as she dozed off on my shoulder. We were seated on the chairs that were provided along the corridor of the hospital for over two hours now. We were waiting for the doctor’s assessment on Hani’s condition and Ji Hyun has been crying nonstop for the first hour.

It pained me seeing how hurt she was, she was panicking all the way here and when the nurses and doctors from the emergency room took Hani from her arms she lost it completely. The moment they closed the curtains to run tests, she just broke down in the middle of the room.

I picked her up and guided her to the waiting area outside. I tried calming her down, careful not to let any of my worries come out as well. Knowing that something wrong was happening to my daughter made my heart clench at the idea of us losing her.

I loved Hani with all my heart, regardless of her not being mine biologically, but those sleepless nights, filled with her endless crying and tantrums were all worth it seeing how well she was turning out. But after tonight, I mirrored the exact same fears and doubts Ji Hyun had about herself.

I failed her as a father.

Ji Hyun was stirring a bit in her sleep and my hand just rose up to brush away the stray strands of hair that were gathering on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed and I gulped, afraid that she might wake up. She let out a sigh and moved a little bit more to nuzzle her head closer to my neck. I felt my face heat up when she did and turned my head away to avoid unwanted contact in case she decided to move again.

Ji Hyun still had a hold onto my heart and everyday I spent with her for the past year only made me love her more. When she found out about the pregnancy in the first place, I acted impulsively and told her that I would announce it to be my kid. I didn’t want any more worry to be added to her system, she’s had enough of that to last a lifetime.

To watch her cry endlessly over the choice that she had to make on her birthday, made me want to punch everything I saw. I continuously tried to make her feel better. Even if it was through simple home-cooked meals and strolls in the busy streets of Japan. I knew how she was never a fan of the flashy and expensive things in life. She just wanted to be comforted and loved.

But every time I would try to comfort her, I could see in her eyes that I wasn’t the one person she wanted to share those moments with. Every time I cooked for her when she came home, I could see past her smile that she wished it was Lu Han who would welcome her home after her day out.

When we would walk around town I noticed how she would stare blankly at a tree or a bench, then in that same moment her eyes would grow glassy and she’s face me to flash a smile that would never reach her eyes.

It tore my very existence seeing her with me but feeling her yearning for someone else instead. It was a clear cut way to show me how no matter how much I loved and cared for, she’d never think of me the same way she thought of Lu Han.

Which is why I never bothered to tell her how I felt or pursue my feelings for her, she had too much on her mind and with Hani along the way at that time, I couldn’t do anything but sit around and be content just being with her.

Hani on the other hand was someone I never expected to love. The moment I first laid my eyes on her, she already won me over in her innocent and defenseless state. The wails and hours Ji Hyun and I spent on the delivery room were worth it when I first saw her.

It was such a relief seeing that she looked exactly like Ji Hyun, when I first carried her it already ignited the paternal possessiveness a father would feel seeing their kid for the first time. It didn’t matter that she was someone else’s daughter, seeing her and holding her made me feel content that although I kept my feelings for Ji Hyun in the dark, with her I could shower her and show her the love that I had for her.

But after what happened tonight, I felt myself slipping. If I were to lose her, I wouldn’t know how to handle myself in the near future.

I was still busying myself with my own thoughts when the double doors of the emergency room opened and the doctor looked around before settling his eyes on us.

“Excuse me sir, are you Mark Tuan? Father of Tuan Hani?” He asked me and I was careful to not shake Ji Hyun when I nodded at him. He gave me a stiff smile before flipping through the papers on his clip board. After signing the papers he handed them to me and I accepted them mechanically.

“Well, your daughter is fine for now. But we assessed that she has iron-deficiency anemia. She will need these iron supplements from now on and I believe you are a blood type A? Even the mother is as well right? We’d like you two to take some tests with us for your compatibility with her blood some time this week. I guess that’s all. You make enter the room now.” He said and gave me a reassuring smile before walking off to another patient.

I turned to Ji Hyun as shook her a bit to wake her up. She blinked and bolted straight up looking left and right before her eyes settled on me.

Her eyes though red with the crying and sleep, were wide and anxious with worry. I stood up and held my hand out to her to guide her into the room. She took it and we entered the room.

It was just like every other ordinary emergency room, but since this was an upscale hospital, the beds and equipment were more advanced, and the dividers were not simple curtains, they had glass doors as well. We were guided to where Hani was. I nodded after the male nurse t