The next morning, I woke to find dozens of missed calls from Joel, who had apparently spent the entire night trying to reach me. When I opened the door to leave, there he was, standing outside, fuming.
He grabbed my arm and practically yelled, “Come on! You need to apologize to Esther! Because you took the car last night, she caught a cold and got sick! She had a high fever all night because of you!”
I almost laughed out loud. “I drove off in my car. How on earth is that my fault? She’s sick because of me?”
Joel tightened his grip and tried dragging me outside. “It’s your fault, and you need to take care of her! Her dad is furious, and he’s waiting for you at the hospital to apologize! Now, let’s go!”
Her dad? Wait… Could Esther really be my dad’s secret daughter?
I shook my head. No, I trusted my dad. As such, I decided to go to the hospital with Joel. I wanted to see who exactly had the nerve to claim my identity.
On the way, I sent a quick text to my dad.
When we arrived at the hospital, we hadn’t even gotten close to the room when I heard a man shouting, “Who dares to bully my daughter? Whoever it is, they better hope I never find out!”
Joel quickly shoved me through the door. “Mr. Jones, here she is. I’ve brought her to apologize to Esther.”
The so-called “Mr. Jones” whipped around, and when he saw me, he was so shocked he couldn’t even speak.
At that exact moment, my dad burst into the room, visibly anxious. “Shirley! What kind of nonsense is this? Are you trying to ruin your old man’s reputation? Since when have I had a secret daughter?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two “Mr. Joneses” locked eyes. The air in the room froze instantly.
