Chapter 123: Chapter 123

Ethan's POV

I feel like I just slept for five minutes when I wake up hearing knocks. And it's kinda dark inside the room. I take away Michael's arms and legs from my body and reach my hands to the switch board. He groans and buries his head into my chest as soon as I turn on the lights. Rubbing my eyes, I tilt my head to the left where a clock is sitting on the wall. It shows 5 : 50 Am.

" Michael..get up. Your parents are knocking.", I whisper to him, shaking him slightly. He soon rolls around on his back and sits up rubbing his eyes. " Go, open the door.", I tell him. He nods, blinking his eyes twice or thrice, adjusting them to the lightening inside the room. Then he crawls out of the bed and walks to the doors, ruffling his hair while I quickly kick away the blanket from my feet and sits nicely on the edge.

Like I expected, both his Dad and Mom are standing there as he opens the door. Both of them instantly turns their gazes to me and they looks kinda tensed. Seems like they couldn't sleep without figuring out the mystery behind why I look like their older son.

" You guys said we shall t..talk morning.", Michael says, tilting his head to the clock.

" Ahm...it's almost 6.", his Mom says taking away her eyes from me for a brief second before awkwardly returning it to me.

" We need to talk to you both, urgently.", his Dad says.

" Uhm..okay.", Michael nods and moves away from the door before walking to a cushioned chair near his table and sheepishly slumping down, rubbing his face. His Dad and Mom walks in, both of them staring at me.

" So.... uhm...Ethan...", his Dad starts. I don't know whether I should refer to him as 'Dad' or 'My Dad'. I don't think it will be possible anytime soon. This two people are just complete strangers to me. Anyway I look at them and study their faces, checking whether I look anything like them. I think I look a bit like the man.

And I observe one more thing. They both look very much older than my Mom, at least more than 50. Yeah, they should be that much old since their eldest daughter is 26 while Michael is my Mom's first child, born to her at 25. And my Mom looks so much younger than her age. No one seeing her for the first time will say, she is over thirty five.

"..Why did you come here at this time ? ", Michael’s Dad finishes his sentence in a gentle tone.

I tilt my face and look at Michael before replying. " His phone broke. So I couldn't connect with him. I thought he was purposefully not picking my calls. So I.."

"Wait what ? His phone broke ? When ? How ?", his Dad asks and averts his eyes to him.

" Yesterday evening. It s..slipped from my hands and broke. It isn't w..working now.", he says and lowers his head, biting down on his lips.

His Dad sighs. " Then why didn't you tell us ?"

" I was thinking to tell you t..today.", he says.

His Dad averts his eyes back to me. " So you came because he wasn't picking your calls?", I nod. He looks totally surprised.

" His phone just broke yesterday evening, right ? You couldn't wait even a day ?", he then asks.

" Actually uhm.., we argued a little on our last call. So I was worried. ", I say.

" Oh..what did you guys argue about ?", he asks. I look at Michael not knowing what to say. His Mom then nudges his Dad's arms with her elbow, muttering something to him. I hear him muttering back a 'wait' whilst pinching on his nose.

" Ahm..we just had an a..argument over who is a better player, Messi or Ronaldo..", Michael says while I'm still thinking about some good reason to say.

" Oh..so you like Ronaldo ?", His Dad asks me, suddenly smiling. Seems like he is a great fan of Ronaldo. And I already know Michael likes Messi. Alex too was a huge fan of Messi.

I nod my head. " Yeah..I think Messi has won more titles mostly because he plays for a better team, not because he is a better player than Ronaldo.", I say. I agree they both are equally great football players and unique in their own ways. But personally my favourite is Ronaldo.

" C'mon, Lionel Messi is the best f..football player in the world.", Michael says.

His Dad laughs at that. " C'mon Son.., Ronaldo is better. Like Ethan said, Messi...", he gets cut by his wife, before he can complete the sentence.

" Ethan..uhm..so, where is actually your home ?", she asks, her voice very nervous.

" My home is in Bentonville, Texas itself.", I reply.

" Oh..okay..Texas..I see.", She nods. " You had lived somewhere else before that ?", she then asks and my biological Dad looks at her, rolling his eyes.

" No. Why you asked ?", I ask pretending clueless.

"Uhm..nothing..", She shakes her head and laughs awkwardly. " Actually I think you got a bit of Arkansas accent. My parents are from Arkansas."

" Oh...actually my Grandparents are from Arkansas.", I reply.

" Oh ! ", she gasps, her eyes widening. " So you are born in Ark..", before she can complete her sentence Michael's Dad grabs her arms and stops her.

" Yeah..I'm born in Arkansas.", I reply.

" And he is born in the same hospital on the s..same date as me, Mom.", Michael suddenly says from his chair, surprising me. Both his Dad's and Mom's face instantly goes completely pale in shock.

" Wh..what ?", his Dad utters while his Mom can't even utter a word because of shock. Her whole face is shivering and a veins on her forehead becomes clear.

" Yes, no need to doubt. He is your....Son itself.", Michael says smiling, causing them further shock.

His Mom burst out into tears within moments while his Dad stare at me and back at Michael in extreme shock.

" So he lied to you ! That bastard lied to you ! Didn’t I tell you, he is our Son. Joshua, our son is a..alive.", his Mom cries, her voice breaking. I stand up from the bed in surprise and panic, not knowing what to do. Michael still sits on his chair, looking at them with scrunched up eyebrows.

Things happens after that is so dramatic. His Mom barges towards me and hugs me again tightly, like she'll never give me to anyone else. And then she pulls away sobbing and cups my face, kissing me repeatedly on my forehead muttering ' You are alive'. His Dad is watching with an open mouth in shock. " Joshua, our Son. He is alive ! ", she cries, turning to him.

He finally rushes towards me and she moves away from me, letting him embrace me in a tight hug. He let's out heavy whimpers on my shoulders whilst uttering Sorries. But I'm not the person he should say sorry to. I tilt my face to look at Michael. And he is still sitting on the chair, looking at us with a blank expression. I know he is hurt, right now.

But I can't do anything. His parents hugs me from both sides and kisses me and cries on my shoulder, totally forgetting about him. I'm facing such a weird and difficult situation for the first time in my life. The scene continues for at least three minutes until his Mom finally notice Michael sitting, staring at the floor below. And she leave me and rushes to him, crouching down in front of him.

" Mickey...we are sorry baby. H..How long since you know ?", she asks cupping his face and making him look at her.

" T..two months.", he replies. And she starts sobbing hard. " Why are you c..crying Mom ? It's okay.", he says and pulls her into a hug. She hugs him back tightly and cries on his shoulder. His Dad also reaches him and crouches beside his Mom while Michael whispers sweet nothings in her ears. It's now my chance to stand and watch as they both continuously whispers sorries to him.

" Dad, Mom..no..d..don't tell me sorry. I'm not a..angry with you. And I'm only h..happy for growing up as your Son. So don't tell me s..sorry.", he says hugging them both, causing them to cry hard. Soon he is also crying and I sigh and slump down on the bed.

I only avert my attention to them again a lot later when Michael finally says in a husky voice. "Dad, Mom..T..tell m, what happened at the hospital."

His Dad is now leaning against the table while his Mom is still sitting on her heels on the floor. He gets up from the chair and gently pulls her up, making her sit on the chair. " Tell me Mom.", he demands impatiently, bending to her level.

" I'll tell you.", his Dad says. " Sit down Mickey. I'll tell you everything.", Michael nods and walks towards me, sitting down on the bed beside me.

His Dad, looks at us troubled, as if not knowing how to explain or from where he should begin. His Mom is already staring at us, nervous.

" Ethan..", he finally starts. " Did you ever go through a surgery for brain tumour ?"

" Yes.", I nod. " When I was one and half years old."

He nods briefly, pressing his lips together. "When you were born, the doctors detected you've brain tumour and they said, you'll need a surgery. But it can't be done at least until you are 15 months. And they said in order to make you survive until then, it will cost more than $ 50,000 for the medication and then the surgery will cost $60,000. And they asked to pay $5000 immediately at the hospital as you will need extreme care for at least one month or you'll get infected. I didn't even have that much money in my hands at that time. And the doctors were going to discharge us. "

He leaves a heavy sigh before continuing. " At last I went and begged the doctor Mr Roche to not discharge us and do something to save my son. He blankly said he can't do anything. I pleaded and cried in front of him saying I'll soon settle the bill and just give me some time. He said he can't do that and walked out of the room, yanking away my hands."

" I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to explain Emma. I made sure I could only see my son for a few more days. At last I was making my way to the doors. And suddenly Mr Roche came back, opening the doors. He said there's a way to save my son. But it's very risky. I was ready to take any risk to save my child. So I asked him what."

" He said, a rich lady has given birth to a son a few hours ago and her child is in the incubator and nobody has seen the baby yet. He said he could switch the babies for me, if I'm okay to take the risk. He told me the woman’s family is so rich and they can easily handle the treatment and I can claim my baby back when I arrange the money."

He takes a deep breathe and looks at Michael guiltily. "There was no other option in front of me to save my son, so I agreed. I told the doctor to switch my son with you and he did." Michael nods and tears again pool in his Dad's eyes.

" What h..happened after that Dad ?", Michael asks.

" We got discharged after five days. We came back home with you and I didn't tell Emma anything. The doctor forbid me from visiting the hospital and seeing my baby, saying someone will get doubts. He said my son was doing good and he will survive with the medication and treatment. I started looking ways to somehow make money.”

“ I didn't have any bank balance. The only property we had was our house and we had no place to go if we sell it. And it could barely give us the money for treatment. Also I couldn't explain Emma about the situation. She and our kids were so happy and I didn't want to destroy their happiness. I at last decided to sell our house and get you back when you recovers after the surgery. Also I started saving money to rent a house.", he says looking at me with so much shame and guilt. But I also feel the same guilt for being born like a burden to them.

He continues in a hoarse voice, looking down at his palms. "Two months passed and Mr Roche told me my son got discharged from hospital. I asked him for their address. But he wouldn't give me. He won't even say my Son's name or the lady's name. He told me he will update me often about the babies whereabouts and I don't need to worry about anything.”

“ I was in a very difficult situation. Emma was getting so much attached to you. Anna and Alex too. Honestly me too. I didn't want to give you back.", he says looking up at Michael for a brief second before averting his eyes to his wife.

He sighs and continues, looking back at us. " As time passed, I could barely connect with Mr Roche. And I could feel the frustration in his voice as he talked to me. But I continued to call him. One year and a few months passed and one day he called and told me the surgery is next month. He said everything is alright and my son would survive. But after a week when I was at my work place, he called and told me my baby was found dead in the cradle two days ago and the funeral is over. I was devastated."

" I didn't come back home that day. I didn't know what to do. Next day I went and met the doctor asking what I should do. He was also distressed. He said he was afraid I would rush to see my son’s body if he told me the news earlier. He asked me whether I can confess to my wife and the couple everything and give Michael back to them along with a huge compensation they ask, which can be double the amount they spend for my son's treatment.”

“ I was ready to sell my house but I couldn't even imagine about telling Emma. Also Mr Roche told me, if I confess, he and I will make it on the front page of newspaper, since the couple are so rich and influential. He told me to think about it thoroughly. He said if he was in my shoes, he won't give the baby back, facing this much consequence and putting in trouble, someone who tried to help him through the difficult situation.

He let's out a heavy frustrated sigh and turns to Michael's Mom. " At that time, I didn't know the bastard was acting. And I could no way confess, seeing you and our kids looking so happy watching Mickey running around in our living room."

" I would have killed him if he hadn’t already died.", Michael's Mom grits her teeth, a few tears slither down her eyes.

“ He died of a heart attack, when you were four.”, Michael's Dad adds. “ He didn’t even give me the lady's address or details. But he told me she gave birth to a son and the couple are happy. Do you have a brother, Ethan ?”, he asks me.

“ No..I only have a sister, who is only 6.”, I say.

He shakes his head and sighs in reply. “ So he was just afraid he will have to face consequences if the news comes out to public. I now think he put forward the idea of switching kids not because he felt sympathy towards me but because that way their hospital will get a huge amount from treatment.”

"Dad..then..wh..when did Mom know ?", Michael asks.

" When you were six.", She replies. " A health worker came to our home one day and asked for all of our blood groups. She said it isn't possible for our child to have AB blood group when the Dad is O. I was shocked and I called him and told him about it. But he said it would be some rare case or something and ended the call. He switched off his phone after that.

Also, he was acting strange after he came back home. He wasn't even listening to me when I was crying and trying to tell his AB blood group isn't possible for our child. But he confessed everything when I said I'm going to enquire at the hospital.", she sighs. " I'm sorry Mickey. I couldn't even think about giving you away."

" No Mom..I'm g..grateful you didn't want to give me away. And you loved me s..so much even after knowing I'm not your Son. You b..both did. I n..never felt I don't belong to this family.", Michael says.

" You are our Son, Mickey ! You belong to us. You are my Son. " She says and gets up from the chair rushing towards us and hugging him tightly. Michael nods in her embrace, shedding a few tears. She then averts her eyes and looks at me with a pained expression.