Chapter 395: Isabelle

Ethan was still trying to process his trip down memory lane when the door opened again.

He looked toward it as Nathan stepped back into the room, but this time he wasn’t alone. A little girl stood beside him, small and slightly nervous as she looked around the seemingly familiar room before eventually settling her eyes on Ethan.

Ethan froze.

For a moment, he genuinely couldn’t move. His mind went completely blank as he stared at the little girl standing only a short distance away.

His heart felt like it had stopped.

Jessica had dragged him back to a time when he had been seventeen, before prison had changed him and before the world had been invaded by Gates. Those memories had already been enough to leave him feeling strangely exposed.

But this was different.

This wasn’t a memory.

This was someone standing right in front of him.

His daughter.

For real this time.

Ethan’s eyes widened as he looked at her.

She looked almost exactly like the little girl Nathan had transformed into when he first met him, but there was an unmistakable difference.

This was his child.

’My daughter...’

The thought felt almost foreign.

Ethan had fought beasts and monsters that could tear through buildings. He had stood against Titled people far stronger than himself and walked into Gates where death waited around every corner.

None of those things had ever made him feel like this.

It wasn’t fear, pressure, or even anxiety. It was something much more overwhelming, something warm yet terrifyingly vulnerable. His chest tightened as his heart melted, and Ethan had absolutely no idea what to do.

Nathan seemed to notice.

The normally mischievous man crouched down beside the girl, his usual playful expression softening.

"Go ahead," he said gently. "That’s your dad."

Ethan blinked.

Nathan’s voice was surprisingly soft, and there wasn’t a hint of his usual teasing in it. He genuinely seemed to care about the little girl, which Ethan found almost as surprising as everything else happening.

Ethan looked at him for a moment before returning his attention to her.

The girl hesitated, then slowly took a step forward.

After another moment, she took another, her eyes remaining locked onto Ethan the entire time.

She seemed nervous.

Ethan couldn’t blame her.

He was a stranger to her, after all.

A rough-looking man with an intimidating aura, an unkempt appearance, and the lingering smell of cigarette smoke clinging to his clothes. Ethan suddenly became painfully aware of how scary he probably looked.

’Great first impression, Ethan.’

He wanted to laugh.

He couldn’t.

The little girl stopped a few feet away from him, and Ethan swallowed before forcing himself to speak.

"W-What’s your name?"

His voice cracked slightly.

He immediately felt embarrassed.

He had stared down monsters without blinking, yet he was struggling to speak to a six-year-old girl. The girl opened her mouth, revealing that one of her front teeth was missing.

She spoke slowly, almost cautiously.

"Isabelle."

Ethan’s expression softened.

"Isabelle..."

He repeated the name as though committing it to memory before giving her a genuine smile.

"That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl."

Isabelle’s nervousness seemed to ease at his words.

A tiny smile appeared on her face, and Ethan smiled back.

That alone was enough to make some of the awkwardness between them disappear.

He couldn’t explain why.

Maybe it was because she was so innocent, or perhaps it was because she didn’t know anything about his past. She didn’t care about his criminal record or that he was a Titled.

To her, he was simply the strange man who was apparently her dad.

Ethan found himself staring into her eyes.

They were the same colour as his.

Deep blue.

For a moment, he almost felt as though he were looking at a younger version of himself, but the similarities ended there. His eyes had seen things that most people couldn’t imagine. They had seen violence, death, prison, Gates, and monsters.

His eyes had become the eyes of a survivor.

Isabelle’s were completely different.

They were bright, vibrant, and innocent.

There was no weight behind them and no darkness hiding within them, only a gentle curiosity. Ethan immediately became determined to keep them that way.

He crouched down so that they were closer to the same height.

"How old are you now?"

Isabelle’s expression brightened immediately.

She proudly raised one hand.

"Six and a half."

Ethan laughed.

"And a half?"

She nodded enthusiastically before puffing out her chest as if she were trying to prove something.

"I am six and a half."

"Wow."

He glanced toward Jessica.

"Six and a half. That’s pretty old."

Isabelle nodded seriously.

"Very old."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Ethan nodded as though she had just told him something extremely important.

"I better be careful, then."

Isabelle giggled.

That sound hit Ethan harder than anything else had.

He couldn’t stop smiling.

He had forgotten what it felt like to simply enjoy being around someone. There was no tension, no danger, no calculations, and no wondering what was going to attack him next.

There was just laughter.

His daughter was laughing with him.

Then Isabelle suddenly tilted her head.

"Do I have any other family?"

Ethan’s smile froze for half a second.

"Family?"

She nodded.

"I only have Mommy."

She glanced toward Nathan.

"And Uncle."

Nathan raised a hand.

"Hey."

Isabelle giggled before continuing.

"And the creepy, one-eyed man."

Ethan almost laughed, recalling the father he recently found out was alive.

Isabelle looked at him expectantly.

"Do I have anyone else?"

Ethan’s chest tightened again.

"You do."

Her eyes widened.

"Who?"

"You have a cousin."

"A cousin?"

Her entire face lit up.

"Really?!"

Ethan nodded.

"And they just turned six not too long ago."

Isabelle looked genuinely amazed.

"I have a cousin who’s my age?"

Ethan smiled.

"There are other family and friends too."

Isabelle looked toward Jessica, then back at Ethan.

"Can I meet them?"

Ethan looked at Jessica.

He didn’t say anything because he didn’t need to.

There was something almost uncertain in his expression, a silent question asking whether this was okay.

Jessica understood immediately.

Her expression softened, and she smiled before giving him a small nod, one that said she was his daughter too. Ethan’s shoulders relaxed, returning with an appreciative nod.

He looked back at Isabelle.

"Yeah."

He opened his arms.

"You can."

Isabelle hesitated for only a moment before running forward.

Ethan caught her, wrapping his arms around the tiny body. For a second, he simply held her, almost as though he feared she might disappear if he let go.

Isabelle hugged him back.

Ethan closed his eyes.

His throat tightened.

’I’ve missed six and a half years.’

He hadn’t even known what he was missing.

That was the worst part.

He had spent seven years behind bars thinking his life had ended, but now he was beginning to realise that it had just been the start. He gently rested his chin against Isabelle’s head.

’I don’t know how to be a father.’

He admitted to himself.

But he knew one thing.

’I can learn.’

He tightened his embrace slightly.

’I can make up for all the time I wasn’t there.’

Ethan had spent years fighting for survival.

He had become stronger because he had to, building himself into someone capable of standing against almost anyone. But now, for the first time, he had something completely different.

Someone worth protecting, that he could love without needing anything in return.

And Ethan couldn’t have asked for anything better than that.