@raisedstrong
[from here]
❝ Oh, does she? ❞ Martin inquired with an incredulous chuckle and a raised brow, sitting up straighter in his chair ( there was nothing wrong with the statement itself – Martin Whitly was a proud papa and never bothered to hide it – but the fact that Jessica, the very person who’s put so much effort into keeping their children as far away from him as possible, practically pushed the youngest into his waiting arms? now, that sparked his curiosity ), and gave his daughter a smile of feigned modesty, ❝ Well, I believe that every parent should be supportive of their child’s achievements. And when they are as good as yours?.. ❞
He was going to add something about her impeccable pronunciation or the manner of holding herself during the interviews but ultimately decided to table it, for the time being – the surgeon could sense that Ainsley wasn’t in the right mood for his praise to fall on anything but deaf ears. So he trailed off, allowing her to lead the conversation again.
And almost instantly regretted it.
His smile faded as Ainsley listed off the things her father failed to do for her, and head bowed.
For a moment, Martin looked positively regretful – ashamed even – of his past actions ( oh, his girl was good at it – pushing the right buttons and hitting right where it hurts in order to get the desired reaction out of her victim – and the part of him that wasn’t hurt was incredibly proud ). But then he looked up and smiled again – if a little less widely – leaning back into his chair and crossing his ankle over his knee with forced casuality.
❝ You really are a good reporter, sweetheart, what with asking all the right questions, ❞ the surgeon praised, pride and affection dripping like honey from his tongue despite the steel coldness of cerulean eyes, ❝ But why don’t you try and give an answer, for once? After all, like every good journalist, you must have done some research on the subject before coming to me. And if you did, you surely must know that all the data I gathered during my experiments – as they were experiments, first and foremost – is still being used both in medicine and pharmacology, saving people’s lives. So, tell me, Ainsley, my sweet, smart girl, was the sacrifice of those 23 worth the chance that otherwise doomed millions got? ❞
