"Ivy, look! It's Daddy!" Ruby carried Ivy out of the crib and turned the camera so that it faced her and Ivy. "Ivy, remember what your Daddy looks like! Daddy is a really brilliant man..."

Elliot did not hear a word she said and focused on the child in her arms.

Ivy was too young to know anything at all, but it was precisely her innocent face that broke the defenses he had put around his heart.

He had never seen Layla as a baby, but he could distinctly see the resemblance Ivy had with Layla.

"Elliot, our daughter is a wonderful child. She came down with pneumonia when she was born because she was weak. For about a week, the doctors wouldn't even let me visit her, but they told me that she was wonderful and that she rarely cries, so she had a speedy recovery."

Ruby sobbed. "She's really great... Elliot, I know that you can't come to see her, but can you video call me from time to time so that Ivy gets to see you?"

"No," Elliot rejected her request without a moment of hesitation.