Page 110 of Outback Reunion

Somehow, she managed to nod and allowed him to lead her there. By the time they stepped inside she was hyperventilating. Besides the bowl that Gabi had left Luna’s breakfast in—empty except for a few clumps of soggy Weetbix—everything else was packed up and secured, but even if it hadn’t been, Gabi didn’t have the wherewithal to offer Mark a drink.

‘Why did you bring that photo here?’ she demanded.

‘Don’t you think my aunt looks like Luna?’

Gabi swallowed—right now she didn’t know what to think. Was this some kind of trick? ‘They have the same hair colour, sure, but lots of people have red hair. And they’re about the same age in the photo so—’

‘It’s not just her hair. I thought Luna looked familiar when I first saw her but didn’t know why and I didn’t know she was your daughter, so I didn’t think too much of it. But look.’ He lifted his chin and tapped it. ‘We have the same chin, and nose, and her eyes are just like my mum’s.’

Oh God.She swayed. Now that he’d pointed it out, Gabi couldn’t unsee it. There was nothing of Dante in her daughter and definite glimpses of Mark. He reacted quickly to stop her falling, his arms coming around her as he ushered her over to the bed so she could sit before her legs gave way.

She took the photo from him and stared at it. ‘But I don’t understand. Dante said she was his. He did a test.’

‘Do you still have the test?’ he asked.

‘It’ll be in here somewhere,’ she said, passing the photo back to him and going over to a kitchen drawer. ‘All our important information is here.’

Gabi felt Mark’s eyes on her as she pulled out the drawer and started rifling through it. She flicked through their birth certificates, health insurance, some bank statements and then found Luna’s child health book. ‘Maybe he put it in here.’

‘Did you ever actually see the test results?’ he asked, when she’d flicked through the blue book with no success.

She bit her lip and tried to think back to those first few months.Did she?Everything was such a blur; she’d been so anxious and fatigued trying to learn how to be a mum while still performing, but surely, she wouldn’t have just taken his word?

‘I don’t remember,’ she admitted, a knot forming in her stomach.

Mark let out a long sigh. ‘Do you know what blood type Luna is?’

‘Um... I think it’s... uh, A?’

‘Youthink?’

‘Actually, maybe it’s B.’ Her head didn’t seem to be working.

He nodded towards the health book still in her hands. ‘Would it be in there?’

Of course.She opened it again and found the right page. ‘She’s AB.’

‘And do you know what Dante’s was?’

‘He was O,’ Gabi said, remembering from the hospital paperwork last year.

Mark froze a moment, then pulled out his phone. ‘I’m pretty sure that means Dantecan’tbe Luna’s father.’ He swiped it unlocked and started tapping. ‘Human biology was my favourite subject at school—after sport—and if I recall correctly, there’s no way an O parent can produce an AB child.’

She held her breath while he scanned the results.

‘Yep. I’m right.’ He looked up at her, his eyes widening. ‘I’m a B. Guessing you’re an A?’

She nodded, shivers racing up and down her spine, goosebumps dimpling her skin. ‘What does this mean?’

‘It means Dante conned you. My guess is there never was a paternity test,’ Mark said coolly.

Tears sprung to her eyes. She felt so stupid, but she’d never for one minute considered that he might deceive her about something as big as this. ‘I don’t get it. Why would he lie? What was in it for him?’

Mark scoffed as he paced back and forth in the tiny space, his face red and his fists clenched. ‘You!Youwere in it for him. Don’t you realise how amazing you are? How fucking perfect? He wanted to keep you all for himself and he probably realised that if you knew Luna wasn’t his, he wouldn’t have had any power over you. He used your daughter—ourdaughter—to trap you here!’

Gabi didn’t blame him for yelling. They’d missed out on years together, years where they could have been a family and given Luna siblings. All because of Dante. She thought she’d hated him when he was alive, but nothing compared to how she felt now.

How would Mark ever forgive her?

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