Page 80 of When Love And Destiny Collide

"I'm a single woman," she counters. "It's a free country, and I can do whatever I want."

My father's face is shrouded in a mix of regret and apprehension, his eyes darting between us as the tension in the room thickens.

"Is Davey Noah's son?" I ask, cutting to the chase.

"Pardon me?" she replies, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"You heard me," I say, my voice steady. "Is Davey Noah's son, or is he the product of your affair with my father?"

Her poker face slips for a moment, revealing a flicker of shock. She’s visibly shaken, but it doesn’t take long for her to regain composure. I can almost see the gears turning in her mind as she formulates her plan of attack against me.

"I think you would be the first to agree that what can't be debated is the love Noah has for David," she smirks. "If Noah discovers David is not his son, it will devastate him. And make no mistake, I will take David away from him. Do we understand each other?" When I remain silent, she continues, "Good."

"And if Noah is his father?" I say, highlighting the obvious possibility.

"Are you willing to take that chance?" she counters. "If we keep this between us, Noah never has to know. Things will stay the way they are."

I look down, weighing her suggestion, and she waits, silent, for my response.

"If Davey is my son, I deserve to know," Dad's voice cuts through our tense standoff.

Marian ignores my father's protest and glares at me. "There's one more thing," she says, a grin spreading across her face. "You return that ring."

She's trying to blackmail me with her own infidelity. I shake my head in disbelief, meeting her gaze with defiance.

"You can't be serious!" I exclaim, the shock and anger bubbling over.

"Noah and David's continued happiness, well-being, and peace of mind rest solely on your shoulders," she says, her voice disturbingly calm. "You want to hear something interesting? Noah and I tried for ten years to get pregnant and never did. I spend one week with another man, and voilà, I'm pregnant. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Maybe our fertility issues were never about me. Maybe Noah’s the one who’s sterile. And if David isn’t his, well... he might never have a child of his own. And neither would you. Wouldn't that be tragic?"

Her words drip with contempt, the coldness slithering down my spine like a venomous snake.

Chapter 23

Noah

I’ve been sitting on the couch for twenty minutes, counting every second, waiting for Lily to walk through the door.

I had been getting ready for bed when the phone rang. "I'm coming home," she said the moment I picked up, her voice thick with emotion. I knew she’d been crying.

"Yes," I whispered. "Please come home, Sweetheart."

The second I hear the car pull up, I open the front door and wait. My heart pounds as I watch her step out. The moment our eyes meet, her soft smile tells me we’re okay. Whatever's weighing on her heart, it isn’tus. The love and bond we share—it's unbreakable.

"Noah," she breathes, arms wide open, and that’s all it takes. I close the distance between us in two quick strides, pulling her into my arms like she’s the only thing anchoring me to this world. God, I missed her. We walk inside the house, my arm wrapped around her, holding her close. As special as this moment feels, the heaviness in the air tells me something’s wrong. I can only hope she trusts me enough to let me in—to share what’s weighing on her heart.

"You're home now," I say softly. "Sit down and tell me what's going on."

She glances down at her hands, nervously picking at a fingernail.

"Lily," I say, my voice tender as I lift her chin with my thumb, guiding her gaze back to mine.

"I need to tell you something," she says, her gaze falling once more.

"What is it?" I gently nudge her as I take both her hands in mine, holding them firmly.

I sit quietly, listening, as a whirlwind of emotions flickers across her face—shock, anger, disappointment, fear. I watch it all unfold, unable to look away and unable to speak.

"And I just stood there," she cries, "as Dad asked Marian if Davey is his son."

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