Page 35 of Trapped with My Rival Billionaire Grump

For the first time since learning about Parker, my heart felt lighter as things started to look more manageable.

“I love Olivia,” I muttered, saying the words to James for the first time. James raised his eyes, a knowing smile on his face. “You knew I loved her?”

“I always knew, Ethan. It’s why I didn’t get mad at you, even though I wanted to throttle you for hurting my sister,” he said, chuckling. “I knew you were just confused, and figured it wouldn’t make you see things clearer.” James set down his cutlery and crossed his arms. “So what are you going to do?”

“I love Olivia, so no matter what I need her in my life,” I said with a smile. “And my son won’t have a difficult life just because we’re co-parenting, I’m sure he’d love Olivia.”

James nodded. “So?”

My eyes widened as realization hit me. “Oh no, I need to go to Olivia now.”

“You can leave. I won’t hold you back,” James said, grinning from ear to ear.

As I prepared to stand up, I noticed a family of three entering the restaurant. What caught my attention wasn’t just anyone, but the woman walking in arm in arm with another man who looked exactly like Jessica. And the man holding onto the young boy had a very keen resemblance to Parker.

It wasn’t until they took a seat not too far from us that I finally grasped the truth. It was indeed Jessica. I turned toJames, whose face was contorted with disgust and anger, as he stared at the sight. Then I looked back at the table and witnessed Jessica kiss the man on the lips.

At this point, nothing made any sense to me anymore. Not because I thought she was cheating on me after asking to reconcile, but because the man with her looked exactly like the one I had caught her cheating on me with six years ago. Yes, it was him—the same brown hair, hazel eyes, and that crooked smile that hadn’t changed a bit.

Anger surged through my veins as I stood up and walked toward them, ready to confront Jessica. It felt like history was repeating itself as I approached their table. Little did I know, I was in for an even greater surprise. Just as I reached them, I heard Parker call the man ‘daddy’ with a bright smile on his face.

“Don’t worry, son, you can eat as much as you want. Mommy has a new job now,” the man said to Parker, rewarding him with his crooked smile. When I saw Parker return the smile, it finally made sense. The boy was the spitting image of the man—his father.

Jessica Gavin has successfully played me again.

“Jessica,” I whispered, unable to believe my ears.

Jessica’s smile vanished as she looked up. The man’s smile also disappeared the moment he saw me. She quickly let go of the man’s hand and grabbed my hand.

“You won’t believe what this jerk is trying to make me do, Ethan,” she ranted, faking a sob. “He’s trying to blackmail me with our past now that he knows we’re getting back together. He’s threatening to ruin your name and?—”

“Enough!” I snapped, yanking my hand away.

Jessica’s face fell. “Babe, don’t do this in front of our son.”

“What a bitch!” James cursed beside me. “Are you trying to claim this boy is Ethan’s son despite the uncanny resemblance he shares with this bastard?”

“Hey, hold it, asshole! I wasn’t talking to you,” Jessica snapped, quickly switching gears. She turned angry eyes on me. “Why the hell are you here ruining a nice family meal?”

I scoffed. “Family? I feel sorry for the boy sitting between the two of you! So let me guess, the both of you planned this.”

“Yes, and you were going to fall for it,” the man answered, his crooked smile returning. “Just like you did before. It would have been perfect.”

“He was, wasn’t he, Darren,” Jessica said, smiling at the man now known as Darren, before glaring at me and James. “That was until you blew it by showing up here of all places. We were going to milk you for as much money as we could.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Everything with this woman had been a lie? A terrible lie to what . . . get money out of me? Even though I already knew the answer I had to ask.

“This was all orchestrated, even when we first met?” I asked, finding it difficult to believe someone would be so cruel.

She nodded, smiling her fake, sweet smile. “You thought it was fate when you hit me with your car that day?” She chuckled, giving Darren a high five. “Darren researched you and said you were the perfect target, so he watched you for months and learned your routine. You always had the knack for sticking to your plans. So I threw myself in front of your car.”

“And her intentionally running into you after she left the hospital, but you thought it was fate,” Darren added, throwing his head back in laughter. “If you hadn’t walked in on us having sex that day, you would have married her.”

It all made sense now—all the pieces finally fit together. The entire scheme was the work of a conniving woman and her boyfriend. The more I understood, the angrier I became.

“You!” I yelled, pointing a finger at Jessica, who now wore an ashen expression. I was so infuriated that I no longer cared about my surroundings or James’s voice telling me to calm down. It wasn’t until I saw the fear in Parker’s eyes, the poor child caught between such despicable parents, that I managed to regain control.

Parker didn’t deserve to witness this, and Jessica didn’t deserve the satisfaction of seeing me lose my temper. So I stood up tall, turned, and stormed out of the restaurant.

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