gone, scoured away by the relentless tide of his be

se, my fingers closing around my phone. I fumbled with the

the suites and slid the phone into the smal

, resplendent in silver silk, Christian was

y eyes. "I had a sudden stomach

tic, so transparent,

d and walked out of the boutique,

e-top affection, trying to "make up" for his supposed negle

ormed into a child's fantasy, with towering balloon sculptures and a candy bar that stretched the l

d several of Christian's key business partne

e. The massive birthday cake was wheeled out, and Christian took the stage to give a spee

nd now, a few words from

looked out at the sea of expectant faces, at Christian'

irthday," I began, my voice clear and steady. "But ther

d was deafening. Christian's smile froze, then twisted into a frown.

ide with what I thought was panic. I mistook it f

th triumph. I held up a copy of the DNA tes

what I expected. My eyes snapped up, scanning the crowd until they landed on

witched t

father-in-law called out, h

mpossible words. Probability of Maternit

t, Jace was my son, but not Christi

y voice trembling with

men, I... I don't know what you're talking about.

back to the crowd. "Christian is

d. "I swear, there is nothing between Mr. Norman and m

th terrifying expertise. The murm

air their dirty laund

o good to her. He's raising a

looked at me with an expression of profound disappointment. "Carmen, tha

"I apologize for this disturbance. P

er, began to drift away, murmuring p

mental eyes. The worst part was Christian's face. He knew. He knew the truth, and h

age. "Christian, what is go

silk. "Carmen's just been a little... emotional

haking. "Tell them the truth! Tell

ce. "I think you're the one who owe

ow could you do this to Christian?

was the crazy one. The unfaithful one