Chapter 0030
Lauren
I had just gotten Abigail into the car when the weight of what she’d said hit me. The moment I saw Alexander’s face, something inside the snapped. I knew I’d have to answer questions, navigate the tension, and shield my daughter from the chaos unraveling around us.
1
I mumbled a lame excuse about Abigail being upset as I ushered her away before anyone could respond.
“Abigail, honey, what’s wrong? How was your friend?” Daphne asked the moment we stepped into the house. Her sharp eyes caught the shift in the air.
Abigail didn’t answer, her little face a mix of confusion and sadness as she shuffled toward the table where. Daphne had laid out the birthday dinner.
Daphne scooped her up immediately, her warm arms offering comfort I coule
give. I tried to suppress the storm brewing inside me, but it was getting harder to hide. Everything was falling apart, and I felt like the only one trying to hold it together.
“Lauren, what happened?” Daphne asked softly, concern in her eyes–along with something that felt like pity.
- v. She didn’t
I shook my head, unwilling to say it out loud. I had to protect Abigail from the truth, at least for now. need to understand the pain or betrayal. But Daphne wasn’t letting it go.
*Abigail,” I muttered, crouching to meet her eyes. “Do you know?”
“What are you talking about?” Daphne started but stopped when Abigail blinked up at me with innocent confusion.
“What?” Abigail asked, tilting her head.
My heart twisted painfully. Abigail was too young to understand. How could she know the truth? That Alexander- her father–was back in the picture.
But the realization clawed its way to the surface. Abigail wasn’t just mine; she was his too. Alexander’s daughter. A truth I had buried beneath layers of grief and denial.
That night, after putting Abigail to bed, Daphne and I sat on the couch. I sank into the plush cushions, exhaustion. pressing down on me.
“I owe you an apology,” Daphne began. “If I’d known she’d see Owen and Alexander
“It’s not your fault,” I interrupted, waving her off.
“Daphne, I-” The words caught in my throat, but I pushed forward, explaining everything. Her face grew paler with every word.
“Owen’s birthday is the same day as Abigail’s?” She scoffed in disbelief. “What’s next, they start finishing each other’s sentences? That’s way too much of a coincidence.”
I froze, my stomach twisting into knots. “Yeah, well,” I said, my voice shaky as I tried to keep my emotions in check. “When Alexander and I divorced, Sophia must have already been pregnant.”
The bitterness clung to every word, and I could feel the sting of old wounds reopening. “And after Alexander cruelly killed my child, he went on to happily visit Sophia’s child.”
Daphne’s eyes widened. “No, no, that’s not what I mean. What if the child you lost–like Abigail–just…. survived?”
+25 BONUS:
Chapter Diso
You mean… Owen?” I whispered, barely able to speak
1 squeezed my eyes shut. I’d spent sleepless nights searching, hoping that maybe my second hadn’t died. Llam and I had chased every lead, only to come up empty.
Could Owen really be the child I thought I’d lost?
It seemed impossible, but I couldn’t ignore it. There was something about him–his eyes, his smile–that reminded me so much of myself. Of Alexander.
I didn’t want to believe it, but the ache in my heart grew every time I looked at him. Could it be true?
The hospital was eerily quiet, the hum of machines and distant murmurs barely cutting through the weight on my chest. Owen sat at the desk, his small frame hunched over the keyboard, fingers clumsily tapping. The screen’s glow lit up his furrowed brow and the determined set of his lips.
Normally, I’d lean in with a lighthearted comment to coax a smile out of him. But today, I couldn’t. My mind was a battlefield, torn between the past I thought I’d buried and a future that felt more uncertain than ever.
