Ultrasounds.
Delivery records.”
Victor gave a dismissive laugh.
“That proves you gave birth.
It doesn’t prove paternity.”
“No,” I said.
“It doesn’t.”
His mouth tightened.
I continued.
“But I didn’t come here expecting you to believe me because I asked.”
I looked at Ethan.
“If you want a paternity test, I’ll agree to it.”
He answered immediately.
“I do.”
Victor looked almost relieved.
Ethan saw that too.
“But not because I think she’s lying,” Ethan added.
“Because after today, I want facts no one can manipulate.”
Victor’s relief vanished.
The wedding could not continue.
Everyone understood that, though no one said it aloud.
Ethan turned toward the waiting guests.
His voice shook once before he steadied it.
“There will be no ceremony today.”
A fresh murmur moved through the room.
Then he looked at me.
“Can we go somewhere private?”
I glanced at the children.
“Yes.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Ethan, you are making an emotional decision in front of hundreds of people.”
Ethan turned on him.
“You made my biggest decisions for me when no one was watching.”
Victor stopped.
Ethan’s expression had changed completely now.
For the first time that afternoon, he no longer looked like Victor Harrison’s son.
He looked like a man realizing how much of his life had been arranged around him.
We moved away from the ballroom into a quiet adjoining room.
Victor followed despite Ethan telling him not to.
The children sat together on a long sofa while Ethan remained several feet away, almost afraid to approach them too quickly.
He asked their names.
They answered one after another.
He smiled despite himself.
One child smiled back.
The resemblance was so strong that Ethan’s eyes filled immediately.
He looked at me.
“You did all of this alone?”
“Yes.”
“With the money?”
There was no accusation in his voice, only uncertainty.
I understood why.
“The money gave us security,” I said.
“I used it to build a stable life for them.
I never pretended Victor didn’t pay me.
I signed the agreement.
I left.”
