Chapter 100
Calvin’s POV
“Excluded as biological father p>
I stared at those four clinical words, refusing to accept their meaning. Quickly, I reached for another report, then another. Each one delivered the same devastating verdict.
My eyes fixed on those damning words until they blurred. Only then did I realize how desperately I’d been hoping that Alex would be mine. The disappointment crushing my chest was unbearable.
Cyra growled with frustration and disbelief. “Why isn’t she ours? I won’t accept this p>
I took a deep breath, trying to silence the tumult in my mind. Evelyn’s previous statements echoed in my memory, and I forced myself to analyze the situation logically.
Alex was nearly three years old. Based on the timeline, she must have been conceived shortly after Evelyn left me. Knowing Evelyn’s character, she wouldn’t have quickly entered another relationship. It simply wasn’t in her nature. So if Alex was Evelyn’s biological daughter, then logically p>
My heartbeat accelerated as I considered the possibility that these results were wrong. I wanted to ask Beta Zeon to investigate further, but remembered how Evelyn distrusted the people around me. Perhaps I needed to handle this personally.
I made a mental note to discreetly investigate Evelyn’s medical records from three years ago, specifically any visits to obstetrics or gynecology departments.
The thought that Evelyn might have been pregnant when she rejected me and asked for divorce made my chest constrict painfully.
My gaze drifted across the room to where Evelyn sat with Alexis. The little girl caught me watching and offered me a smile as radiant as sunshine. When Evelyn followed her daughter’s gaze and met my eyes, I couldn’t hide the storm of emotions raging inside me. For a brief moment, I felt completely exposed before her.
Then I quickly put on a calm expression again. Evelyn looked away right after that, turning her attention back to her daughter. The way she was clearly drawing a line between us made something hurt inside me.
As she bent her head to whisper something to Alex, I saw a flicker of concern cross her face.
I watched them together, feeling like an intruder in their private world, and the weight of loss settled deeper into my bones.
Zeon had no idea what the DNA test results contained. He’d merely facilitated getting the samples to several testing facilities and delivered the sealed envelopes to me. I trusted the accuracy of the process, but that didn’t make the results any easier to accept.
I must have been visibly distracted, because I caught Zeon staring at me as I gazed at the family photos on my desk instead of signing the contracts in front of me.
“Alpha Calvin,” he coughed lightly, “the signatures p>
I pushed the contracts aside and fixed him with an intense stare. “Zeon, how are things with your girlfriend p>
He looked startled by the personal question. “G-good. We’re getting engaged this winter p>
“When you have disagreements,” I continued, pausing to find the right words, “how do you… make amends p>
Under my unwavering gaze, Zeon shifted uncomfortably. “Luxury gifts, generous cash transfers, cooking her favorite meals, planning vacations, and, um His voice dropped to a whisper. “In private moments, I put my pride aside and… attend to her needs p>
His voice trailed off, and I dismissed him with a curt “You may go p>
When the door closed behind him, I stared at Evelyn’s face in our family portrait. That perfect, gentle smile she used to give only to me. The wheels in my mind started turning.
The following day, I received a terse text message from Evelyn after I had several luxury gifts delivered to her home.
[Calvin, Stop forcing this. Don’t make me cut all ties with you p>
Beta Zeon knocked tentatively on my door. “Alpha Calvin, she’s returned everything p>
I clenched my phone so tightly I feared the screen might crack. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
“Throw it all away,” I ordered, my voice dangerously quiet.
Zeon blanched at my glacial tone and quickly retreated, closing the door behind him. I knew he wouldn’t actually discard items worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He’d likely store them somewhere, perhaps my rarely used downtown apartment.
Alone again, I tried to focus on work, but the words on the documents before me refused to make sense. Standing abruptly, I moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at Ravenshade’s glittering skyline.
The city lights got blurry as feelings I’d kept buried for years started pushing against the walls I’d built up. I stood there, barely keeping control, until I finally managed to shove those emotions back where they belonged.
That night, I didn’t go home. I worked until dawn in a cold fury of productivity, sleeping briefly in my office’s private suite. When Zeon arrived the next morning, his eyes widened at the towering stack of completed files on my desk. An entire week’s work finished in one sleepless night.
Days passed in a blur of work and strategy. As the twins’ summer vacation neared its end, I threw myself into preparations for an international business trip that couldn’t be postponed.
The morning the kids went back to school, I was at Ravenshade International Airport walking through the terminal to my gate. I was thinking about quarterly numbers and business deals overseas when I almost ran into a woman wearing dark sunglasses and a face mask.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quickly removing her glasses.
When I looked into her eyes, my blood turned to ice in my veins.
“Eve?” I whispered, staring at eyes that looked strangely familiar in a face that was almost right but not quite.
But when she started to move closer, I backed away several steps in disgust.
“Sorry, I mistook you for someone else,” I said with a frown and walked away quickly.
This woman’s eyes looked ninety percent like Evelyn’s.
Was this an accident, or was it planned?
“Go check this woman out,” I ordered my Beta Zeon.