Chapter 47
The ballroom went so silent you could hear the ice melting in the champagne buckets. The document in Seb’s hand felt heavier than lead. His eyes scanned the bold text at the bottom of the page: 0% PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY.
“What did you say?” Seb whispered, the words barely leaving his throat. He looked at the paper, then back at Seren, who was still clutching his leg. The child he had sacrificed everything for, the child he had used as an excuse to betray Amara, wasn’t his.
“It’s all there, Seb,” Amara said, her voice cutting through the air with surgical precision. “I knew you were too weak to look for the truth yourself, so I found it for you. You’ve been raising another man’s child all along p>
Seb’s head snapped toward Elara. His face was no longer just pale; it was ghostly, his eyes burning with a terrifying, quiet rage.
“You better explain this to me,” Seb hissed, his voice trembling as he shoved the report toward Elara’s face p>
Elara backed away, her high heels clicking frantically against the marble. Her face was a mask of pure terror. “Seb, honey, listen… the doctors must have made a mistake. You know how much I love you p>
“It’s a lie!” Elara’s voice went viral, thin and desperate. “Seb, Seren is your child. Amara is slandering me. She’s using a fake paternity test to frame me p>
The crowd shifted, the air thick with judgment.
“Now that you mention it one guest whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. “That kid looks nothing like Seb p>
“Yeah,” another chimed in, leaning toward their friend. “Not even a little bit p>
The whispers started like a wildfire. No resemblance. Not a trace of him.
Suddenly, Seren burst into loud, racking sobs. She grabbed Seb’s hand, her eyes wide and watery. “Dad, you can’t believe her! She’s a wicked woman. She just wants to hurt me and Mommy p>
Seb looked down at the girl. For the first time, a cold thought took root in his mind: She really doesn’t look like me.
But Seren wasn’t finished. She turned her tearful gaze toward Amara, pointing a trembling finger. “You always hit me! You yell at me and won’t even feed me. I never told Dad because I was scared… why can’t you just love me p>
Amara froze. The lie was so bold, so calculated, it felt like a physical blow. She looked at Seb, her heart racing. He knows the truth, she thought. He’s seen me care for Seren. He was there. This is the one time he’ll take my side, but he didn’t.
“Oh my god,” an old friend of Amara’s gasped, clutching her chest. “I had no idea Amara was capable of such cruelty p>
“Don’t trust a word she says,” someone else hissed.
The tide of the room turned. Amara watched the warmth drain from Seb’s eyes, replaced by a cold, hard stone.
“Seb, look at the facts,” King stepped forward, trying to play the voice of reason. “Looks don’t prove anything. Amara hates Elara. Are you sure that report is real p>
“He’s right, Seb,” Elara pleaded, her voice soft and sweet again. “I love you. I swear on my life, Seren is yours p>
Seb’s gaze landed on Amara, but there was no love left in it. “Amara, if you have a problem with Elara, take it out on her. Leave the child out of it. Your ’test report’? I don’t believe a word of it p>
The room went silent. Amara felt a strange, chilling sense of calm settle over her. She didn’t scream. She didn’t cry.
“Whether that test is real or not,” Amara said, her voice steady and lethal, “you have eyes, Seb. Check for yourself. Find out the truth when you’re ready to face it p>
“We’re leaving,” Seb snapped, turning his back on her. He took Elara and Seren by the hands.
“Wait p>
“What do you want?” Elara snapped.
“Seren hurt me,” Amara said, her voice cutting through the murmurs like a blade. “This isn’t over. She owes me an apology p>
Seb looked at her, his face twisting with a mix of pity and frustration. “Amara, why are you doing this? Why do you insist on picking on a child p>
He felt the distance between them growing into a canyon. He remembered the woman he used to love, but this cold stranger standing before him was someone else entirely.
“Exactly!” Elara added, playing the part of the protective mother perfectly. “She’s just a little girl p>
“Didn’t you already hit Elara today?” Seb added, his voice hardening. “Is that not enough for you p>
Amara let out a short, hollow laugh. “Elara? Is she injured? Since when does being a child give someone the right to lie and destroy lives? Today’s matter isn’t finished. Seren will apologize p>
Inside, the last flicker of warmth Amara held for him went dark. The man she had sacrificed everything for was standing there protecting a lie.
“She’s just a kid!” Seb stepped forward, his voice cracking. To him, Seren was the only thing that made his past pain worth it. She was his only legacy, his only reason for everything he’d lost. “Why are you being so cruel to her p>
Amara’s eyes flashed with a fire that made Seb freeze in his tracks.
“Say one more word,” she warned, her voice dropping to a deadly, quiet whisper, “and I’ll demand much more than an apology. Don’t test me, Seb p>
“Amara, you Seb gasped, shocked by the sheer coldness in her gaze. He didn’t recognize her anymore.
“SHUT UP!” Amara yelled.
The force of her voice silenced the entire room. The perfect family across from her flinched. The silence that followed was heavy. Amara was officially done playing the victim.
A heavy silence fell over the room. Seb looked at Amara, his jaw tight, his pride wounded. He just wanted the nightmare to end.
“Fine,” Seb snapped, his voice tight. “Amara, all you want is an apology, right? I’ll do it. I’ll do it for Seren p>
Amara didn’t flinch. She didn’t soften. She simply stared at him with eyes that had gone completely cold. “Sure,” she replied, her voice dangerously calm
Seb stepped forward, his eyes darting to the crowd of old friends who were watching his private life crumble in real-time.
“My daughter is still young and immature,” Seb said, the words tasting like ash. “Please forgive her. I’m sorry. Amara… are you happy now p>
He said it as if he were the saint, as if his apology was a gift he was handing her to make her stop being difficult. In his mind, he just needed to get out of there. He needed to confirm the paternity test and hear what his friend, Demain, had found.
Amara looked at him and realized the man she once loved was gone. He had chosen a lie over her truth. He had burned every bridge they ever built just to protect Elara’s schemes.
“Happy?” Amara whispered, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. “No, Seb. I’m not happy. I’m not done p>
The apology hadn’t fixed anything. It had only proven that Seb would rather apologize for a lie than stand up for the truth.