Chapter 12
“Leonardo, remember who you are. Even if Daphne hadn’t left, she’d still be your sister–in–law–your wife’s older sister. I don’t care what you’re thinking, but you’d better keep it to yourself and stop all this nonsense.”
Felton’s face was grim as he threw out these words. Then he turned and strode back to his room, leaving Nestor standing alone, as if doused in ice water. Nestor’s face had gone deathly pale. His breathing came fast and shallow, chest heaving in distress.
Felton’s words were like twin blades, slicing straight through him–whether he was “Leonardo” or “Nestor,” there was no escaping their truth.
Just as Felton had said, Nestor had been the one to give up on Daphne.
If he was Leonardo, he should have kept his distance from Daphne, treating her as a respected sister–in–law, not forcing her to stay by his side.
If he was Nestor–ever since the day he’d faked his death and assumed Leonardo’s identity–he’d already forfeited his claim on Daphne. If he came clean, then
everything he and Josephine had shared would become an unspea
an unspeakable scandal, condemned by everyone.
Nestor clenched his fists, his whole body trembling.
Two conflicting voices warred inside his mind. One insisted, “You love Josephine. Forget about Daphne.”
life
The other taunted, “Nestor, can you really bear
a
without e? ge
the darkness beyond the doorway, Nestor suddenly spoke up, voice quivering. “But, what if I-
Time dragged on. Just as Felton’s silhouette was about to disappear act
am Nestor?”
Felton froze in his tracks, then spun around, disbelief etched across his
What?“&
“What did you say?!”
Two voices rang out at once–Felton’s, and Josephine’s.
Nestor’s heart skipped a beat. He turned, catching Josephine’s expression: a complicated mix of emotions.
There was no panic, no anger.
In fact… was that a flicker of relief? Maybe even a trace of joy, so faint it was barely there.
For a moment, Nestor stared at her, unsettled. He didn’t know if Josephine truly believed what he’d just implied, but the fact that she showed no outrage at the thought her husband might be a different man entirely…
Was this really the Josephine he thought he knew?? Knock Knock Knock.
A sharp rapping at the door broke the tension. Nestor glanced at the clock, then at Josephine, before heading for the entryway. He took an envelope from his assistant–a DNA test result–but hesitated, unable to bring himself to open it.3
He kept telling himself that Daphne wasn’t the type to disrupt their wedding anniversary with a morbid prank. If she’d sent that stillborn child, it had to be for a reason–one that involved him.
And if he did the math, if those children had been conceived before his accident, the timing added up.
His feelings were a tangled mess. Part of him desperately hoped the child was his. Another part wanted nothing more than for it not to be true.
After a long moment of steeling himself, he finally opened the envelope. His gaze landed on the result: 99% probability.
The folder slipped from his hands and hit the floor with a dull thud. His mind went blank.
had suspected this outcome all along, but seeing it in black and white still left him reeling.”
That was his child. His child.
Felton bent down and picked up the test result. When he saw the 99% figure, he froze, then glanced at Nestor, who was still in shock. Felton’s jaw clenched, his breath coming faster, but he forced himself to keep it together.
“What is this? Whose test is this?“%
Nestor opened his mouth several times before any sound came out. His eyes were red at the corners. Finally, voice trembling, he explained, “At today’s anniversary dinner for Josephine and me, Daphne gave us a stillborn baby as a gift. I had a DNA test done. That’s me and the child…
He slumped to the floor, defeated. Felton fared no better, his hand shook as he pointed his cane at Nestor “What you just said–was all of it true?!”
By now, Felton could no longer pretend not to understand.
If Nestor really was just Leonardo, then Daphne–who once swore she’d never remarry out of loyalty to Nestor–wouldn’t have quietly ended her pregnancy after discovering it
If he wasn’t Nestor even if Daphne had gone through with the abortion and left, she would never have sent the stillborn child to their celebration.
And if he wasn’t Nestor, he never would have ordered a DNA test in the first place
