I thought that Sebastian and I could part peacefully, and that time would dull the sting of betrayal. But in the end, things turned so ugly that even the last shred of warmth was stripped from our story, leaving behind nothing but bitterness and hatred.
Daniel gently patted my back. “I’m here. I’ll always be here.”
Sebastian was still conscious. He grabbed Daniel’s pant leg, muttering, “Let her go. She’s mine!”
Daniel kicked him hard over and over, until I stopped him again.
I kneeled and looked Sebastian in the eye. “Sebastian, I’ve known for a long time that the baby Roxanne’s carrying isn’t yours.”
Confusion clouded Sebastian’s eyes, then a flicker of hope broke through. “You believe me? You really believe me?”
I shook my head, my smile cutting. “No. My trust in you died a long time ago, after being chipped away by your constant coldness. I know because you have a low sperm count.”
If it weren’t for a formula passed down in my family’s medical practice, I wouldn’t have been able to get pregnant either. I spent years drinking bitter medicine just to conceive.
Sebastian’s pupils widened in shock. He froze completely before shaking his head violently. “No. No way!”
“You can get tested. Do you think I’d lie about something like this?”
Pain twisted his face. “Why? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to feel ashamed. I kept it to myself. Your family never accepted me into their home because I couldn’t conceive.
“You probably don’t even remember saying this, but you once told me that you’d never bring me into the Chesson residence it I didn’t have a child.”
Sebastian did remember. He was 32 and still childless. He’d felt desperate. Later, he convinced himself that it didn’t matter as long as I was with him.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny that he’d wavered.
“Sebastian, I did carry your child once. I was three months pregnant, but when you had to choose between me and Roxanne under that slab of concrete, you saved
her.
“The baby must’ve felt it and didn’t want to make things harder for me. So it left, taking with it the last of my love for you.”
No. It was you?” Sebastian yelled, refusing to accept it.
Hatred flashed in my eyes as I looked at him. “Yes. The person you said you bought a life for with five million was me.
“Maybe you should’ve offered ten million, because back then, there were two lives.”
