Chapter 6
I felt my anger shift.
Not disappear.
Shift.
“I ordered the prenatal test because I wanted one fact he couldn’t escape.”
“And Nathan found it?”
“Not at first. He found me sick at the office. He took me to urgent care. He arranged housing. He checked on me.”
“While coming home to me.”
“Yes.”
“When did the affair begin?”
She looked at the floor.
“During your Zurich trip in November.”
Eight months before Nathan ended our engagement.
My fingers tightened around the edge of the entry table.
“He said you two lived separate lives,” Laya whispered.
I laughed.
It sounded terrible.
“We had breakfast together the morning I left.”
“I wanted to believe him.”
“You wanted him.”
“Yes.”
There was no point pretending otherwise.
She continued.
“When Miles was born early, Nathan held him before Theo did. Nathan said biology didn’t matter. He said he could give Miles a name. A home. Stability.”
“And a family trust.”
“I didn’t know about that until later.”
“But once you knew?”
“I still signed.”
“Why?”
Tears filled her eyes, but her voice stayed steady.
“Because I grew up watching women wait for men to become reliable. My father left. My stepfather stayed until my mother got cancer and became expensive. Theo wanted me hidden. Nathan offered a house and a name.”
“And what did you tell yourself about me?”
Her silence answered before she did.
“That you would survive.”
I stared at her.
“You decided I had enough, so taking from me didn’t count.”
“Yes.”
“You used my department codes. Helped schedule the meeting to fire me. Packed my belongings before your wedding.”
“I hated you.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because you belonged everywhere.”
I almost laughed.
She continued.
“You walked into boardrooms and men stopped talking. Nathan asked what you thought. Theo compared other women to you whenever he wanted us to feel stupid. And you were never cruel to me.”
“That made you hate me?”
“You promoted me.”
“I promoted you because you were good.”
“I know that now.”
Rain struck the windows.
I crossed my arms.
“Why are you here?”
Laya took out her phone.
“Nathan sent me something before Miles was born.”
She opened an audio file.
Nathan’s voice filled my hallway.
“Laya, listen to me. Theo will never claim the child publicly. I can. The trust requires an acknowledged descendant. If we file first, nobody can challenge it unless they know enough to look. Olivia won’t. She still thinks loyalty works like gravity.”