(Scarlett’s POV)
The weight of what I just did crushes down on me the moment Dorian parks outside my apartment building. Lily chatters happily in her car seat about Grammy and Grandpa’s house,pletely oblivious to the bomb that just exploded in all our lives.
“Thank you,” I whisper to Dorian as he helps unbuckle Lily’s seatbelt. “For everything tonight. For going along with…”
“With dering me as Lily’s father?” His voice is gentle, understanding. “Scarlett, you don’t need to apologize.”
But I do. The guilt eats at me as we walk up the stairs to my apartment. “I had <i>no </i>right to drag you into this mess. I should have asked first, should have-<b>” </b>
“Hey.” He stops on thending, his hand warm on my arm. “Look at me.”
I force myself to meet his eyes, expecting to see anger or disappointment. Instead, I find something that makes my chest tight with emotion.
Kindness. Understanding. Compassion.
“I don’t mind,” he says softly. “In fact, as long as you’re willing, I’d be more than happy to ept Lily as my daughter. For real.”
The sincerity in his voice breaks something inside me. Here’s this man–this good, decent man–offering to take on another man’s child without hesitation. Offering to give us the stability and protection I’ve been desperately trying to build on my own.
“Dorian…”
“I mean it.” He rubs my head, the gesture tender and careful. “You don’t have to answer now. Just know that the offer stands. Always.”
Tears blur my vision. I should say yes. Should grab this lifeline he’s offering and never look back.
But something holds me back. Maybe it’s the memory of Jasper’s face when he held Lily. Maybe it’s the voice in my head whispering that lying about something this big will destroy us all eventually.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m terrified of making another mistake that’ll hurt the one person I’m trying to protect.
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< Chapter 50
“I need time,” I whisper.
“I know.” He kisses my forehead, and I let myself lean into his warmth for just a moment. “Take all the time you need.”
After he leaves, I fish my keys from my purse with shaking hands. All I want is to get Lily inside, run a bath, and pretend this nightmare never happened.
But when I open the door, Chloe practicallyunches herself at me.
“Oh God, Scarlett! I’ve been going crazy!” Her arms wrap around me so tight I can barely breathe. “When you called about Lily missing, I thought–I couldn’t think-”
“We’re okay,” I manage, pulling back <i>to </i>show her we’re both in one piece. “We’re both okay.”
Lily runs past us into the living room, already distracted by her toys. Chloe studies my face with those sharp eyes that miss nothing.
“You look like hell. What happened?”
We settle on the couch while Lily ys with her dolls nearby. I tell Chloe everything–about finding Lily gone, the police station, confronting my parents. About Jasper walking in at the worst possible moment.
“He knows,” I whisper, ncing at Lily to make sure she’s not listening. “The second he saw her, he knew she was his.”
Chloe’s face goes pale. “What did you do?”
“I lied.” The words taste like poison on my tongue. “Virginia convinced him that Lily belongs to Dorian and me. That I moved on and started a family with another man.”
“And he believed it?”
I think about the doubt in Jasper’s eyes, the way he kept staring at Lily like he was memorizing her face. “I don’t know. Maybe. For now.”
“Good.” Chloe leans forward, her expression fierce. “Scarlett, you need to seriously consider Dorian’s offer. Make it official.”
“What do you mean?” <fn1ef2> For original chapters go to Find[?]ovel</fn1ef2>
“Marry him. Put his name on Lily’s birth certificate. Make it legal and binding so that even if Jasper figures out the truth, he’ll have no im to her.”
The suggestion makes my stomach churn. “I can’t do that to Dorian. I can’t trap him in a marriage just to-”
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“He offered, didn’t he? He wants to help you. And honestly, after everything that man put you through, you deserve someone who’ll put you and Lily first.” Chloe’s voice softens. “Someone who won’t abandon you on a highway for another woman.”
I close my eyes, remembering the terror of that night. The cold asphalt under my feet, the sound of Jasper’s car driving away. The crushing realization that my husband had chosen someone else over his pregnant wife.
Maybe Chloe’s right. Maybe I should grab this chance at happiness and never look back.
But before I can respond, my phone buzzes on the coffee table. ir’s name shes on the
screen.
“Don’t answer it,” Chloe says immediately.
But something in ir’s message makes me pause. It’s not what I expect.
<i>Please </i><i>meet </i><i>me</i><i>. </i><i>I </i><i>have </i><i>something </i><i>to </i><i>show </i><i>you </i><i>about </i><i>Jasper</i>. <i>Something </i><i>you </i><i>need to </i><i>see</i>.
I stare at the text, my heart hammering against my ribs. What could ir possibly have that I’d want to see? What could be so important that she’s reaching out after everything that
happened tonight?
“Scarlett,” Chloe warns, seeing the look on my face. “Whatever it is, it’s a trap. They’re trying to manipte you intoing back.”
She’s probably right. This is probably just another attempt to guilt me into forgiving them, into letting them back into our lives.
But curiosity wins.
I call ir back.
“Scarlett?” She sounds surprised, like she didn’t expect me to respond. “Thank you for calling
back.”
“What do you want, ir?” I keep my voice cold, distant. “If this is about what happened tonight-<b>” </b>
“It’s not.” She pauses, and I hear something in her voice that makes me straighten. Desperation. “Not exactly. I have something to show you. About Jasper. About what he’s been doing since you left.”
My grip tightens on the phone.
“What kind of something?” I ask against my better judgment.
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“Proof,” she whispers. “Proof that maybe you’re wrong about him. Maybe we were all wrong about everything.”
The words hit me like ice water. Wrong about what? What could possibly change the fact that Jasper chose Virginia over me, over our unborn child?
“I’m not interested in returning to the past, if that’s what you’re expecting.”
“No, I don’t expect you to return. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance to clear things up. After all, it’s better to die knowing the reason you died, rather than dying not knowing why, right?”
I should say no. Should hang up and block her number and never look back. But something in ir’s tone stops me from turning her down. “Twenty–four–hour diner on Fifth Street,” I finally say. “One hour.”
“Scarlett, wait-<b>” </b>
“One hour, ir. That’s all you get.”
I hang up before she can respond, already regretting my decision.
“Are you insane?” Chloe explodes the second I set the phone down. “After everything that happened tonight, you’re going to meet her?”
“I have to know.” The words surprise me with their intensity. “Whatever she has to show me, I
need to see it.”
“Why? What difference does it make now?”
I look at Lily, ying with her dolls in blissful ignorance of the chaos swirling around her. “Because I lied tonight. I looked my daughter’s father in the eye and told him she wasn’t his. If I’m going to live with that choice, I need to know I made it for the right reasons.”
Chloe studies my face for a long moment, then sighs. “I’ll stay with Lily.”
“You don’t have to-”
“Yes, I <i>do</i><i>. </i>Because if this is some kind of setup, someone needs to be here to protect her.” She gives me a look that’s equal parts love and exasperation. “Just promise me you won’t let them guilt–trip you into anything. Whatever ir shows you, whatever story she tells you, remember what that man put you through.”
I nod, already reaching for my coat.
But as I head for the door, a chill runs down my spine. Because deep in my gut, I have the
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terrible feeling that whatever ir wants to show me is going to change everything.
And I’m not sure I’m ready for my carefully built world toe crashing down around me again.
The diner is almost empty when I arrive, just a fewte–night customers nursing coffee and regrets. I spot ir immediately–she’s sitting in a corner booth, looking older and more fragile than I remember.
When she sees me, relief washes over her face.
“Scarlett. Thank you foring.”
I slide into the seat across from her, keeping my expression neutral. “You have one hour. Start talking.”
ir reaches into her purse and pulls out a man envelope, her hands shaking slightly. “I need you to see these first.”
She slides the envelope across the table, and something in her expression makes my blood run cold.
“What is it?”
“Open it,” she whispers. “Please.”
My hands shake as I reach for the envelope, every instinct screaming that whatever’s inside is going to destroy the fragile peace I’ve built.
But I can’t stop myself from opening it.
”
Violet Moon
#Vote#! Hi loves!So, a few things. First, this is my first time publishing my writing, and that too, on this tform. I’ve always loved writing, but never found the courage to put my writing out there. I kept doubting, second–guessing, questioning myself, thinking nothing I write will ever be good enough to be published. SO…this is me, after 15 years of circling around, saying to hell with it and taking the bull by the horns. The story won’t be perfect. And I apologize. I know it’s a littlete, but I’m sorry. At the start, I only used to upload 1 chapter a day. Now I’m uploading two. You’re getting the raw drafts, as I’m uploading them as I write. With work and the kids, 24 hours isn’t enough for me to get into editing, LOL. So we’ll save that forter. I’ll go back and edit the chapters afterpleting the story. Until then, I hope you’ll stick around to the end. Thank you for your support! It means a lot!
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