"Can I carry her?" Ethan asked, his voice softer than it had been in years. He looked at Audrey like he was seeing a miracle.
Mara hesitated—just for a mont—then handed her over silently.
Ethan cradled his daughter, holding her close.
"Hello there, my princess," he whispered, kissing her head. "Daddy missed you so much."
He glanced at Mara, his voice tightening. "You left."
She didn’t respond. Her eyes turned away.
"Not even a word—for a whole year. I was worried, Mara. About you. About Audrey. It broke my heart thinking you were alone out there sowhere..." His jaw clenched. "But clearly, you weren’t."
Mara turned sharply, her eyes narrowed. Waiting.
"He was with you the whole ti, wasn’t he? Just the three of you, in the sa house. Sharing the sa bed. Did you two—"
"Don’t." Her voice cut clean and cold, stopping him mid-accusation.
"Hey, trust —I have zero patience for your nonsense," she said, stepping forward. "You better think carefully before you say another word."
She reached out for Audrey.
Ethan handed her back without resistance, his guilt washing over him.
"I’m sorry," he said quietly. "I still love you. I never stopped."
Mara took Audrey gently, holding her close to her chest. She didn’t et his eyes.
"Even if that ant sothing..." she said, her voice low, almost breaking, "you don’t get to question where I was. Or who I was with."
She turned to go.
"I love you, Mara. I still do," Ethan called after her.
She didn’t turn around. Her heart ached—but not for him. For Andrew. The boy who might just be hers.
"I’ll stop by later," Ethan added, "with Andrew. So he can see Audrey."
She said nothing—didn’t object. But didn’t agree either.
And then she was gone.
—
Rafael stood outside the mall, leaning against the hood of the car, arms crossed as he watched the glass doors. The bags were packed neatly in the trunk, but his mind wasn’t on baby clothes or groceries—it was on her.
He saw Mara walking out, Audrey in her arms, eyes distant... guarded.
She didn’t say anything as she approached, just opened the door and gently placed Audrey in the baby seat. Her fingers lingered on the straps a little longer than usual.
Rafael quietly walked over, helping buckle the rest. The silence was heavy.
"You okay?" he finally asked.
Mara gave a small nod, but it wasn’t convincing.
He studied her carefully—her face was unreadable, but her hands were shaking. Not from fear. From the flood of emotions she was fighting to suppress.
"So..." he said quietly, not looking at her. "He pissed you off again,"
She turned slightly, eting his gaze. There was nothing she needed to say—Rafael had seen enough.
"I saw the way he looked at you," he added, not bitterly... just honestly. "He still loves you."
Mara didn’t deny it.
"Do you?" he asked, voice steady but low, raw with vulnerability.
She hesitated.
"Not anymore," she said truthfully. "I had just confird that, he broke sothing in . Sothing I’m not sure can be fixed."
Rafael nodded slowly. The answer wasn’t firm but it wasn’t unexpected.
"I’m not asking you to love back, Stef, well not literally," he said, stepping a little closer. "I’m just asking to be the one who’s here. For you. For Audrey. For whatever cos next."
Her eyes softened, and for a brief mont, she allowed herself to rest her head against his shoulder.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Rafael closed his eyes. He may not have had her heart yet, but he was almost there
And that was enough.
For now.
Steph’s call had set everything into motion.
"Ethan, I found evidence—Lucy ca back to Alesceter with a baby before she was admitted to the hospital."
Ethan’s grip tightened on his phone. "That’s it. I knew sothing was off." His voice was a blade, sharp and cold. "Get her address. Now."
He didn’t wait for a response before ending the call, already striding toward his car. First, he’d drop Andrew and the nanny at the mansion. Then? He was going to find Lucy and drag the truth out of her himself.
anwhile, in another car speeding toward the estate...
Mara sat stiffly beside Rafael, her fingers twisting in her lap. The weight of what she was about to say pressed against her ribs, threatening to suffocate her.
"I need a DNA test for Andrew. Lucy’s son." The words tumbled out before she could second-guess herself.
Rafael shot her a sideways glance. "Stef—"
"I know how it sounds," she cut in, voice trembling. "But it’s not just the birthmark. It was... his cry. In the courtroom a year ago, and when I held him today, sothing inside knew." Her breath hitched. "A mother knows her child, Rafael. Even through grief. Even through hell.
Silence stretched between them, thick with doubt—but Rafael had never been able to deny her.
"Fine," he said finally, jaw set. "I’ll find a way to get close to the boy."
Relief flooded her, but it wasn’t enough. She needed a plan. "Ethan will bring him to the mansion. I will distract Ethan, and you can get a sample from Andrew."
Rafael nodded, though his eyes held a flicker of hesitation. "I’m with you. Even if this is insane."
Mara exhaled, but her gaze lingered on him, searching, uncertain. Rafael t Mara’s gaze, his brow furrowed slightly. He could see the whirlwind of emotions in her eyes—fear, hope, desperation and sothing deeper... sothing unshakable.
"What is it?" he asked gently.
Mara hesitated, then spoke, voice barely above a whisper.
"Why are you doing all this for , Rafael?"
Rafael didn’t answer right away. He looked ahead at the road, then slowly turned back to her.
"Because when you love soone, you don’t walk away when things get hard. You walk with them, no matter how crazy the road looks."
Mara’s lips parted slightly, surprised by the quiet conviction in his voice. No declarations, no pressure just presence. It was the kind of support she never realized she needed until now.
She looked down at her hands, then back at him.
"And what if I’m wrong? What if he isn’t Andrew?"
"Then we’ll deal with it together," Rafael replied calmly.
"And if he is... then you’ll finally have your son back. Either way, I won’t let you go through it alone."
Mara’s heart clenched not with confusion, but with clarity. Rafael wasn’t just helping her. He was choosing her, again and again, even when the past was threatening to drown them.
She reached out and gently placed her hand over his.
"Thank you." He gave her a small smile, a reassuring squeeze of her fingers.
"Let’s go get our answers."
Mara’s smile lingered as she leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Rafael’s cheek. The gesture was light, affectionate—but it caught him off guard. His hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel, and his heart skipped a beat.
He imdiately pulled over to the side of the road, casting a glance into the rearview mirror to make sure baby Audrey was still fast asleep in her car seat.
"Don’t do that," he said with a shaky breath, his voice hushed and serious, but his lips curved in a half-smile. "You’re going to give a heart attack one of these days. If you’re grateful, just say thank you. That’s enough."
Mara tilted her head, amused by his reaction. "Is it though?" she asked teasingly, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Stef—" Rafael warned softly, but there was no anger—just tension. The kind that builds when emotions have been held back for too long.
She leaned in and kissed him, slow and deep, a kiss that carried all the feelings neither of them had dared to voice in the past year. It wasn’t rushed, wasn’t careless, it was deliberate, aningful.
By the ti she pulled away, Rafael’s breath had caught in his throat.
"You have no idea what you’re doing to ," he whispered, eyes still closed like he was trying to anchor himself.
"Actually," Mara said softly, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear, "I think I do."
And for a mont, there was no confusion, no grief, no past—just the warmth between two people who had weathered a storm together and now found themselves at the edge of sothing new.
Lucy stood in her new apartnt, still surprised she hadn’t heard a word from Ethan—not even after sending him the custody docunts. The silence stung more than she’d expected. When a knock sounded at the door, her breath caught. For a second, she thought it might be him.
She hurried inside, changing into sothing sheer, sothing that scread I’m not hurting. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t Ethan—it was Celeb.
He didn’t knock. He had a key. After all, he had gotten her the apartnt, which ant he could walk in whenever he pleased.
The look in his eyes said everything. He was horny, and more than that, he was angry.
"You look like you were expecting soone else," Celeb muttered, a flicker of disappointnt in his voice.
"No, I wasn’t," she lied, voice flat.
"I’m pissed off," she added.
"So am I. Stef’s back in town, and my father called just to screw with my head," Celeb said, stepping closer. "I’m here to let off so steam."
"Then let’s get to it," Lucy said, slipping her dress to the floor.
They both knew what this was. Not love. Not even connection. Just bodies crashing, using each other to feel sothing, anything.
Celeb stripped off his shirt and strode toward her. She backed onto the couch, but he stopped her.
"Not there," he said, tugging her gently by the arm. "The sex sofa."
He bent her over it slowly, savoring the view—the way her back arched just right, the way her body opened for him. He pressed against her from behind, his arms wrapping around her waist.
"You’re tight tonight," he murmured. "Almost like you want sothing more than just sex."
"We could kiss," Lucy said softly. "Maybe you’re the one needing sothing deeper."
"Not really," Celeb said, brushing it off. "Now spread for ."
His thumb trailed between her thighs, finding her slick and eager. His fingers teased, coaxing her to the edge. On her belly, she had no control, he had all of it.
"Put it in already," she begged.
"Do it yourself."
Her hand moved between her legs, guiding him in. A moan ripped from her throat as he filled her.
Celeb let her adjust for a mont, then grabbed her hips and drove deeper, harder, picking up the pace until nothing else mattered
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