The dining table was unusually quiet. Well—almost quiet. One person seed to be in an annoyingly good mood.
"Ahhh, oh my God, that is so funny! I don’t know why people hate Love Island—it’s all about drama, lies, and fake people pretending to be in love."
She laughed again, completely unaware of the irony.
Across the table, Daisy clenched her fork so tightly it looked like she might throw it at Alia just to escape the noise.
Eliana noticed and quickly stepped in. "Co on, honey. The school bus is here."
She helped Daisy down from her seat, but the girl didn’t stop glaring at Alia. Alia caught it, squinting suspiciously at her, then glanced under her chair and around the table like she expected sothing—or soone—to lunge at her.
Once Daisy was out of the room, Alia turned back to say sothing to Kieran, but he stood up without a word and walked out of the dining room.
Genesis, who hadn’t touched her food, watched her husband leave. Her hand tightened around the edge of the table. She wanted to follow him—but didn’t. She knew sothing was wrong. Normally, Kieran would’ve urged her to eat more, gently teasing her. But today, he ate in silence and left like she wasn’t even there.
Still, she didn’t move. In her heart, she felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. He was the one who brought another woman into their ho—pregnant.
"Whoa, what’s with our husband today?" Alia asked, and Genesis shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. She didn’t even spare Alia a glance. Instead, she stood up and walked away.
She had other things to focus on. lissa was coming over for tutoring today—and it was her big test. The one that would determine if she was ready to enter the final year of high school.
Alia smirked. "Hmm. What’s wrong with everyone today?"
Her eyes landed on Donald, who was still seated. She watched as he calmly wiped his mouth, then turned toward her.
"You’ll be coming with to the hospital," he said.
Alia froze. "And why would I do that?"
"If I rember correctly," Donald said, his tone sharp, "I told you I’d be confirming if that child in your stomach really belongs to my son."
Alia bit her lip hard. "Y-Yeah... I rember."
Donald stood up, nodding. "Good, get ready. I’ll be waiting outside. And don’t bother trying to co up with an excuse—you won’t like what I’ll do if you try. Understood?"
She didn’t answer. She just swallowed hard.
Donald left the room without looking back. Alia looked pale as she slowly pushed her plate away.
Joy and Cady imdiately stepped in to clear the table. They exchanged a glance, both watching as Alia left the room—quietly, without her usual dramatic flair.
Joy turned to Cady. "That brat is so not pregnant. Let’s see what lie she pulls out now."
They carried the dishes into the kitchen and imdiately shared what they overheard with the others.
Mia’s eyes lit up. "I have an idea, guys. You know every room in this house has a cara, right?"
Katherine sat up straighter. "It does?"
The girls all stared at her.
Cady sighed. "Yes, Kat. Try to keep up."
Mia continued, "I bet she’s wearing a fake belly. She just went to her room—we should check the feed from her cara. If we can catch her in the act, we can expose her. Then Knight and Genesis can finally be together again."
Joy nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Did you notice how they didn’t even talk this morning? Kieran’s usually such a simp for her—so doting and sweet—but today? Nothing."
"I think Knight’s finally taking the reins," Cady said.
"About ti."
"Anyway, let’s go check."
But Joy stopped them. "We’ve got two problems."
"What problems?" Katherine asked.
"One, there’s no cara in the bathroom."
"And why would there be?" Katherine replied, scandalized. "That’s insane."
"I know, I know," Joy said, holding up her hands. "But even if I hate that brat, I’ll admit she’s clever. She probably changes her fake bump in the bathroom."
Cady cursed under her breath. "Okay, and the second problem?"
"How do we get past the n stationed in the security room? You know they don’t allow anyone to access the feeds. Not even each other."
Everyone fell quiet for a mont.
Then Cady spoke up, firm and confident. "Guys. Have we all forgotten? We’re not just maids—we’re angels. We’re here to intervene in situations like this. And if we explain it to one of the guards, I’m sure they’ll understand."
Mia nodded. "You’re right. But what if we still don’t see anything?"
Cady was already moving to the door. "Then once she leaves with Donald, we sneak into her room and look for proof."
"That’s smart."
"Genius."
"And if we find a fake bump, I’m kicking her ass."
" too."
****
Genesis sat quietly in her chair, gazing out the window when a sudden tap on her shoulder made her jump. She flinched hard, nearly toppling the chair.
"Calm down, dear. It’s just ," lissa said gently.
Genesis relaxed the mont she saw it was her tutor. lissa walked in, set her bag on the desk, then turned around to lean against it, arms crossed, eyes filled with concern.
"How are you doing, Genesis?"
For a mont, Genesis just stared at her, tears shimring in her eyes. Then, without a word, she dropped her head onto lissa’s thighs and began to cry. lissa imdiately bent down, cupping her face and lifting it gently.
"Talk to ."
Genesis lifted her head slowly, tears streaming down her cheeks. With trembling fingers, she began to sign everything to lissa—every emotion, every detail, even the kiss with Jaden. lissa watched silently, not interrupting once, her expression calm.
When Genesis finally stopped, lissa knelt down in front of her and said softly, "Look at ."
Genesis wiped her face and t her eyes.
"You do know Kieran loves you, right? He absolutely adores you."
Genesis dropped her face into her hands, overco with sha.
lissa’s tone grew firr. "And you did nothing wrong. That guy kissed you. You didn’t ask for it. He stole that mont."
A voice cut through the room, sharp and furious.
"What guy?"
They both froze.
Genesis’s head snapped up, and her heart dropped into her stomach. Behind them, standing at the doorway with his jaw clenched and eyes burning, was Kieran.
Genesis went pale—paler than a ghost. Her heart slamd against her ribs, and for a second, it felt like the room lost all its air.
Kieran’s gaze locked on hers, burning.
All hell was about to break loose.
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