Chapter 10 010
EMILY
I knew I was in trouble the second Zara turned those big blue eyes on Ryan.
It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t something I could pretend away or convince myself I was imagining. It hit me all at once, sharp and undeniable, like stepping into cold water without warning.
She looked too much like him.
The same tilt of the head when she was curious, chin dipping just slightly as if she were studying the world instead of simply seeing it. The same slow smile, hesitant at first, like she was testing the ground beneath her feet before committing, and then suddenly bright and fearless. And those eyes. God. Those impossible blue eyes that had once made my heart stutter every single time Ryan looked at me like I was the only woman in the room.
The resemblance wasn’t poetic. It wasn’t sweet.
It was dangerous.
My pulse roared in my ears, loud and erratic, drowning out the music, the laughter, and the low hum of expensive conversations around us. I tightened my grip on Zara’s hand like holding her harder might somehow rewrite biology. Like if I squeezed enough, I could erase genetics, erase history, and erase him.
“We have to go,” I said.
The words came out sharper than I meant them to, slicing clean through the moment.
Zara frowned up at me, confusion clouding her face. “But Mommy, we just got here.”
Her voice was small, laced with disappointment. That soft, careful tone she used when she didn’t understand why the world was suddenly changing rules on her.
I forced a smile that felt like it might crack my face clean in half. “I know, baby. But we need to leave. Right now.”
Her lower lip trembled, the familiar warning sign that usually had me kneeling in front of her, soothing, explaining, promising treats or bedtime stories. Tonight, I didn’t have the luxury.
I was already moving.
I tugged her gently but firmly toward the exit, heels clicking too loudly against the marble floor.
I kept my head high, my shoulders back, and my breathing controlled. Short, measured breaths so I wouldn’t unravel right here under crystal chandeliers and a thousand watchful eyes.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I said over my shoulder, not daring to look back at Ryan or Frederick.
I didn’t want to see Ryan’s face. Didn’t want to know if he was watching us. Didn’t want to see recognition bloom in his eyes the way terror was blooming in my chest.
We were almost to the front doors.
Almost free.
Then a familiar voice stopped me cold.
“Wait, wait, wait. Where’s the pretty lady going?”
My stomach dropped straight to my feet.
Aaron.
Ryan’s best friend since forever stood directly in our path, arms crossed casually, tuxedo immaculate, that easy grin plastered on his face like we were still all one big, uncomplicated group. Like nothing had just cracked open beneath my feet.
I swallowed hard. “Oh… Aaron. Hi.”
My voice wobbled despite my effort to steady it. Zara shifted closer to me, sensing something she couldn’t name.
“There’s been an emergency,” I added quickly. “I have to leave.”
He rolled his eyes, unimpressed. “An emergency?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back slightly, blocking the path without even trying. “Are you really leaving because of him?”
“Of course not,” I said too fast.
His eyebrow lifted. “So you’d just come to a party dressed like that,” he gestured vaguely at me, “with your gorgeous little girl, and not meet the investors you were supposed to meet tonight?”
I froze.
The air left my lungs in one sharp, painful rush. My stomach twisted violently.
“Wait,” I said slowly. “You’re the investor?”
He nodded once. Slow. Deliberate. “Yes, Emily. Me.”
Something hot and furious bloomed in my chest, flaring bright and reckless. I glared at him so hard I thought my eyes might actually burn through his tuxedo.
“Is this a plan?” I snapped. “You and your friend teaming up to mess with me? Haven’t I paid enough for what I did? Do you really need to punish me too, Aaron?”
The smile slid off his face.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, his gaze dropped to Zara.
She had slipped behind my legs now, peeking out cautiously from behind my thigh. Her fingers fisted the fabric of my dress, knuckles pale.
“Hi, princess,” Aaron said softly.
Zara pressed her face into the back of my leg, hiding completely.
Aaron didn’t push. He didn’t crouch or tease or demand attention. He just straightened slowly and looked back at me.
“Does Ryan know?” he asked quietly.
My spine stiffened. I narrowed my eyes. “He doesn’t have to.”
Aaron’s expression sharpened. “Why not?”
Before I could answer, before I could form a lie strong enough to stand, a familiar voice came from right behind me.
“Why don’t I have to know?”
My heart stopped.
I turned slowly, every muscle in my body tight with dread.
Ryan stood there with his hands tucked into his pockets, shoulders squared, and jaw set. His eyes were locked on mine, intense and searching, like he was already putting together pieces I had spent years carefully keeping apart.
“Ryan…” My voice cracked on his name.
“Why don’t I have to know?” he repeated. “I have the right.”
I shook my head weakly. “We… we’re not together anymore, Ryan.”
“And that proves what?” he shot back.
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. The calmness of it cut deeper than shouting ever could.
Zara’s small hand squeezed mine tighter. I felt her confusion, her unease, like static buzzing through my bones.
“What do you want from me?” I whispered.
Exhaustion bled into every syllable. I was tired of running. Tired of pretending. Tired of carrying this alone.
Ryan took one step closer.
Not threatening. Not aggressive. Just close enough that I could smell him. Cedar and clean cotton. The same cologne he’d worn since college. The scent dragged memories to the surface I had buried so deep I’d convinced myself they were gone.
He looked at me for a long moment.
Long enough that the room faded away.
Then he said it.
“A DNA test.”