Chapter 132 CHAPTER 132
The Man
The church was no longer sacred.
It was loud, trembling with whispers, fear, and confusion. The priest had stepped back from the altar, clutching his Bible like a shield, and every head in the room was turned toward Tessa and the stranger standing at the door.
Richard stood tall, angry but not wild. His eyes were fixed on Tessa, steady, accusing, filled with years of something that looked like pain and rage knotted together.
Tessa looked like she could barely breathe. Her lips trembled as the silence settled again, heavy and choking.
Ares scoffed.
“What is he talking about?”
Tessa swallowed hard, her knees almost buckling. “Ares… please… I don’t…I don’t even know…”
Richard cut in sharply. “Don’t lie to him, Tessa. Not here. Not today. Not in front of everyone.”
Julian stepped forward again, placing himself between them. “You can’t just walk into a wedding and…”
“Julian, let him talk,” Ares said, his eyes never leaving Tessa. His tone made Julian stop immediately.
Tessa turned to Ares, her tears falling freely now. “Ares, I swear, I don’t know who this man is. I’ve never…”
Richard laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “Never? You never?” He took another step closer, his shoes echoing across the marble floor. “Tessa, you think I don’t remember? That night at the party, eight years ago. Hotel Platinum. You came in crying, drunk, said you wanted to forget everything. You remember now?”
The air left Tessa’s lungs in a rush. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t speak.
Ares’ expression hardened. “Tessa, answer him.”
Tessa shook her head frantically. “Ares, please… It was years ago. I don’t even remember that night clearly! I was lost, broken, I…”
“So you do remember him,” Lady Bianca interrupted, her voice slicing through like glass. She leaned forward in her seat beside Lila, eyes burning with cold amusement. “You just said it. You remember.”
“Mom,” Julian hissed, glaring at her, “please stop.”
But Bianca didn’t. She fanned herself slowly, eyes gleaming. “Well, it explains a lot, doesn’t it? The timing. The doubts. The children’s resemblance.”
Tessa spun toward her, voice cracking. “How dare you!”
“How dare you,” Bianca shot back. “You humiliated this family! The biggest mistake is bringing you and those kids home eight years ago.”
“Enough!” Ares barked.
The entire hall went silent again. Even the children in Dorcas’ arms froze, wide-eyed.
Ares’ breathing was uneven now. He looked between Tessa and Richard like he was trying to see through both of them, to catch whoever was lying.
“Tell me the truth,” he said finally, his voice hoarse. “Did you sleep with him?”
Tessa’s tears came harder. “I don’t know!”
“You don’t know?” His tone was disbelieving, his anger barely contained.
“I don’t remember that night clearly, Ares!” she cried. “It was one night, just one stupid, meaningless night! I was drunk, I was hurt, I didn’t even see his face properly! It was dark, it was raining, I don’t even know if it’s him!”
Richard’s jaw clenched. “Oh, it’s me.”
“Shut up!” Tessa screamed, trembling. “You don’t know what I went through that night. You don’t know anything about me!”
Ares’ voice was quiet, almost whispering now, but each word cut deep. “So there’s a chance… that what he’s saying is true.”
Tessa shook her head violently. “No—yes—I don’t know!”
The confusion was eating her alive. She could feel everyone staring—Ayisha, Julian, LadyBianca, Chloe, even Lila who sat frozen, wide eyed. The shame, the disbelief, the fear was too much.
Ayisha rushed to her side, grabbing her trembling hands. “Tess, breathe. You don’t owe anyone an explanation right now. Just breathe, okay?”
Tessa broke into sobs, clinging to her. “Ayisha, I swear, I never thought this would happen… I thought that night was gone forever. I never wanted to remember it.”
Julian turned to him, furious. “Do you have proof? Any at all? Because walking in here and saying words means nothing.”
Richard’s lips twitched. “DNA test.”
Gasps again.
Ares froze. “You did a DNA test?”
Richard nodded. “I hired a private investigator. Collected a sample from one of the kids’ toys when they were out with their nanny two months ago. The results came last week. 99.8 percent match.”
The hall exploded in noise, screams, gasps, whispers, people turning toward each other in disbelief.
Tessa stumbled backward, clutching her stomach. “No… no, no, no…”
Ares’ face went white. He looked like the ground had vanished beneath him. “You… you tested my kids?”
“They’re not your kids,” Richard said coldly.
“Shut up!” Ares roared, lunging forward before Julian and two ushers grabbed him. The fury in his eyes could’ve burned through steel. “You don’t walk into my life, my wedding, and say something like that!”
Richard didn’t flinch. “You should’ve known the truth before making another mistake.”
Tessa screamed, “Stop it! Both of you!” Her voice cracked, echoing through the church. “This is not the place—please—”
But no one was listening.
Lady Bianca stood now, her voice trembling but proud. “This marriage cannot continue. Not with such filth.”
“Mom!” Julian shouted, trying to quiet her, but she ignored him.
“I warned you, Ares,” she said, her tone rising. “I warned you not to get entangled with this girl again. Look where we are now, humiliation in front of God, in front of everyone!”
Tessa’s sobs grew louder. She turned, looking for a face that wasn’t judging her—Ayisha, maybe, but even Ayisha was pale, shaken, speechless.
She saw Chloe by the other side, almost laughing.
“I didn’t know,” Tessa whispered, almost to herself. “I didn’t know. I swear on my life, I didn’t know.”
Julian’s voice broke through the tension finally, firm but calm. “We need to end this. Now. Everyone out. This isn’t the place for any of this.”
But no one moved.
Richard crossed his arms. “I’m not leaving until she admits the truth.”
Tessa turned to him, her voice hoarse and raw. “What truth do you want? That I was drunk? That I was heartbroken? That I made one mistake eight years ago and it’s come back to destroy everything I love?”
Richard’s face softened for the first time. “I just want to know my kids.”
Tessa’s eyes burned. “You had eight years to look for them.”
“I tried,” he said quietly. “You disappeared.”