Chapter 98 CHAPTER 98
The bitter truth
Silence swallowed the living room.
Even the air conditioner seemed to hush itself, its steady hum fading beneath the pulse of disbelief now filling the space.
Ares’s words lingered. “That’s impossible.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the denial in it was heavy enough to bend the air.
Chloe didn’t seem surprised. Her fingers rested beside the white stick on the glass table, the two faint pink lines glowing like a confession she could no longer swallow. Her face was pale, but her chin didn’t tremble.
Tessa stood slowly from her seat, her breath sharp and ragged. “You’re pregnant,” she said, her tone flat, as if repeating it might change the meaning.
Chloe nodded once. “Two weeks.”
Julian blinked, his brows drawn together. “You’re serious?”
Chloe looked at him, then at Ares, eyes clear. “Dead serious.”
Ares exhaled, long and controlled. He dragged a hand down his face, muttering, “No… that’s not possible.” He looked up sharply. “We haven’t…”
He stopped himself. His throat closed around the rest of the sentence.
Tessa’s eyes widened. “We haven’t what?”
Her voice cracked on the word, suspicion rising like smoke. “We haven’t what, Ares?”
He turned toward her. “We haven’t had sex before.”
Chloe’s lips parted slightly. “That’s not true.”
Tessa froze. Julian’s head jerked toward Chloe.
“What?” Ares’s tone dropped, cold now.
Chloe leaned back in the chair, her voice trembling but firm. “You came to me the night of the twins’ disappearance. You were drunk. You said you couldn’t sleep. You said everything felt like it was falling apart.” Her eyes softened, voice quieter. “You made love to me.”
Ares blinked once, then twice as if she’d spoken a foreign language. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I went to Tessa that night…I wanted her, I made love to her.”
“You did,” Chloe whispered. “Then you came to me too.”
Tessa’s jaw clenched. “She’s lying.”
Chloe’s gaze snapped toward her. “You think I’d lie about this? About carrying a child?”
Tessa scoffed. “You lie about literally any and everything.”
Julian stepped forward, his hand raised between them like a referee between two storms. “Hold up. We need proof. Arguing won’t solve it.”
Chloe looked him dead in the eye. “You want proof?”
She reached into her bag again and pulled out a small white envelope, tossing it onto the table beside the test. “I did a blood test yesterday morning. The hospital name’s there.”
Ares didn’t move. His eyes were locked on the envelope as though it might explode if he touched it.
Tessa’s voice cut through the stillness, low and trembling. “Even if she’s pregnant, that doesn’t mean it’s yours.”
Chloe turned her head slowly. “You sure you want to go there, Tessa? Why are you acting like his wife or someone he cares about? You’re just a God damned baby mama!”
The room tightened again.
Julian sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I think we all need air,” he said. “Maybe less air from this room and more from somewhere sane.”
But no one moved.
Ares finally reached out and picked up the envelope. His thumb slid under the flap, slow, reluctant. The paper made a soft tearing sound that felt louder than a scream.
He pulled out the folded sheet, eyes scanning it quickly. The hospital letterhead gleamed faintly under the ceiling light.
His gaze froze halfway down the page.
He read it twice. Then a third time.
Julian’s voice came, careful. “Ares?”
Ares lowered the paper slowly, his expression unreadable. “It’s positive,” he said quietly.
Tessa stepped back, shaking her head. “No… no, this can’t—”
Chloe watched him, searching his face for even the smallest sign of recognition, guilt, or tenderness. There was none. Just disbelief and exhaustion, layered like armor.
He folded the paper neatly and placed it back on the table. “We’ll do a paternity test.”
Chloe’s lips twitched into a brittle smile. “Of course.”
Tessa scoffed. “You mean when the baby’s born? So we all have to sit and pretend until then?”
Julian shot her a look. “Tessa.”
But she kept going, stepping closer to Chloe. “You’re desperate. That’s what this is. You lost your place, your name, your freedom. So you crawl back with the oldest trick in the book — a fake pregnancy. You think it’ll save you?”
Chloe’s hand trembled, but her voice didn’t. “You talk like someone who’s never been desperate before.”
Tessa laughed bitterly. “I’ve been desperate my entire life. I just never used a man’s seed as a lifeline.”
Julian’s hand hit the back of a chair. “Enough!” His voice cracked through the room like a whip. Both women went silent instantly.
He glanced at Ares. “You can’t let this turn into another war. Not now.”
Ares looked up, his eyes cold and far away. “It already has.”
For a moment, everyone just stood there — three adults bound by past sins, old loves, and a brand new mistake none of them could undo.
Then Ares turned to Faith, who had quietly reappeared by the stairs. “Take the kids to the other side of the mansion,” he said quietly. “Keep them there until I say otherwise.”
Faith nodded quickly and disappeared again.
Tessa crossed her arms, her voice brittle but trembling. “So what happens now?”
Ares didn’t answer immediately. He stared at the glass table where the pregnancy test lay — two faint pink lines, silent and cruel.
Finally, he said, “Now, we deal with the truth… no matter what it costs.”
Julian swallowed, watching him. “And if the truth breaks everything?”
Ares’s eyes met his. “Then at least it’ll break clean.”
“I think your parents will be happy I am carrying a real Langford.” Chloe said, rolling her eyes, looking at Tessa.