Chapter 110 #28: You Chose FOR Me
“What the hell did you do?” David asks again, quieter this time, but the edge is still there.
Nora blinks once, slow, like she’s processing the question through post-orgasm fog. Then understanding dawns and her expression shutters. She pushes at his chest, just hard enough to make space. He lets her have it, rolling to the side so she can sit up, the sheet pooling around her waist. She doesn’t bother covering herself.
“What are you talking about?” she asks, her voice dangerously even.
He reaches for the phone, thumbs the screen awake, and holds it so she can see the missed call log. PI Lab Results. Three attempts in the last four minutes, then the text that came through right after the final ring.
He turns the screen toward her.
《Preliminary analysis complete. No match. Paternity probability 0.00%. Full report emailed.》
Her face doesn’t change after she finished reading it. Not even a flicker. But he knows her too well. The slight tightening at the corners of her mouth, the way her chin lifts half an inch... that’s her tell. She’s steeling herself.
“You did something,” he says. It isn’t a question. “Tell me what it was.”
She meets his gaze without flinching. “I don’t know what you’re–”
“Don’t!” The word comes out harsher than he intends. He softens it on the next breath. “Don’t lie to me. You tampered with the test.”
“Why do you care, anyway?” she asks, throwing off the blankets and putting her underwear back on.
“Why...” David breathes the word out like he can’t believe they even came out of her mouth. “Because she could be my daughter, that’s fucking why! And if she is I deserve to know!”
For a long moment she says nothing.
“Not everything has to be about you, David,” she says quietly. “Here you are still playing whatever game this is... silent partner, investor, ex-husband who suddenly wants back in. Lucy is safe and she’s happy. She has a life that doesn’t include your chaos. I won’t let you drag her into it.”
“My chaos?” he repeats, incredulous. “You think I want to hurt her? You think I’d ever–”
“I think you’re selfish" she cuts in, her voice raising, “I think you make decisions for other people without asking. I think you decided Lucian’s life wasn’t worth the risk to mine, and you took that choice away from me, and made live with the consequences of YOUR choice. You made me wake up every day knowing my son was gone because you wouldn’t even let me try to save him.”
“Nora...”
“No!” She swings her legs over the side of the bed, stands, and starts gathering clothes with sharp, economical movements. “You don’t get to say my name like that right now. You obviously still don’t understand.”
He stands too. “Then fucking explain it to me! Because from where I’m standing, I chose the woman I loved over a baby we hadn’t even met yet. I chose you because the thought of losing you–”
“You didn’t choose me!” she shouts, spinning to face him. Her eyes are bright with tears she refuses to let fall. “You chose FOR me, that’s the fucking difference! You decided my life was more valuable than his without ever asking if I agreed. You took my voice, David. You took my right to fight for my child. And when the doctors told me the damage was done, when they told me I’d probably never carry another baby, you stood there and told me we’d be okay like that fucking fixes everything!”
David is remains quiet even after she stops talking, knowing she isn’t done yet.
Nora sucks in a deep, calming breath and continues, “I had your mother breathing down my neck, throwing woman after woman at you, but I endured it all cause I wanted us to make it work. And the worst part... the worst part is that you cheated on me with the very woman you swore you had no interest in.”
He freezes, his brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
She turns away from him, rolling her eyes. “Don’t fucking play dumb with me.”
David grabs her arm before she can take a single step. “I’m not playing dumb. I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about, Nora. I never cheated on you.”
She laughs bitterly. “I saw you. I walked into our favourite coffee shop and saw you with Maya when you told me you were at work. You were holding her hand across the table, laughing with her the way you hadn’t laughed with me in months.”
He let’s out a loud laugh, his shoulder shaking hard.
“Well I’m glad you find my pain so amusing.” Nora says through clenched teeth.
“No no, I’m sorry,” he says, voice rough with laughter. “But that wasn’t at all what you think. Maya and I were set up by Elaine. She lied to both of us, telling her that I was interested in a date, while telling me that I was to meet a Junior analyst from Reid Global for a business meeting. Only reason Maya came along was to tell me she wasn’t interested and that she had a boyfriend. We were laughing because the whole thing was absurd.”
Nora stares at him, breathing shallow. “You’re lying.”
David takes a step closer.
“I was selling my shares, Nora," he says softly. "I had buyers lined up for every major stake. The paperwork was all ready, baby. I was going to hand you the keys to a house I bought in Santorini, and tell you we were done with New York, done with the pressure of Reid Global, and everything that was holding us back.” His thumb brushes her cheek softly. “The very day I planned to tell you was the day you handed me those divorce papers.”
“But what about your engagement announcement?” Nora asks, shaking her head. “What are the chances you conveniently fell for her after we got a divorce.”
“All a ploy to get you jealous, baby,” he let’s out a low chuckle. “One I think worked quite well.”
She shakes her head again, tears finally spilling over. “I saw you with her. I saw the way you looked at her while I was grieving our son. I was terrified I’d never give you the heir everyone wanted... and I thought you were already replacing me because of it.”
“I was never replacing you.” He closes the distance, cups her face in both hands. She lets him. “There has never been anyone else. Not before you. Not after you. Not Maya. Not anyone.”
Her hands come up to grip his wrists. “Then why didn’t you fight for me? When I handed you those papers, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was broken.” The admission tastes like ash. “I’d just chosen to let our son die to save you, and you looked at me like I’d murdered him myself. I thought if I fought you, if I begged, I’d only make it worse. So I let you go. And then I let the company go too, then disappeared for a while. I thought maybe distance would fix what I broke.”
She closes her eyes. “It didn’t.”
“No,” he whispers. “It didn’t.”
His phone buzzes again on the nightstand, but again, he ignores it.
“I’m sorry,” he tells her, thumbs brushing away the tears on her cheeks. “I know apologies don’t fix this. I know I can never give Lucian back. I know I stole your choice and left you to carry the weight alone. But I swear to you, Nora, every move I’ve made since you walked out that door has been about trying to make it right. I just want you to tell me one thing.”
“What’s that?” she whispers, opening her red-rimmed eyes.
“Is she mine?”
The room goes silent for a while. And the phone vibrates again insistently. This time he glances at it.
Maya.
He hesitates.
Nora follows his gaze. “Answer it.”
“I don’t want–”
“Answer it,” she repeats, firmer. “It could be important. I promise we'll talk after, and I’ll tell you the whole truth.”
He picks up the phone and hits accept.
Maya’s voice comes through before he can speak. “David, thank God. Listen to me very carefully. Shadow’s people are moving tonight. They know the ledger is gone from the box. They’re coming for you both. They think Nora still has–”
The sound of a fist pounding on the motel door cuts her off. Nora goes still beside him as he lowers the phone slowly.
The pounding comes again, louder this time.
Then a low voice filters through the thin wood. “Open the door, Mr. Reid. We know she’s in there. We just want to talk for a bit.”
Nora’s hand finds his and squeezes once, hard. He looks at her. She looks back. And in that single shared glance they both understand the same thing.
They found them.