Chapter 95 up
“Excuse me.”
The sound of Selena’s heels stopped precisely behind Clark—sharp, controlled. She didn’t touch his shoulder. She didn’t say his name again. That single word was enough to make him turn.
“Ah—” Clark faltered when their eyes met. The smile he’d been wearing loosened for a fraction of a second, then snapped neatly back into place. “Sorry, do we… know each other?”
Elara stood at his side, her hand still looped through his arm. Her smile was polite, curious.
Selena raised one eyebrow. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly—not a smile, more like a thin cut.
“Not surprising,” she said lightly. “You’ve always been quick to forget.”
Clark chuckled, mistaking it for awkward social banter. “Then I suppose I owe you an introduction. Clark.”
“Selena.” She said her name without taking his offered hand. “We don’t have long. I just wanted to make sure… you’re doing well.”
Elara glanced at Selena, then at Clark. “An old friend?” she asked.
“You could say that,” Selena answered first. Her gaze never left Clark. “Very old.”
Clark nodded, trying to read the woman in front of him. Something unsettled him—the way Selena stood too straight, the way her calm felt rehearsed. Like someone who had been waiting a long time for this moment.
“Nice to meet you,” Clark said finally. “I hope—”
“You’re happy,” Selena cut in. “You look like you are.”
Clark glanced at Elara and smiled. “Yes. I—we—”
“Good,” Selena said. She stepped half a pace closer, just enough to make Clark straighten his shoulders. Her voice dropped, meant only for him. “You deserve it. A clean life.”
The word clean lingered, heavy.
Clark blinked. “I’m sorry?”
Selena tilted her head. “I was wondering,” she said softly. “Do you still party much?”
Elara laughed lightly. “Oh, Clark prefers quiet evenings now—”
“Easy,” Selena interrupted without looking at her. “I was asking Clark.”
Clark exhaled briefly. “No. That was a long time ago. People change.”
“Yes,” Selena nodded. “People change. Consequences don’t.”
Clark frowned. There was a tone he didn’t like. “If there’s an issue—”
“Oh, no.” Selena smiled thinly. “I didn’t come with an issue. I came with one simple question.”
She paused. Took a beat that stretched too long.
“Do you remember… the child you never once asked about?”
The air seemed to vanish from the room.
Clark froze. His professional smile collapsed completely. “What… what are you talking about?”
Elara stiffened. Her hand slipped from his arm. “Clark?”
Selena held his gaze. No explosion of anger. No raised voice. Just a cold, steady calm.
“You don’t need to pretend,” she said. “I’m not accusing you. I’m stating a fact.”
Clark swallowed hard. The words hit his chest from the inside. “Selena… we—this—”
“We what?” Selena cut in sharply. “Never talked about it? Or you chose not to listen?”
Elara stepped forward, confusion turning to fear. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Whose child?”
Clark opened his mouth, closed it again. His eyes darted back to Selena, a thin panic surfacing. “This isn’t the place.”
“You’re right,” Selena said. “Because no matter the place, you always found a reason.”
She finally looked at Elara, her gaze sharp, assessing. “Forgive me. This is old business. Very old. Before you.”
Elara went still, her face pale. “Clark?”
Clark lifted a hand, as if trying to hold something from collapsing. “Selena, please—”
“Relax,” Selena said gently. “I’m not asking for anything.”
She stepped back. The distance felt like a chasm.
“I just wanted you to know,” she continued, her voice low and even, “that there was a life that went on without you ever seeing it. Without your name. Without a single question from you.”
Clark shook his head, breath coming short. “I didn’t know. If I had known—”
“Everyone always doesn’t know,” Selena cut in. “It’s the favorite sentence.”
Elara stared at Clark, her eyes glossy. “You told me your past was finished.”
Clark closed his eyes briefly. “I… I thought—”
Selena let out a small breath. Not relief. Not sorrow. Like someone finally setting down a weight carried too long.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I didn’t come to ruin your life.”
Clark opened his eyes. “Then why?”
Selena leaned in just enough for him to hear every word.
“Because I want you to remember,” she whispered. “Not me. But what you never acknowledged.”
She turned and walked past them, her dress brushing softly as she moved. Before fully disappearing into the crowd, Selena stopped without looking back.
“And Clark,” she said, her voice flat, almost pleasant, “some nights will feel long. That’s normal. That’s the sound you used to avoid.”
She was gone.
Clark stood frozen. The music swelled again. Laughter rolled through the hall, bright and distant. Everything felt muffled, as if he were underwater.
Elara stared at him, waiting.
“Clark,” she said quietly.
He didn’t answer.
The words spun in his head, relentless, striking every carefully sealed corner of his life.
The child you never asked about.