Chapter 80 Paternity Test Results
Sophia's bright and beautiful starry eyes clouded with confusion. The way she looked at William was filled with incomprehension, as if he'd been possessed by someone else.
"Why are you suddenly being so nice to Emily?"
Meeting the suspicion in her eyes, William felt like he was being shoved into a sealed space, the air being squeezed out, making it harder and harder to breathe.
"Sophia, I just wanted to buy the kid some little toys."
William's tone was casual, as if those priceless luxury items were just trinkets picked up from the roadside, nothing worth mentioning.
Sophia's tone was cold, almost heartless. "Expensive gemstones, haute couture dresses—these are just little toys to you?"
Her eyes were full of scrutiny. "William, you're making such a big show of this. What exactly are you trying to do?"
William's chest ached as he stared at Sophia seriously. "Is this really what you think of me?"
Sophia didn't answer, but he felt even more suffocated.
William took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the subtle bitterness in his heart, and suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them.
His cool and noble aura, carrying a heart-trembling dominance, along with that faint smile of complete control at the corner of his mouth, slowly revealed a secret that made Sophia's heart suddenly tighten.
"Emily is my daughter, isn't she?"
From the day they reunited, this secret had become a knife hanging over Sophia's head.
William only needed to blow on it, and the blade, sharpened over two years, would easily cut the rope holding the secret.
Perhaps because she'd imagined William's reaction a thousand times in her mind, when she actually heard William's question, Sophia's heart became calm instead.
After five years of secret marriage, she understood William's style of doing things.
William never fought unprepared battles.
When he asked this question, he must have already made other preparations.
Maybe...
Their samples were already on the desk at a paternity testing agency right now!
Thinking of William's series of actions today, she suddenly laughed out loud, drawing William's attention.
William was puzzled. "What are you laughing at?"
Sophia looked up at his deep eyes and sneered, "William, just how confident are you to think that I would have your daughter after divorcing you?"
A sharp pain shot through his heart!
William felt the air around him getting thinner and thinner.
It was as if an invisible rope was wrapping around his neck, loop after loop, tightening more and more, making it hard to breathe.
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and take Emily's hair for testing. See if she's really your daughter or not, William."
The ease in Sophia's voice made it impossible for him to maintain his surface calm. His hand clenched and unclenched, his gaze fixed on her eyes.
"Whether Emily is my daughter or not, I'll be good to her. Sophia, we..."
Before he could finish, Sophia cut him off.
"William, there's no such thing as 'we' between us anymore. You are you, I am me. Apart from being the child's parents, there's nothing else. Do you understand?"
William's expression remained as cool and composed as ever, but his slightly stiff fingers still betrayed his inner turmoil.
William's five fingers clenched tight, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.
No matter how much he tried to hide it, he still couldn't block the impact of Sophia's words on him. The tightness in his chest grew worse and worse.
"Whether Emily is my daughter or not, we'll know tomorrow."
William's usually cool and detached voice carried a barely noticeable hint of anticipation and longing.
His eyes stared intently at hers, trying to find the answer he hoped for in the depths of her pupils, but he saw her lower her eyes.
Sophia thought to herself: Just as I suspected—William really did do a paternity test!
She couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. Emily was practically a miniature version of herself, with few similarities to William.
When exactly did he start to suspect?
But fortunately...
"Sophia, I know you're resistant to me, but if Emily really is my daughter, you can't let a child grow up without a father."
This statement hit her right where it hurt.
Even if Sophia could give Emily enough maternal love, what if she longed for a father's love, too?
Her eyes showed a moment of shock, and her breathing skipped a beat.
Sophia responded coolly, "Save those words for after you see the results and figure out if you're even qualified to say them to me."
She pushed open the study door and left, leaving him with a cold, indifferent back.
The study, now quiet again, held only William. His lips were pressed tightly together, his gaze slowly rising to land on the photo frame on the desk.
It was a Polaroid of Sophia and the three children.
That day was also at the Johnson Villa. William had come to pick up the three children and happened to run into them taking a group photo.
Even he couldn't explain why he had walked into the frame at that moment.
He could have clearly waited outside the door for them to finish.
But William had somehow ended up in the shot.
Later, he'd even taken the family portrait Emily gave him, framed it, and placed it on his office desk at the company.
Right next to the family portrait that had been there for six years.
When William came downstairs, the dazzling array of luxury gift boxes in the living room had already been properly put away by Allan.
The crown and bracelet Emily had been wearing had been tossed onto the sofa early on, and she'd turned to play with toy cars with James and Michael.
The watches, being sibling sets, were still on the children's wrists. They'd occasionally hold them up to compare, their movements childish and adorable.
"I'll have someone send those things back to the Smith Mansion."
William frowned. "Sophia, I'm not short on money. These are all gifts from my heart for the children."
She looked up. "I'll give you cash for them."
In other words, she didn't want to owe him any favors. Seeing through this, William's eyes darkened.
"What are you afraid of?"
He keenly sensed the real thoughts behind her actions. "What else are you hiding from me?"
Sophia's whole body stiffened!
She turned her face away and gave a cold laugh, asking back, "What do you think I could be hiding from you?"
Their conversation ended there.
Afterward, William kept playing games with the three children, his gaze unconsciously falling on Emily's face.
The way Emily focused intently on playing with her toy car was exactly like her mother when she was working.
Fragments of certain post-marriage scenes flashed through William's mind.
Strange yet distant.
The house had a dedicated chef to prepare three meals a day, but Sophia would often make some snacks or cook soup, waiting for him to come home from work.
On the few occasions he came home early, he could see her busy figure in the kitchen, her eyes focused and serious.
Realizing his thoughts had been drawn to Sophia again, William's hand, which had just retrieved Emily's toy car, froze. His rationality suddenly returned.
He always felt there was a dark door in his mind, and he was standing right in front of it.
He only needed to reach out and push it open to find the reason and answer for his emotional ups and downs lately.
Emily reached for the toy car in William's hand, but couldn't grab it. She looked at him in confusion. "William?"
The child's voice called back William's wandering attention. "I'm here."
He placed the toy car on the ground, and Emily immediately manipulated the remote control in her hand, driving the toy car around wildly.
Seeing Emily's fearless and bold driving style with the toy car, Sophia couldn't help but think of William driving a certain time many years ago.
That time, the two of them had also parted on bad terms. Thinking of this, her expression grew two degrees colder.
The next morning.
When the sun rose slowly, William had already received the freshly issued paternity test report.
The envelope had been sitting on the desk in front of him for a long time, but he still hadn't opened it. Anticipation mixed with anxiety, fear mixed with unwillingness.
Just then.
The guest room door was pushed open from the outside.