Chapter 64 CHAPTER 64
Everybody is confused
The house was still thick with silence when Tessa finally spoke. She stood by the window now, the robe cinched tightly at her waist as though it were armor. Ares lingered near the door, his posture taut, his gaze locked on her profile.
Her words cut through the air, colder than the morning breeze seeping through the cracks.
“I think you should leave, Ares.”
He flinched almost imperceptibly, as if struck. “Leave?”
She turned to face him then, her eyes dark and stormy. “Yes. After everything… after last night… I can’t ignore what Ayisha said. You might be the enemy. You might have orchestrated this whole thing.”
Anger sparked across his face, but beneath it was a flicker of hurt he couldn’t mask. “You really believe I would kidnap my own children just to…what? Get into your bed? Manipulate you into forgiving me? For what exactly? You were the one that felt me…us! I told you I was going to fix it…”
“You only cared about yourself, Ares.” Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. Nothing makes sense. And until I’m sure… I can’t have you here.”
The words seemed to drain the air from the room. Ares’ jaw clenched, his fists curling at his sides. He wanted to fight her doubt, to shake her until she remembered who he was. But he also saw the fear in her eyes, the fragility barely holding her together.
With a harsh exhale, he nodded once. “Fine. I’ll go. But know this, Tessa…I would never hurt them. No matter what else you think of me, that is the truth.”
“You are not the father of my kids!” Tessa yelled. “Get out!”
Ares nodded, turned and walked out, the echo of the door shutting behind him reverberating through her chest like a death knell.
Ayisha had been restless since the confrontation. Ares’ denial rang true, yet suspicion clung stubbornly to her thoughts. And then there was Damien. The sudden silence from him, the unanswered calls and texts—it gnawed at her until she couldn’t take it anymore.
So, one gray afternoon, she found herself standing in front of a modest suburban home. A neat garden stretched across the yard, toys scattered on the grass, and the sound of laughter spilled faintly from inside.
Her pulse thundered as she rang the doorbell. When the door opened, her breath caught.
Damien stood there, but not the Damien she knew. This one wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, his arm slung around a petite woman with warm brown eyes. At their feet, two little children clung to his legs, giggling.
“Ayisha?” he said, shock flickering across his face. His smile faltered, replaced by an awkward grimace. “What are you doing here?”
Her world tilted. “Who… who are they?”
The woman smiled politely, oblivious to the storm raging inside Ayisha. “I’m his wife. And these are our kids.”
Wife. Kids.
The words hit Ayisha like stones. She stumbled back, her chest constricting. “You’re… married?”
Damien’s eyes darted, guilt flickering. “Ayisha, I can explain…”
But she was already shaking her head, tears blurring her vision. “No. Don’t. This…this was never real, was it? You were just...you just wanted to hit?”
She fought back tears. She thought deeper.
The realization sliced deeper than betrayal: Lady Bianca. Of course. The pieces fell into place with brutal clarity. Bianca had planted Damien in her path, knowing Ayisha’s loneliness, knowing she’d fall for the distraction. A deliberate wedge to pull her away from Tessa, to weaken them both.
Ayisha’s voice cracked as she whispered, “It was her, wasn’t it? Bianca put you up to this.”
Damien’s silence was all the confirmation she needed.
Choking back sobs, she spun and fled, his calls chasing her down the driveway. She didn’t stop until she was in her car, gripping the steering wheel with trembling hands.
“Bianca,” she spat, hatred igniting like wildfire. “You’ll pay for this. I’ll show you that I am the senior motherfucker.”
Meanwhile, Ares sat in the stark visiting room of the prison, he hunched forward, his hands steepled on the table. Across from him, Chloe walked in, clad in her orange jumpsuit, her hair pulled back, her face pale but still carrying that familiar sharpness.
When she saw him, her lips curved into a faint smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said flatly. “I am considering a divorce.”
She sat, folding her hands as though they were at dinner, not separated by bars and guards. “Furious or not, it means something that you’re here.”
“Did you hear me? I am considering a divorce.” Ares said again.
Chloe still ignored. Silence stretched between them. Then Chloe tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me, Ares… have you considered that maybe all of this isn’t what it seems?”
He stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“The kidnapping,” she said smoothly. “Everyone’s scrambling to point fingers at me, at your mother, at you, at God knows who. But what if it was Tessa all along?”
His eyes sharpened. “Tessa?”
“Yes,” Chloe pressed, her voice honeyed poison. “Think about it. She’s been fighting you at every turn. The courts gave her custody. The world is against her. What better way to gain sympathy and to keep you crawling back than to stage a kidnapping?”
Ares’ jaw clenched, anger warring with doubt. “She wouldn’t. She loves those children.”
“Loves them,” Chloe echoed, leaning closer. “But she also loves attention. And control. You said yourself you weren’t sure what she’s capable of. What if this was her way of pulling you back into her corner, into her orbit?”
The memory of the night they made love flashed unbidden: Tessa trembling beneath him, whispering his name, clinging to him as though he were her lifeline.
Could Chloe be right?
“No,” he muttered, though the certainty he wanted to feel wavered.
Chloe smiled faintly, satisfaction glinting in her eyes. “Just think about it, Ares. Sometimes the real enemy is the one closest to you.”
Her words lingered like a toxin as he rose and left, the walls of the prison echoing with the weight of suspicion she had planted.