"What happened? Don't you know best? Why are you pretending to be innocent now?"
Deanna gritted her teeth and shouted, pushing Lance away forcefully.
Caught off guard, Lance stumbled back a few steps and hit the wall.
He stared at Deanna, bewildered.
Deanna glared at him, tears blurring her vision. "You knew the truth all along. Why didn't you tell me? No wonder you never found the child's father when I asked you to investigate. Was it fun to deceive me and watch me struggle alone?"
Lance finally understood why Deanna had been acting strangely these past days.
"Did Bella tell you this?" he asked hoarsely.
Besides Bella, he couldn't think of anyone else.
After all, Deanna had only met with that woman alone.
Deanna didn't deny it. "Yes, she told me. If it weren't for her, you would have kept lying to me!"
Lance gave a bitter smile.
He had suspected something was wrong when Deanna started distancing herself from him.
Now that his suspicion was confirmed, he felt a mix of relief and anxiety.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I just didn't know how to tell you, so I kept delaying," Lance tried to explain.
He looked at Deanna sincerely. "I know what you've been through these past five years. You told me you wanted to find children's biological father because they needed one, but I don't wish to be just children's father. I want you and our children to accept me from your hearts. I wanted to make it up to you."
But Deanna wasn't listening.
The anger from being deceived and the indelible scars from the past made her lose control of her emotions.
"I don't need it. If you really wanted to make it up to me, you should have told me the truth as soon as you found out!"
Deanna glared at Lance, gritting her teeth. "Don't worry. I may not be capable, but I've raised the children alone all these years. I don't need you to take responsibility. From now on, stay away from me and my children!"
With that, Deanna turned to leave.
Lance couldn't let her go like that.
He knew that if he let Deanna leave now, it would be even harder to explain and gain her forgiveness later.
"Don't go. Let me finish!"
Lance grabbed Deanna's wrist and pulled her back forcefully.
Deanna lost her balance and fell into his arms.
Seeing this, Lance held her tightly.
Deanna smelled his unique scent and froze for a moment before struggling. "Let go of me!"
But no matter how hard she struggled, his grip was like iron, making it impossible for her to break free.
In the end, she glared at him with red eyes.
"Lance, what do you want?"
"Just listen to me calmly, and I'll let you go," Lance said calmly compared to Deanna's agitation.
Deanna glared at him angrily but remained silent.
Lance looked at her with affection and helplessness. "I'll take your silence as agreement."
He paused before continuing.
"I never intended not to take responsibility or found it difficult. If I did, I would have stopped seeing you after learning the truth. I wouldn't have bought so many things for the children or visited them every day after work."
Deanna couldn't refute this and bit her lip tightly, but her expression softened a bit.
Even a slight change didn't escape Lance's notice.
He pressed on. "As for why I didn't tell you, I already said I didn't know how to. You are the biggest victim in this matter. You even lost your mother because of it. I was afraid you'd blame me and hate me. I didn't dare take that risk. So I wanted to take it slow, let you accept me first, then tell you everything."
Upon hearing this, Deanna's gaze towards Lance became complicated.
In fact, he wasn't wrong about one thing.
In the past, she had hated the man who ruined her.
If it weren't for him, none of the subsequent events would have happened.
But now... she understood.
That man was also a victim like her. The one she should hate was the mastermind behind it all.