He went straight to the bassinet, staring at my baby as if time had stopped. His hands shook. “She… she looks exactly like me.”
The room went silent.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped.
He turned, panic written across his face. “Why didn’t you tell me she was a girl?”
I laughed bitterly. “Why would I tell you anything? You said the baby wasn’t yours.”
“That’s not—” He swallowed. “I thought you lost it. My fiancée told me you weren’t pregnant anymore.”
My chest tightened. “Your fiancée lied. Congratulations.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I invited you to the wedding because she insisted. She wanted proof you were gone. But when I told her you’d just given birth…” His voice cracked. “She lost it.”
Something shifted in the air.
“She screamed,” he went on. “Said the baby couldn’t exist. Then she fainted.”
I sat up slowly. “Daniel… what did you do?”
“I ran,” he said quietly. “Straight here.”
That was when his fiancée stormed in behind him, fury twisting her face as she pointed at my child and screamed words that froze every nurse in the room.
“THAT BABY IS DESTROYING MY LIFE!” Lauren Hayes shouted, her perfect hair ruined, mascara streaked down her cheeks.