Chapter 2
Hector and I turned toward the voice.
The person who entered was none other than Gemma Walker, Hector’s child od friend and close companion.
She threw a stack of photos heavily in front of me, her voler sharp as she should at
“A few days ago, I was at that hotel for a business meeting and happened to se you entering with a man.”
Tve been troubled about how to tell Hector and hesitated for two days before deciding to come here today.”
“And now I find out you’re pregnant?
Hector let go of me and picked up the scattered photos from the
he floor, one by one.
ne more pronounced.
His expression grow darker with each passing moment, and the trembling in his hand holding the photos became
Moments later, he fling the stack of photos hard at my face.
“This is what you call innocent?”
“Tell me, who is this man?
“You really are something else, Celeste
Hector’s roar was so loud it felt like my eardrums would burst. Panicking, I grabbed the photos scattered on the floor to check them
They indeed showed me with another man, and the actions in the photos appeared to be quite intimate.
There was a picture of him giving me a gift, another of him shielding me from encoming traffic as we entered the hotel, and even one of him wiping my mouth while we dined at a restaurant.
Tquickly looked up at Hector, whose face had turned ashen.
“Hector, that’s my brother–it’s my biological brother.”
“He just returned to the country two days ago. I went to pick him up and take him to the hotel.”
“I wanted to tell you and have you come with me, but you’ve been so busy with work these days that I didn’t get a chance to talk to you.”
Before Hector could respond, Gemma interjected eagerly.
“What a joke! You say he’s your brother, and we’re just supposed to believe it?
“Everyone knows your family has been living abroad for years. Why would your brother suddenly come back without any reason?”
“And even if Hector was busy with work, couldn’t you have just made a phone call?”
I froze, recalling how I had learned about my brother’s return at the last mine. I did try calling Hector several times.
But after my calls kept getting rejected, I was worried about being late to pick up my brother, so I went on my own.
1 stumped to the floor, looking up at Hector.
Tcalled you, Hector. I called several times, but you rejected all of them”
“It’s true, Hertor. Everything I said is true.”
“You must have the call logs on your phone. Check them
The more I spoke, the deeper Hector’s frown became.
He pulled out his phone and threw it hard onto the floor in front of me
The Affair My Glue Their Screams at 2 AM.
Do yoursin check if there are any call logel”
¿Céleste evenDove you’re will trying to Ur your veny not of thi
Five yeari together, and I never realized just how disgusting you could be.”
My hands trembled as 1 frantically scrolled through the railings
There were none. No calls at all.
Sering my reaction, Gemma let but a cold scoff.
“Celeste, you really don’t know how good you’ve got in”
“Everyone in River City knows how much Hector treasures you. If you asked the stars, he’ll give you the moon instead.”
“And yet here you are, making such a grave mistake and still coming up with cuses for yourself.”
I took a deep breath, my eyes fixed steadily on lector.
“Hector, I’ll tell you this one last time–I’ve never done anything to betray you and this child is yours.”
“The man in the photos is my biological brother.”
-I’ll ask you just once–do you believe me or not?”
There were many
ny ways to prove this.
Whether it was a paternity test for the baby or simply asking my brother directly, the truth could easily come to light.
Hector pressed his lips tightly together, remaining silent. Gemma snatched the phone from my hand.
“Hector has azoospermia. It’s absolutely impossible for him to have a childr
“And as for this so–called ‘brother‘ of yours, are y
you seriously expecting us to believe that Hector wouldn’t recognize your own brother?”
“Celeste, if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable?”
When Hector and I got married, the Oakley Corporation was in the midst of rapid overseas expansion.
My brother was so overwhelmed with work that he couldn’t take time off to attend the wedding
Over the years, he had single–handedly kept the Oakley Corporation thriving abroad. It had been years since I last saw him, let alone introduced him to Hector.
w did Gemma know about Hector’s azoospermia?
But more than that, I couldn’t stop fixating on one thing–how
1 lifted
my
head and locked eyes with Hector.
“How does she know about your azoospermia?”
“And why… why have you n
never told me?
Chapter 3
