Chapter 5 - THE SON WHO FELT BETRAYED BY BOTH WOMEN
Daniel walked into the library and shut the door.
I followed.
He did not ask me to enter.
I entered anyway.
He stood beside the window with both hands in his hair.
“You dressed as a housekeeper inside your own home.”
“Yes.”
“You recorded the woman I planned to marry.”
“Yes.”
“You investigated her family without telling me.”
“Yes.”
He turned.
“Do you hear how insane that sounds?”
“I hear how controlling it sounds.”
“That is not the same as regret.”
“I regret not trusting you with the facts first.”
“But you still believe the test was justified.”
I looked at the wet uniform clinging to my arms.
“I believe it revealed something important.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“That is how people justify every manipulation.”
“They say the result proves the method.”
His words struck me.
Vanessa had created fake situations to control staff.
I had created a fake identity to expose her.
Our intentions were different.
Daniel was right that intention did not erase every cost.
“I am sorry,” I said.
He looked surprised.
“Not because the test failed.”
“It did not.”
“I am sorry because I treated your judgment like something I could replace with my own.”
Daniel sat heavily in his father’s chair.
“She humiliated you.”
“Yes.”
“She stole my signature.”
“Possibly.”
“She planned to use our marriage to take foundation money.”
“The evidence suggests that.”
“And I still feel angry at you.”
“You are allowed.”
He looked toward the closed door.
“Do you want me to end the engagement?”
“I want you to make a decision after reading every document and hearing every person.”
“That sounds like an answer designed to avoid responsibility.”
“No.”
“It is me refusing to choose for you again.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
A knock came from the door.
Vanessa entered without waiting.
Her face had been washed.
Her engagement ring still sparkled.
She looked at Daniel and ignored me.
“I made mistakes.”
“I was cruel to the staff.”
“I panicked because your mother has judged me from the beginning.”
Daniel remained silent.
Vanessa continued.
“Adrian prepared the charity paperwork.”
“I should have reviewed it.”
“I did not understand the financial details.”
She knelt beside Daniel.
“I love you.”
“You know that.”
“I want to leave this house and start our own life.”
“We do not need the foundation.”
I watched her closely.
The apology sounded almost convincing.
Then she placed one hand over her stomach.
“There is something else.”
Daniel’s eyes lifted.
May you like
Vanessa began crying.
“I am pregnant.”
