“That Daisy is yours. And that I messed with the test.”
“How did you know I found out?”
“You have a look on your face I haven’t seen in eight years. You look happy.”
Mike sat down across from her.
“Why, Stephanie? Why all of it? The fake emails eight years ago. The DNA swap. Why?”
Stephanie took a sip of wine. “Because I loved you.”
“That’s not love. That’s obsession.”
“Maybe. But it worked. I had you. For eight years.”
“And now you’ve lost me forever.”
“I suppose I have.” She set the glass down. “Do you want the whole story?”
“I do.”
“I fell for you the first time I saw you at that company mixer years ago. You were with some girl, I don’t even remember her. But I remembered you. The way you laughed, the way you treated people. I decided then that I wanted to be the one on your arm.”
“And then?”
“I made sure I was everywhere you were. I learned your schedule, your friends. Then Hope showed up.”
“And?”
“I realized you loved her. Really loved her. You were going to marry her.”
“I was.”
“I couldn’t let that happen. So I invented the affair.”
“Where did ‘David’ come from?”
“He didn’t exist. I made up the name, created the fake accounts, photoshopped the pictures.”
“How did you get the letters into her bag?”
“Easy. She was always leaving her things in your office. I just waited for the right moment.”
Mike felt a surge of cold anger.
“You destroyed three lives for your own ego.”
“For love.”
“Love doesn’t destroy, Stephanie. It builds.”
“And what did your love for Hope build?” she asked bitterly. “Eight years of silence, a child without a father, and a dying woman in a cheap apartment?”
Mike stood up.
“Those are the consequences of your actions, not my feelings.”
“Maybe. Но the fact remains. If it wasn’t for me, you probably would have broken up anyway. You were young and focused on your career.”
“We’ll never know, will we? You took that choice away from us.”
“So what now? Are you calling the police? Suing me?”
“I don’t know yet. Right now, I’m only thinking about my daughter and getting Hope the help she needs.”
“And if she doesn’t make it?”
Mike turned to her.
“She will. I’m finding the best doctors in the country. She’s going to have everything.”
“And you’ll be a happy little family?”
“We’re going to try.”
“And what about me?”
“You’re leaving. Now. And you’re never coming back.”
Stephanie stood up and walked toward him.
“Mike, I can explain this to people. I can say I was young and made a mistake. I can change.”
“It’s too late. You stole eight years of my daughter’s life. You left her without a father when she needed one most. You left the woman I loved to suffer alone.”
“But I loved you!”
“You loved yourself. And what you could get from me.”
He walked to the door.
“Mike,” she called out. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t care.”
Two hours later, Mike was standing in the guest suite of his home, watching Daisy explore her new room. Hope was resting in a nearby chair, looking exhausted but at peace.
“Daddy, can I really sleep in this bed?” the girl asked, bouncing on the mattress.
“Of course. This is your room, in your house.”
“Is Mom going to live here too?”
Mike looked at Hope.
“If she wants to.”
“I want to,” Hope said softly. “But I don’t know if it’s right.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s so much history. So much pain. Daisy needs stability, not parents who are trying to fix a broken past.”
Mike sat beside her.
“Hope, I’m not saying we have to be a couple tomorrow. But we can be a family for her.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
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