Chapter 2 — The Truth That Stopped the Wedding
The little boy's innocent question echoed through the ballroom.
"Mommy... is that the man who didn't want us?"
No one breathed.
Even the orchestra had stopped playing.
Ryan stared at the twins.
Then at the little girl.
His lips parted, but no words came.
The resemblance was undeniable.
The same sapphire-blue eyes.
The same dark hair.
The same crooked smile Ryan had seen every morning in his own mirror.
Rebecca suddenly gripped the back of a chair to steady herself.
"No..."
Her voice cracked.
"No, that's impossible."
Vanessa looked from Ryan to the children and back again.
"What is she talking about?"
Ryan finally found his voice.
"Mariana..."
His throat tightened.
"...are they mine?"
Mariana never looked away from him.
"You answered that question three years ago."
Silence.
"You told me a man deserved a woman who could give him children."
Ryan's face turned white.
Mariana slowly reached into her handbag.
Not dramatically.
Not angrily.
With quiet certainty.
She removed a worn envelope.
Inside was a folded medical report.
She handed it to Vanessa instead of Ryan.
Vanessa frowned as she opened it.
Her eyes scanned the page.
Then another.
The diagnosis.
The surgery.
The pregnancy confirmation.
Date:
The very morning Ryan served the divorce papers.
Vanessa slowly lowered the report.
"You were already pregnant..."
Mariana nodded.
"I drove home that day planning to surprise my husband."
She looked directly at Ryan.
"But I found another woman sitting in my place."
The ballroom fell completely silent.
Guests exchanged horrified glances.
One elderly woman whispered,
"My God..."
Ryan staggered backward.
"No..."
"I didn't know."
Mariana smiled sadly.
"You never asked."
Those four words struck harder than any accusation.
Ryan remembered everything.
The packed suitcases.
The divorce papers.
Her pale face.
How she had opened her mouth several times before quietly walking away.
He had never given her the chance to speak.
Rebecca suddenly interrupted.
"She could be lying."
Alexander Whitmore stepped forward for the first time.
His silver hair reflected beneath the crystal chandeliers.
His voice remained calm.
"DNA tests were completed two years ago."
He handed several sealed documents to the officiant.
"The children are Ryan Montgomery's biological children."
The officiant stared at the paperwork before silently passing it to Ryan.
Ryan's hands shook so violently he almost dropped the pages.
Ninety-nine point nine nine percent.
Three separate reports.
Three children.
His children.
Vanessa slowly removed her engagement ring.
She stared at Ryan as if seeing a stranger.
"You threw away your pregnant wife..."
"...because you believed she couldn't give you children?"
Ryan couldn't answer.
Because it was true.
May you like
Everything was true.
And every guest now knew it.
