Page 77 of Unfaithful

The question hit me harder than I expected, forcing me to pause. For a moment, I was silent, retracing my steps, confronting the ghost of the man I had been. The one who took her love for granted, who shattered her trust, who failed to honor her devotion to me.

Sara never cared for wealth, power, or status, nor the things the world assumed mattered. She never had. At her core, she was a romantic. She needed a man who cherished her, respected her, and chose her every single day without hesitation.

And I had been everything she didn't need.

But I swore to myself that I would become the man she deserved, the one who would never fail her again.

"Cole," Archie exhaled a long breath. "I get that you regret what you did. I know you've learned your lesson, and I believe you're trying to be a better man for her."

He paused, looking thoughtful as he lifted his head and met my gaze.

"But I'm not stepping away," he said firmly. "I'll be there whenever she needs me. I gave her my promise, and I intend to keep it."

Another pause, and this time, his eyes darkened. "And I'll wait. Patiently. Until she finally sees me. Until her feelings for me grow." His voice dropped, but it was filled with determination. "If that happens, Cole—if she chooses me—youwon'ttake her away from me."

*** *** ***

Since Leo walked into my life and set fire to everything I thought was true, Steve, my lawyer Fred Milles, and I had been relentlessly chasing every lead, refusing to let this go unanswered. We went straight to the clinic and demanded to see the original test results. And when I read it—when I saw that cold, undeniable 0% staring back at me—

Everything inside me shattered beyond repair.

I wasn't Elena's father.

The truth had been right there all along, buried under lies, and I had been too blind, too damn stupid to see it. Within days, Fred arranged for Leo to take a test at the same clinic. When the results came back, they confirmed what I had been dreading.

Leo was Elena's father. Not me.

But then came the court-ordered DNA test. One final, inescapable verdict.

I had clung to hope, fragile and desperate, praying for a different truth. But the results didn't lie.

Still, I wasn't Elena's father.

Since then, everything stopped for me. The world kept spinning, but I was no longer a part of it. Time moved forward,dragging everyone else with it, but I remained frozen in place, trapped in the moment my life unraveled.

I had lost everything.

The future I had built in my mind, the love I had poured into a child who was never mine to begin with, it was all gone.

And I lost Sara along with it.

She was my anchor, my one constant, and now she was slipping further and further away.

Now, I had nothing left. Just the unbearable weight of emptiness pressing down on me, crushing the air from my lungs, leaving behind a hollow ache where my heart used to be.

I knew I deserved this. Every bit of it.

The universe had finally delivered its judgment, and this devastating loss was my reckoning. A merciless punishment for every mistake, every selfish choice, every moment I had foolishly taken for granted.

But knowing that didn't make it hurt any less.

I had nothing left but regret, and it felt too heavy to carry.

Opening the door of the house where Elena was sleeping upstairs, I was at a loss for what to do. I had no claim to her now and never would. She belonged to Elsa and Leo. I was just the outsider, even though my love for the child was probably greater than the love of both of them combined. But it didn't matter.

I didn't know where I stood anymore. Leo would fight for custody—that much was certain—but that was his battle, not mine. My fight was different. I racked my brain, trying to find a way to protect Elena from the fallout. I couldn't just walk away and leave her alone with Elsa, not when I knew what she was capable of. But I also couldn't throw Elsa out of the house, notwithout risking any chance of keeping Elena safe under this roof. She was still Elena's legal parent.

The only option left was to support Leo in the custody battle, ensuring Elsa didn't manipulate the situation to her advantage. And beyond that, I had my own battle to fight.

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