CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET THAT STOPPED THE PARTY
Adrian reached behind Lily and untied the apron with one sharp motion.
The fabric fell to the floor.
“No one works in my kitchen as punishment,” he said.
The room went silent.
Helena's smile faltered.
“Adrian, you're overreacting.”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“I think I'm finally reacting correctly.”
Lily covered her face.
Years of pain seemed to pour out all at once.
“She told me this was my place.”
Adrian slowly turned toward Helena.
“What does that mean?”
Helena hesitated.
A dangerous mistake.
Because for the first time all night, Adrian noticed fear in her eyes.
Lily looked up through tears.
“She said I belonged in the kitchen.”
Her voice cracked.
“Because I'm the mother of your daughter.”
Everything stopped.
The air.
The sound.
The movement.
Even Adrian seemed unable to breathe.
“What?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“She said your daughter deserved a better mother than me.”
Helena stepped backward.
“She's lying.”
But nobody believed her.
Not after the panic on her face.
Not after the cruelty everyone had witnessed.
Adrian stared at Lily.
“You have a daughter?”
Lily nodded.
“She’s seven years old.”
His heart pounded.
“How do you know she's mine?”
Lily reached into her purse.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And pulled out a faded photograph.
Adrian took it.
The little girl in the picture had his eyes.
His smile.
Even the same small dimple on her left cheek.
The color drained from his face.
Because deep down...
he already knew.
The child was his.
And if that was true...
someone had spent seven years keeping them apart.