Chapter 5
376words
"Julian, after you caught me that one time, you checked obsessively after every encounter. I never had another chance to pull anything, so how could I possibly have gotten pregnant?"
He paused, then countered: "No contraception is 100% effective."
Nothing I said would convince him. Just as I was about to walk away, Lu Xinlan returned with Sophie in her arms, ready to set the record straight:
"Mr. Vance, Sophie is my husband's and my daughter. She has zero connection to Clara. And frankly, with your personality defects, what makes you think you have any genes worth passing on? Clara deserves way better than having your child."
Lu Xinlan was famous for her razor tongue. Julian's face went ashen at her verbal slap, but he recovered with a cold sneer: "Getting your friend to play along won't fool me. Clara, expect a call from my lawyer about a paternity test."
I threw up my hands in exasperation. "What the hell do you want from me?"
"A DNA test. If she's mine, you're coming back to the Vance family with me."
His stubborn delusion finally snapped my patience: "I think you need your head examined! For the last time—Sophie has nothing to do with either of us. Believe it or don't!"
I grabbed my friend's arm and stormed off.
But I'd overestimated his sanity. The next day, during his business meeting at our office, he cornered me in the break room.
With colleagues just beyond the thin walls, I kept my voice down to avoid becoming office gossip: "What now? Get out of my way!"
He circled back to his obsession: "Too scared for a DNA test? Afraid I'll take my daughter? Or…" his lips curled into a smirk, "are you just playing hard to get?"
I stared at him, bewildered. "What do you mean 'playing hard to get'?"
His lips twisted into a cruel smile. "When you had our daughter, were you hoping I'd eventually find out? Planning to use her as leverage to worm your way back into my life? You still love me, don't you, Clara? All these games—you're just trying to get my attention."
