Chapter 88

ELARA

The room fell into heavy silence. Heads turned to Vivienne.

Luna Helena sprang to her feet. "What!? What nonsense is this!?"

Rowan continued with his narration. "Five years ago, on the thirteen of June, we met in Caelmont. I didn't know who she was, neither did she. But when I got to the Pack, I noticed she had been avoiding me. It wasn't until I met her that I realized why." He looked at Vivienne. "When we met in Caelmont, she should have been eight months pregnant. But she was not. Her stomach was as flat as that of a model's."

My pulse quickened, like I was the one who just got exposed.

"No." Vivienne shook her head, going closer to him. "You are a bloody liar from the pit of hell. I have never met you before now. I'd never have anything to do with you!"

"Are you sure?" Rowan tilted his head, his expression taunting. "Take a look at what you did to me, Vivienne. Too bad you missed."

Tensed silence filled the room as Vivienne and Rowan engaged in a heated glare challenge.

"Vivienne!" Luna Helena rasped. "What is he talking about? You better start explaining yourself. Tell me this is nonsense!"

"Of course, it is!" Her eyes glistened with tears as she whirled around to face the Luna. "I don't know this guy. He's just some worthless human trying to ruin things for us! Everyone saw me pregnant! I kept sending pictures! Even one time," she turned to Ronan." You came to visit, didn't you? You saw me pregnant. So, how could any of that be fake?"

I looked at Ronan. The Alpha remained eerily silent, as if he were carved from rock. He'd been like that since Ronan made the revelation, and even if he was quiet, I knew better than to underestimate that kind of look. It was a mood that depicted how furious he was.

"Please!" Vivienne was in tears now. She too must be terrified of Ronan's mood. "He's lying."

She suddenly turned to me. "Is this you? Are you looking for a way to kick me and my kids out? I can understand if you're desperate, Elara, but coming after my poor kids? How shameless can you be?"

Wait, what? My jaw dropped, and it took me a moment to get myself together.

"Have you gone crazy? You think I'd come up with something this huge just to sabotage you? You think I'd risk everything for a lie?"

Now I was mad at her. How could she try to pin the whole thing on me?

Ronan stood up, and the tension in the room amplified. Even Vivienne seemed to hold her breath as she watched him walk from his table. He pinned her with his stare, his jaw set on a hard line. Time seemed to stretch, until finally, he stood toe to toe with Vivienne.

More tears spilled her cheeks, her breath unsteady.

For a moment, he simply looked at her, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"Do not lie tome, Vivienne." His voice was like ice when he spoke.

I couldn't help but shiver from where I stood. This wasn't looking good. Ronan was mad furious and was only trying so hard to control it.

"Is he telling the truth?" He completed his question.

Vivienne shook her head so hard I thought she'd get dizzy. "I swear to you, they are all lies! I'd never lie to you, Ronan. Theo and Tessa are ours."

Ronan nodded, but anyone could tell his calmness was deceptive. "You wouldn't mind a DNA test, then, would you?" The sudden fear that crept onto Vivienne's face was evident. It almost gave her away.

"... I..." She wiped tears from her face. "Ronan, that isn't necessary. We don't have to waste any time on what this nuisance said."

Ronan lifted his hand to her cheek, gently stroking it." Vivienne," he called calmly. "If I find out you're lying to me," he shook his head. "It'll not just be the worst mistake of your life. It'll be the one that ends you."

I noticed her shiver. She was too scared to say another word.

Moving away from her, Ronan met Rowan. "And you, if I find out all of these were a lie, you'll regret you ever knew me."

Ronan looked too threatening. He looked every bit like the terrifying Alpha he was. The ruthless man who killed people without second thoughts. The one who ripped out that poor boy's heart at the club months ago because he thought they were forcing themselves on me. At this point, I was scared for Rowan. I really did hope he was telling the truth.

"You have nothing to worry about. I have a reputation and wouldn't come up with something like this if it were a lie," Rowan replied.

Ronan held his gaze for a moment before he moved away from him.

"Call Rosa lie," he said to Finn on his way out." Tell her I need her here to take my samples and that of the kids."

Vivienne covered her mouth with her palms just as Ronan left the room. She was visibly shaking.

This didn't look good.

***

VIVIENNE

She ran into the living room and found her parents and grandmother together.

They looked at her in surprise, obviously from how

teary she was.

"Vivienne, what is-"

"Who did you hire?" She cut her grandmother off from speaking, her voice raw with pain and age.

The old woman looked at the others in surprise." What is the problem? He's dead."

"No, his staff is. She was the one who ended up dead, while the son of a bitch survived! And now, he's gone to Ronan with the truth!"

"What?" Her mother rose to her feet. "Wh-What did you just say?"

"Ronan knows?" Her grandmother's eyes rounded in panic.

"Yes! And he just took the kids' sample for a DNA. What am I supposed to do?"

Her bag slipped from her hand to the floor, followed by her burying her face in her palms.

"Ronan knows," she sobbed. "He knows the truth. A-

And in a couple of days, the result will be out and I'll be fully exposed. I'll be done for! He'll kill me!"

She sobbed profusely.

Her grandmother stood up, marched toward her, and before Vivienne knew it, she was struck hard across the face.

"This is your fault, you shameless whore!" She spat." If only you had closed those things you call legs. If only you didn't go sleeping around when you were supposed to be pregnant, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Vivienne wept more as she straightened, yer hand over her hurting cheek.

"Now, who are we supposed to get out of this one? After everything we've done! How hard we've worked! You had to ruin it."

"I didn't know! Caelmont was far away! How was I supposed to know that the one the stranger I was going to sleep with would end up coming to Ironcrest five years later!?"

Her grandmother struck her again, harder this time. She whimpered as her head reeled from the impact.

"That's the point, stupid child! You are not supposed to know. You are supposed to be careful!"

She angrily placed her hands on her thighs as she turned away, pacing the room.

"W-We need to come up with something," Vivienne's mother brushed her fingers through her hair." Who took the samples? Maybe we could get to know who this doctor or nurse is?"

"It's not possible," Vivienne shook her head. "She's Ronan's aunt. She'd never go against him."

And that was when the Marlowe family knew they were truly fucked.