The hallway is empty when I reach it. The music from the ballroom swells as I push the doors open again, the sound washing over me in waves of artificial cheer. The dance floor is full now. Jason and Faith are no longer at its center. They’re moving table to table, greeting guests with practiced and clearly fake smiles.
I scan the room again. No Perry in sickly pink. Nothing.
Instead, I find Amber.
She stands near the bar, one hand wrapped around the stem of a champagne flute. Her posture is immaculate, but her eyes are sharper than before. There is calculation in them, not venom. Something more measured. She steps into my path before I can move past her. “We need to talk.”
“I’m busy.”
“You have the time for me, and if not, you’ll make the time for me. This is important, Damian.”
I huff a sigh, and we move toward the side corridor that leads to the terrace, far enough from the center of the reception that conversation will not carry.
She doesn’t waste time. “Perry’s twins.”
“What about them?”
She studies my face carefully, as if looking for uncertainty. “They’re yours.”
It’s not a question. “Yes.”
Her lips press together, and she exhales slowly, the air leaving her in a measured release. “I always thought they were Jason’s.”
The statement surprises me. “You did too?”
“I did. But I didn’t want to screw things up for him with Faith by bringing it up.”
“You suspected he cheated on her?”
“Cheating or overlap, whatever you want to call it, the timing was close enough to be uncomfortable. But I chose not to ask.”
I look at her differently now. “You chose not to destroy their life.”
“Yes.” She glances back toward the reception hall, where Jason is laughing at something one of the groomsmen says. The laugh is too loud. Too performative. “I didn’t want my son walking into marriage under a cloud.”
“And now?”
She takes another breath, deeper this time, letting the information settle fully. “Now, it’s different because they’re yours.”
The reality is stabilizing in me now. The shock isn’t gone, but it’s solidifying into something I can stand on.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I found out just before the ceremony. How did you find out?”
“Someone overheard Perry in the hallway, talking to you about them.”
“Who?”
She smiles. “I’ll never give away my sources, Damian. You know that.” Amber sighs. “Interesting timing on Perry’s part, don’t you think?”
“Yes.”
She almost smiles at that. “The girl seems to live for drama.”
“I doubt she does anymore.”
We stand in silence for a moment. The music shifts inside again. Applause erupts for some unseen milestone.
