It feels strange to be back here again, in the very place I swore I would never return to, standing across from the one woman I was certain I’d never see again. More than two years have passed since we last faced each other, back when we hid behind lies and deception for the fleeting rush of something forbidden—an affair that burned hot and fast, ending almost as abruptly as it began.
The park is exactly as I remembered it—barren, hushed, complicit in its silence. A forgotten corner of the city where men like me would hide and indulge in our deepest, darkest desires, while trampling all over our vows in the same breath, as though the words meant absolutely nothing at all.
This was the park where I first slept with Lucia, and where we continued to meet time and time again for a quick fuck inthe back seat of my car until the bitch decided to get herself pregnant and ruin everything.
She swore the baby wasn’t mine, that it was Kaden’s, and I believed her every word. When she wanted to end the affair to focus on her family, I let her walk away without a fight. I wasn’t about to drop to my knees and beg for something that had never been real to begin with. What we had wasn’t love; it wasn’t even close. It was convenience. Mutual hunger. We took what we wanted from each other and called it enough. So who was I to stand in her way when she chose to leave?
At the end of the day, Lucia was like every other whore I fucked over the years— replaceable, forgettable—and nothing special.
There has only ever been one woman who truly held my interest—the only one who found her way past my defences and into my heart, and stayed there. She still owns a part of me. And perhaps, she always will, even if she never wants anything to do with me anymore.
I wish I could have been the man she needed, the man she deserved. But early on in our marriage, I realised I wasn’t built for commitment or loyalty—that monogamy was never going to be my strength. There’s a part of me, a dark side, an addictive side, that craves sex too intensely, and that’s not something I can ever change. Unless my next partner is open to an unconventional arrangement, I can’t see myself ever being capable of a serious, long-term relationship again.
“You wanted to do this in person… well, here we are. So let’s just get this over with. What do the results say?” I ask, my voice cold and sharp as I lean against my car, arms crossed over my chest.
Lucia stands rigid across from me, clutching a few folded sheets of paper in her hand. The way she bites at the skin of her cracked lip, drawing a thin line of blood, shows just how nervous and anxious she is. She looks thinner and paler than I remember, her hair cut short to her neck, and the dark circles under her eyes tells me she hasn’t slept properly in a long time.
She doesn’t unfold the document or even glance at its contents as she reads the words aloud. She already knows the results—she’s just making sure I do too.
“It confirms what I’ve always known. You’re her biological father, Adrian. Arianna is your daughter,” Lucia declares, reaching out to hand me the test results. “See for yourself.”
I gaze down at it, and let out a slow, irritated sigh. If she’s expecting surprise, excitement, or even warmth in my expression, she won’t find it. Because even if the results prove I’m the father of her child, it doesn’t change a single damn thing between us. I still don’t want anything to do with her—and certainly not with her child. If I couldn’t even stay in my own son’s life, what makes her think I’d step up for hers?
When she emailed me eight months ago, demanding a DNA test, I simply laughed and ignored it, just like I do with every other batshit-crazy woman who tries to stir up unnecessary drama.But to my surprise, she didn’t stop. Day after day, another email landed in my inbox, each one repeating the same relentless demand without fail.
Eventually, I gave in—partly to shut her up, and partly in the hope that I wasn’t the father, so we could finally put this whole mess to bed once and for all.
I completed the sample collection kit she’d mailed to me. There was no fucking way I was going to have her do it for me. Seven business days later, Lucia received the results in her inbox, because, truthfully, I didn’t care to have them sent to mine.
And now here we are, back at the same place that was once our secret meeting spot, where our reckless affair both began and ended.
I take the results from her, unfolding it and letting my eyes skim over the words without really reading. Honestly, I just don’t have it in me to care. When my gaze locks with Lucia’s again, I flash her my most arrogant smirk and slowly tear the sheets of paper into pieces and let it flutter to the ground in front of her, making it clear exactly what I think of the results.
She gasps. “What the hell are you doing, Adrian?”
“What I should’ve done when you first told me about the baby.”
“You can tear that the results to shreds, but it’s not going to change the outcome. You’re still the father, and I think it’s time you start taking responsibility.”
A cold, venomous laugh slips from my lips, and she instantly flinches. She hasn’t the faintest clue who she’s standing in front of—the kind of man I truly am.
But she will after today.
“Oh, Lucia. You really are delusional. What makes you think I want anything to do with that child?”
The only child I will ever call my own is Zac. He is the only one I’d do anything for, even if that means keeping my distance for a while.
He may hate me right now, but I know he will come around. I know, one day, he’ll want me back in his life.And until he tells me otherwise, I will wait for that day to come.
Lucia’s stunned expression is almost laughable. What did she think I’d do with this information—step up and co-parent? Start paying child support? Act like we’re some happy family? Yeah, right. She’s fooling herself if she believes that’ll ever happen.
The only place I want her in my life is beneath me, lying on her back while I fuck her senseless—if she’s willing to go there again. Beyond that, there’s no way I’ll ever be present for her or her child.
“You’d really be that cold, and heartless, to abandon your own flesh and blood?”
“Listen, Lucia, I never wanted that baby. You chose to keep it. You chose to lie and pretend it was someone else’s. You don’t get to make demands of me. You wanted this baby, you raise her yourself. I want nothing to do with her.”
She lets out a sharp, bitter scoff and shakes her head. “You really are the worst of them all.”
