‘Why? What’s happened?’
She gave a brief, sarcastic laugh.
‘Kenzie. What’s going on?’
‘I found out what you were up to.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The stupid DNA test you did.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ he said, taking a step closer.
‘Oh? You don’t remember giving a sample? Right,’ she snapped, turning away from him.
‘A sample for a DNA test?’ he asked doubtfully.
‘Yes, Ewan. Apaternitytest.’
‘I haven’t given a sample for anything,’ he denied, still looking at her with notable confusion.
For the briefest of moments, Kenzie’s anger faltered, before she recalled the name on the document.He’s lying.It had been right there, in black and white. She stalked across the room to her handbag and withdrew her phone, bringing up the photo she’d taken. She wasn’t sure why she stopped to take a photo of it—maybe in case Callum denied it and tried to get rid of the evidence—but she was glad she’d thought to. Wordlessly, she thrust the phone into his hands, standing back, arms crossed, waiting to see how he could possibly deny it now.
His frown deepened as he read what was on the screen, before his eyes flew to hers in surprise. ‘I’m not Poppy’s father?’
His accusation momentarily caught her off guard. She hadn’t been interested in that part—she’d still been furious at them for having gone behind her back.
‘Of course you’re her father,’ she shot back angrily. ‘The fact the stupid test is clearly wrong is the least of my concerns. It’s that you decided to get a DNA test without even consulting me. How dare you take a sample from my daughter without my permission.’
‘It says right here,’ he said, ignoring her accusations, pointing to the page, ‘zero per cent, Kenzie.’
‘I know what itsays,’ she snapped. ‘And I’mtellingyou it’s wrong.’
When he continued to just stare, Kenzie’s anger switched to disbelief.
‘Science is pretty accurate nowadays,’ Ewan said with a coolness in his tone she’d never heard before, and her previous outrage suddenly turned to despair. He didn’t believe her.
Why should he? He spent a handful of hours with you five years ago. For all he knows, you could have been sleeping with other men.
Buthe was the only man she’d been with in well over six months at the time. She’d been too snowed under in assignments and study and general anxiety to even think about dating.
She saw a combination of emotions flitter across his face; suspicion, disbelief and, worst of all, hurt before her own emotions fought their way through to the surface. ‘I’m telling the truth, Ewan. There were no other men in my life at the time. You are the only possible person.’
‘You were pretty drunk that night.’
His accusation stung. ‘I wasn’t drunk enough to have forgotten having sex with someone,clearly,’ she added. ‘I don’t know why that result came back like that, but you believe whatever you want to believe. I told you in the beginning that I don’t need you to be part of our lives, and I sure as hell don’t want someone who thinks it’s okay to sneak around behind myback and do some dodgy home DNA test,’ she said scathingly, nodding at the phone in his hands.
‘I didn’t have anything to do with this,’ he said, and she saw his jaw clench tightly.
‘Right. Somehow, your DNA was collected without your knowledge,’ she scoffed.
‘Where did you even get this?’
‘It was on your father’s desk in his office. I found it by mistake.’
He handed her back the phone before heading out of the room. ‘I’m going to find out what the hell’s going on,’ he muttered.
Thirty-six
