After cleaning up, I splashed cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror.
My mascara was smudged, lipstick gone and my face was as pale as death. I could see the signs of early pregnancy. The slight fullness in my face, and the way my clothes felt tighter and the exhaustion that seemed never ending.
I pressed my hands flat on the cold marble counter.
Jack had just accused me of having Derek’s baby. And in a few weeks, maybe a month, I’d actually be pregnant with Derek’s baby.
But Lily wasn’t Derek’s. I knew that with absolute certainty. She was mine and Jack’s, conceived after years of trying, born after a difficult pregnancy that had left me exhausted and scared and alone because Jack had been too busy with work, or with Olivia, to be there.
I knew Jack had paid someone to fake it. But I didn’t know for sure. I didn’t know what to believe, what to do, or how to fix this.
The bathroom door opened and Jennifer stepped in. She took one look at me and said,
“Well, shit.”
PART IV
“I know you, Paige. The real you. And I love her. All of her.”
34
IT WAS POSITIVE
DEREK
I was on my feet the moment I saw them emerge from the hallway.
Paige walked beside Jennifer, and my first instinct was panic. She was gone too long, and something terrible must have happened. Did she get her periods and didn’t have a pad or tampon? But before I could ask if she was okay, Jennifer caught my eye and smiled.
“She’s fine,” Jennifer said. “Everything’s fine.”
I looked at Paige again. Her makeup was gone, but her skin had a glow to it that made her look ethereal. And her lips were a different shade, as if she reapplied her lipstick in the bathroom.
She looked absolutely stunning and I wanted to kiss her.
I moved to her immediately, pulling her close to my side where she belonged.
“We should celebrate tonight,” I said, keeping my voice low enough that only she could hear. “Dinner somewhere nice. Whatever you want.”
“How are you so sure we’ll win?” she asked.
“Because I never lose a case,” I said confidently.
“You mean me, right?” Jennifer asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course, Jennifer,” I grinned. “You’re the brilliant one here.”
One of Jennifer’s assistants appeared then, holding a manila folder. “The results are here,” Jennifer said.
My heart hammered against my ribs as we filed back into the courtroom. This is it. The moment that would prove Jack’s DNA test was fabricated, that his accusations were nothing but desperate lies.
The judge opened the envelope, and the seconds stretched into eternity as she reviewed the contents. Then she looked up, her expression neutral but firm.
“The independent paternity test confirms that Lily Mitchell is the biological daughter of Jack Mitchell and Paige Mitchell.”
Relief flooded through me as Paige’s hand tightened in mine.
But Jack raged. He has always been a sore loser.
