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I shrug, in an attempt to demonstrate my indifference.
He laughs softly.
“Felix is waiting for you, isn’t he? Aren’t you two supposed to go play fetch or something?”
I slip on my coat, while he looks on, still smiling wryly.
“It’s called padel,” he clarifies. “And if you agreed to play with me, I wouldn’t have to force Fe to come along.”
“You should just ask Zoey,” I snap.
“You’re beautiful when you’re jealous, Lancaster. Just you wait and see what I’m planning to do to you when I get home tonight…”
Vadim kisses me, letting his teeth catch on my lower lip. I yell at him, but he slips away, somehow managing to squeeze between the elevator doors right before they close. Left alone, I stand there and run my fingers over my sore lip, excited by his provocation.
57
Alma
Warming up the chicken curry that Lily thoughtfully left out for me, I think back to the scene at the brasserie, then settle onto the couch with my steaming bowl of food and my jumbled thoughts.
What the hell were Clem and Clarence doing, sitting at that table, holding hands? Have they really stopped seeing each other, as she keeps telling me, or are they having an affair?
I bring up my best friend’s contact on my phone screen and press call.
“Alma, I was just about to get in touch! Shit, give me two seconds. Madeleine is screaming in her bed because she doesn’t have her blankie… Let me bring it to her, and I’ll be right back!”
I put her on speakerphone and bite into my food, burning my tongue in the process.
“Okay, the little terror has calmed down,” Clem says. “How are you?”
“I saw you at lunchtime, with Clarence. How are you?”
“Ah…” she murmurs in an embarrassed voice.
“You know you can tell me anything, Clem?”
I don’t want her to be afraid I’ll judge her. Ever.
“I know, I just needed to tell him first.”
I realize what she means. And my heart sinks.
“Tell him what, Clem?”
“What do you think?”
“You got the results of the paternity test.”
Her voice is thick with emotion when she answers me. “Yes. A blood test, a few hairs from Yann’s hairbrush, and five days later, I had the results.”
That’s all she says. She doesn’t need to go on. I’ve already understood.
And I’m terrified for her.
“Yann isn’t the baby’s father,” I say. “It’s Clarence.”
“There’s a 99.9 percent probability.”
