“Yes, I did.” He sat across from her. “You think I wouldn’t have wanted to know? All these years, you raised them alone.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t want your money. I just wanted peace. I thought if I stayed away, you could live your dream without guilt.”
Ethan shook his head slowly. “And what about you, Lauren? Did you ever think I might have wanted us?”
The words hung between them, heavy with what-ifs.
Before she could answer, his phone buzzed.
The lab results.
Ethan’s hand trembled slightly as he opened the email. His eyes scanned the screen, and the air seemed to leave the room.
Lauren watched him, heart pounding. “What does it say?”
He looked up, his expression unreadable. Then he exhaled, voice breaking.
“They’re mine.”
Lauren covered her mouth, tears spilling down. Ethan stepped closer, his own eyes wet.
“Eight years,” he whispered. “I missed eight years of their lives.”
“I didn’t want to raise them on anger,” she said. “I just wanted them to know love.”
He nodded, voice low. “Then let me try now.”
For the first time, he reached out, hesitant and uncertain, and took her hand. It wasn’t forgiveness yet, but it was something close.
Across the hall, the triplets’ laughter echoed faintly. Ethan turned toward the sound, the corners of his mouth pulling into a trembling smile.
For the first time in years, the billionaire who had everything realized what he’d truly lost—and what God might just be giving him back.
