---- Chapter 22 Amira Osborne POV: | understood what Arjun meant the next day. | walked into Carter' s hospital room to find a scene of chaos. Francine was there. She was shockingly thin, a scarecrow in designer clothes, her face a haggard mask of desperation. She was screaming at Carter, her voice a shrill, grating sound. "He is your son, Carter! And if you don' t start taking responsibility, | swear | will go to the police!" Standing beside her was a small, unnervingly sullen boy of about four, with Carter' s eyes and Francine' s sneer. He looked underfed and neglected. Carter, pale and furious, saw me in the doorway and his face filled with panic. He ripped the IV from his hand and staggered towards me. "Amira, it' s not what you think! | don' t have a child with her! It's a lie! You have to believe me!" he pleaded, grabbing my arms. | just raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing my face. "Carter, whether you have ten children with her is ---- absolutely none of my concern." His desperation was pathetic. He searched my face for any sign of jealousy, of pain, of the old love he could so easily manipulate. He found nothing. The little boy, on a cue from his mother, ran forward and wrapped his skinny arms around Carter' s leg. "Daddy!" he piped up. | looked down at the boy, then back at Carter. "You should probably take care of your son," | said, my voice laced with sarcasm. "I have to go." "No!" Carter' s composure finally shattered. He violently shoved the little boy away, sending him sprawling to the floor. The child let out a surprised wail. Francine scooped him up, her eyes flashing with fury. "He's your son, you bastard! Your own flesh and blood!" Carter lunged at her, his hands closing around her throat. "I don' t have a son!" he roared, his face a mask of madness. "You will not ruin this! You will not take her away from me again!" Just as Francine' s face started to turn purple, a doctor knocked and entered the room, holding a file. Carter reluctantly released her. The doctor eyed the scene with a strange expression, then cleared his throat. "Mr. Wolfe? We have the results of the paternity test you requested." ---- He opened the file, his gaze shifting from Carter to the little boy, who was now sobbing in Francine' s arms. "Congratulations," the doctor said, his tone flat. "You' re the father." Francine burst into tears of triumph. Carter' s body went limp. He slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor, a broken, defeated man. | let out a soft, genuine laugh, the sound echoing in the silent room. | paused at the door on my way out, looking back at the pathetic tableau of his new family. "Congratulations, Carter," | said, my voice dripping with sweet, poisonous irony. "| wish you all the happiness you deserve."