---- Chapter 27 Liam stared at you, his mind refusing to accept your words. "No," he said, shaking his head. "You're lying. | can see it. She has my hair. She has to be mine. We'll do a DNA test." "A DNA test?" A bitter, humorless laugh escaped your lips. "You want to talk about DNA tests now, Liam? After all this time?" The accusation in your voice was sharp, and it hit him squarely in his guilt. "Ava, |..." "Don't," you said, cutting him off. "Don't you dare start with your apologies and excuses. | don't want to hear them." You looked at him, your eyes blazing with a fire he hadn't seen in years. "You think | betrayed you? You, the man who was having an affair for years, who got his mistress pregnant, who was going to marry me just to secure his inheritance?" He flinched as if you had slapped him. "Clara lied!" he said, his voice desperate. "She was never pregnant, Ava! It was alla lie to trap me!" Your face remained impassive. "Oh, | know," you said, your voice eerily calm. "I've known for years. | also know you had her beaten and publicly humiliated. | know you had her finger broken to get my ring back. Your grand, violent gestures don't impress me, Liam. They just show me what a monster you've ---- become." He recoiled, shocked that you knew the ugly details of his revenge. "I did it for you!" he cried, tears welling in his eyes. "I was trying to make things right!" "Right?" you repeated, your voice dripping with scorn. "There is no making this right. You want to talk about children, Liam? Let's talk about children. What about the one | lost? Our child. The one who died while you were out buying baby clothes with your mistress. Did you mourn him? Did you even know he existed?" Each word was a hammer blow, shattering the last of his composure. "I know now," he whispered, his voice choked with sobs. "Ava, I'm so sorry. | didn't know... "No," you said, your voice flat and final. "You didn't. And that's the point. You see what you want to see. You believe what you want to believe. You believe that little girl is yours because you want a happy ending. But there is no happy ending for us, Liam. There is nothing for us." You took Vanessa's hand. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go." You turned and walked away, not looking back. Liam took a step to follow, calling your name. But the sharp pain in his stomach flared up again, a violent, vengeful cramp. He doubled over, clutching his side, and collapsed to his knees on the cold, polished floor of the hospital. He could only watch as you and your daughter disappeared around the corner, ---- leaving him alone once more in his self-made hell.