Chapter 4 Find an Opportunity for a Paternity Test

As soon as the words left Alice's mouth, she regretted them. She had been so nervous, thinking the child running over was...

Looking at Ronan, his gaze was full of scrutiny, and Alice panicked to the extreme. She wanted to explain but didn't know how to fix it. It was obvious that Ronan was already suspicious.

Michael, who had stopped even eating, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and watched the drama unfold. He just wanted to know how Ronan would punish the woman who had left him after all these years. But as he watched, he realized the situation was developing completely differently than he had expected.

He thought things were about to go wrong. Was Ronan about to fall into the same trap again?

The atmosphere grew tense as Ronan and Alice stared at each other, neither speaking.

After a long time, Ronan was the first to break the silence, "Alice, aren't you going to explain? Why are you so nervous? Why are you hiding the child's age? What are you covering up? Is she my child?"

Alice's face turned pale. "No, she's not. I made a mistake..."

Ronan stared intently into her eyes. "Really?"

The little girl, unaware of what was happening, grabbed Alice's fingers and shook them. Her eyes were full of curiosity. "Mom, is he my daddy?"

Ronan's attention shifted to the little girl, and with a gentler tone than he realized, he asked, "Have you never met your daddy?"

"Mom says my daddy went to a very far..."

Before Hanna could finish, Alice quickly covered her mouth, squinting her eyes to silently remind her to keep quiet. Hanna, understanding, hummed and closed her little mouth, blinking her clear eyes.

Alice took a deep breath and turned to face Ronan, her expression much calmer than before. "The child doesn't understand. Mr. Brown, please don't misunderstand. I'll say it again-she's not your child."

Just as Ronan was about to speak, a somewhat nervous voice interrupted, "Sis!"

Alice turned toward the sound. It was Ann, who had hurried over, holding up her skirt.

Upon seeing Ronan, Ann's eyes widened in surprise. He... was that her sister's ex-boyfriend from college?

How did he end up here?

She had just gone to the bathroom. When she returned to the banquet hall, she couldn't find her sister. After asking around, she learned that a man had pulled her away. Concerned, she went searching.

When Ann had met Ronan before, he had come over to their house, so she remembered him well. His face was still the same, but now there was a more mature vibe to it, his brows and eyes deeper, and his aura colder. The unmistakable "don't get close to me" air was more intense now.

It was obvious he was holding back his anger. Ann wasn't sure what they had talked about, but it seemed like things hadn't gone well between them.

She was a bit afraid of Ronan, but for her sister's sake, she still gathered her courage and stepped between them, offering a forced smile to diffuse the tension. "Mr. Brown, today is my big day. If you don't mind, would you join us for a drink? Any issues... we can talk about them later, okay?"

Michael, watching from the side, blinked and asked, "Who's actually getting married today?"

Ann was confused by the question. "It's me, of course."

Ronan was stunned for a moment, his gaze shifting back and forth between Alice and Ann. Slowly, it dawned on him that he had misunderstood.

The two sisters looked somewhat alike, and wedding photos were often heavily edited, making Ann look almost identical to Alice. At first glance, he thought the bride in the photo was Alice.

And to top it off, their initials were the same.

Michael quickly realized his mistake, rubbing his nose and avoiding Ronan's gaze, looking elsewhere.



Ronan did not accept the invitation to join the wedding reception. Instead, he followed Michael to attend his cousin's child's full-month celebration.

After watching the two men enter the elevator, Ann let out a relieved sigh and turned to Alice, her curiosity piqued. "Sis, how did Ronan end up here?"

Alice, feeling drained, retreated a step, her back pressed against the wall. She didn't want to talk about it, so she shook her head.

Ann bit her lip but wisely chose not to press the issue.

Inside the elevator, Michael, hands in his pockets, studied Ronan's unreadable face. He hesitated, then asked, "You haven't forgotten about Alice, that awful woman, have you?"

Ronan's attitude toward Alice was strange. It didn't seem like hatred, more like unfulfilled desire, jealousy gone mad. After learning that today wasn't Alice's wedding, Ronan seemed to have shed some invisible weight, becoming unusually calm.

Michael kept pondering, feeling like something was wrong. If this continued, Alice might once again use her old tricks and play Ronan like a fool.

No, he couldn't let Ronan fall back into the same old trap.

Ronan didn't hear him. His mind was occupied with the image of that sweet little girl. Alice's reaction had been so intense, clearly hiding something.

"I suspect that child is mine," Ronan suddenly spoke.

The elevator doors opened, and Michael's foot, which had been about to step out, froze. He stiffly turned his head to look at Ronan, slowly saying, "What... did you just say?"

What he really wanted to say was, Are you crazy?!

Even if Alice had become a mother, that child couldn't possibly be Ronan's. Had he forgotten? That woman had been with another man, and Ronan had caught them in the act-witnessed by several others!

No man could forgive such a humiliation.

"How is that possible?" Michael said. "You must be imagining things."

Ronan rubbed his brow, his mind in turmoil. Unknowingly, he mentioned the other man's name, "That child doesn't look like Carl, so it can't be his."

Carl was the man Alice had cheated with-her childhood friend. Michael was in awe of Ronan. How could he so calmly mention the man who had betrayed him?

Michael bluntly pointed out, "But I don't think the kid looks like you either. How can you be sure it's yours?"

Ronan, "It's just a gut feeling."

Michael facepalmed. He felt like he'd reached a new level of disbelief.

Ronan lowered his lashes, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it, took a drag, and exhaled a thin cloud of smoke, his gaze becoming even deeper.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "I'll find an opportunity to do a paternity test."

Asking Alice directly was out of the question; that woman never told the truth.

Michael finally spoke the words he'd been holding back, "You've really lost it."

Ronan had always been decisive. Once he made up his mind, no one could change it. Michael didn't try to talk him out of the paternity test but asked, "What will you do if that child isn't yours? And if it is?"

He and Alice were long in the past. Did it really matter if the child was his?

Most men would be relieved to be child-free. Not Ronan, though. He was going out of his way to claim a child and create trouble for himself.

Something was wrong with his head.



After the wedding, Alice was completely exhausted. It was even more tiring than hosting her own wedding.

She had just helped arrange accommodations for the relatives from the groom's side who had nowhere to stay. Afterward, she drove her grandmother, mother, and the two kids back to her place.

The two children fell asleep in the car. Jane lowered her voice and asked, "I heard from your grandmother that Ronan came to see you?"

At that moment, Alice had just taken Aaron to the bathroom and hadn't seen him.

Ronan... Jane used to refer to him that way.

Alice's gaze darkened, and she replied with a simple "Mm," her mood not very high.

"You and Ronan used to get along so well. If it weren't for your dad's burden, you wouldn't have broken up with him," Jane said sympathetically, her eyes reddening. "Alice, what do you think? After all, Ronan is the child's father..."