Chapter 3

"Ethan, my boy!"

The voice was deep, familiar, and laced with genuine warmth.

Ethan turned to see Mr. Davis making his way through the crowd, his face beaming.

Sophia' s father, a titan of the tech industry, was a man whose presence filled any room. He clapped Ethan on the shoulder, his grip firm and paternal.

"It's been too long! Look at you. The country life agrees with you."

He hadn't seen the earlier confrontation. He was blissfully unaware of the venom his daughter had just spewed.

Mr. Davis's eyes twinkled as he glanced between Ethan and Sophia, who had sullenly rejoined her father's side.

"I'm so glad you're back," the older man said, his voice booming. "I was just telling Sophia's mother the other day, it's time we finally set things right. I always knew you two were meant for each other."

His words were a relic from another time, from a life Ethan no longer lived.

He was speaking of old family promises, of a strategic union he had desired for years.

Sophia went rigid.

"Dad! Stop it!" she hissed, her face flushing with a mixture of embarrassment and panic. "What are you talking about?"

Mr. Davis waved her protest away with a sweep of his hand, a man completely accustomed to having his will be done.

"Don't be shy, Sophia. The whole world knows I wanted Ethan for a son-in-law. Now that he's back from his... little break... it's time you two settled down and made an old man happy."

He was putting on a show for his guests, reasserting his authority and his plans for his family's dynasty.

Ethan knew he had to end this now.

He shifted Leo's weight on his hip and looked Mr. Davis directly in the eye.

His voice was respectful but unyielding.

"Mr. Davis, I appreciate the thought, I truly do. But I can't marry Sophia."

He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in.

"I'm already married. And this," he said, gesturing with his chin toward the boy in his arms, "is my son, Leo."

The declaration landed like a bomb in the middle of the party.

The air crackled with stunned silence.

Mr. Davis's smile vanished. His face clouded with confusion. He looked from Ethan's earnest expression to his daughter's panicked one.

"Sophia?" he demanded, his voice dropping. "What is he talking about?"

Sophia, cornered and exposed, snapped.

All her poise and practiced grace evaporated, replaced by raw, frantic fury.

"He's lying!" she shrieked, lunging forward and shoving Ethan with both hands. "You're doing this just to humiliate me! To ruin my father's party!"

The shove was unexpectedly forceful.

Ethan stumbled back a step, his arms tightening instinctively around Leo.

The sudden movement scared his son, and Leo let out a terrified wail.

Instantly, Ethan's focus narrowed to his child. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Leo. Daddy's got you. You're safe." He rocked the crying boy, murmuring words of comfort.

His calm care for the child seemed to enrage Sophia even more.

"He's not your son!" she screamed, her voice ragged. The carefully constructed socialite was gone, replaced by a petulant, cruel child. "It's all a stunt! You hired him! You're trying to ruin everything!"

Her denial was a desperate, pathetic attempt to bend reality back to her will, but the truth was already out, and it was watching her with cold, unforgiving eyes.