Chapter 23
DIANA
My heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
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I kept pacing, one step forward, then back, my palms cold and clammy. Everything was spiraling, slipping through my fingers faster than I could grasp. This wasn’t how I imagined any of this. Not after all the years. Not after all the sacrifices.
When Damien left the hotel with Jeff yesterday, I knew something was wrong. He just left me alone in that room like I meant nothing. And maybe I did.
But the real panic hadn’t started then. It started the moment I saw her.
Cia Jones.
No, Alicia.
It had to be Alicia.
Same hair. Same face. Same damn eyes. I stood frozen at that doorway, staring at a ghost from the past, but ghosts didn’t walk into five–star hotels with designer shoes and flawless confidence. Ghosts didn’t become Damien’s assistant. Alicia was blind. She was blind.
So why was she staring right at me?
I tried to breathe. Tried to pretend it wasn’t her. That Damien was right when he snapped at me, saying I was being disrespectful. He said her name was Cia Jones.
But the way he protected her… it rattled me.
Later that night, I sat curled on the hotel bed, in the dark, with nothing but my phone screen lighting up my face. I searched her. Cia Jones. Pictures. Schools. Work history. A polished, perfect trail of someone who wasn’t Alicia.
I couldn’t sleep. Something about the records felt too clean, too perfectly placed. And yet… what if I was wrong? What if it wasn’t her?
But the way she smiled at Jeff while he slept. The way Damien looked at her…. it was as if she’d always belonged beside them.
And what scared me most? She fit. Effortlessly.
I couldn’t afford to be wrong.
Mentioning Alicia by name was out of the question. Damien would ask questions and demand answers. And I’d have to lie…. again. Lie about the name I’d claimed as mine.
No. If I exposed her, I’d expose myself too.
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But I wasn’t going to just sit back and watch some woman—real or fake–slide into Damien’s life and take everything I’d worked for. Everything I endured.
Now, I felt like a ghost. Unwanted. Fading. I couldn’t let her be the reason I disappeared completely.
By morning, my head throbbed from the restless night. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. I stumbled into the bathroom, washed my face, threw on a robe, and hurried to Damien’s room.
Empty.
No suitcase. No Jeff.
Gone.
He left me behind. Took our son and left.
I stared at the bed, trying to keep my breathing steady. This was a new Damien. A version of him I had never seen before. He’d always tolerated my flaws, always forgiven my outbursts. But now? He wasn’t even pretending.
I booked the next flight home.
The moment I stepped into his house, I felt like I didn’t belong there.
Jeff barely looked at me when I walked into his room. He was on the floor, playing with toy blocks, mumbling something under his breath. I tried to touch his hair, but he shrugged me off.
“Where’s Daddy?” he asked, not even glancing up.
I smiled tightly. “He’ll be back soon. Do you want to play with me?”
“No,” he muttered. “You can go.”
He used to call me Mummy with so much joy. Now, I was just… someone. Background noise.
I turned and walked out of his room before I snapped. Before I said something I couldn’t take back.
I stayed in the living room, waiting.
And waiting.
Damien didn’t come back until night had fallen. His tie hung loose, jacket in hand, shirt unbuttoned halfway. He looked… spent. Satisfied. My eyes narrowed before I could stop myself.
A woman. I knew that look. I knew that scent. There was another woman’s perfume clinging to him. And I had a strong feeling about who it belonged to.
When I wrapped my arms around him, softly, like a woman in love, I pressed my nose against his neck.
There it was. Another woman.
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My throat burned. But I didn’t let it show. If I acted angry, he’d push me out.
So I wept just enough. Made my voice tremble just right.
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“You promised me,” I whispered, gripping his shirt. “You said someday I’d be the one. I’ve waited, Damien. I’ve loved you for years. I gave you a son. If I’m doing something wrong, just tell me. I’ll change. I’ll do better. Just… don’t leave me.”
I felt his body stiffen.
I knew Damien. Knew every weakness he tried so hard to hide. All it ever took was a reminder of his promises…. and tears. My tears. He could act cold, furious, detached… but he would always break when I cried. That had always been my lifeline.
And I was just about to use it again, to win back the ground I’d been losing. Until Jeff ruined it.
Until that boy picked the worst possible moment to fall.
One second, he was being rude to me. The next, he dropped like a lifeless doll, and Damien’s roar echoed in my ears as he scooped him up and bolted for the car. I had no choice but to follow, clinging to the performance I knew I had to give.
Tears poured from my eyes like I meant them. I held Jeff in my arms in the backseat, rocking him, calling his name, choking out prayers I never believed in. I had to look the part. I had to play the grieving mother. Even if it wasn’t real.
Especially because it wasn’t real.
I never wanted this child. Jeff was never mine to love. He was a means to an end–an obligation I endured for the sake of Damien’s affections. But now… now, this situation could actually work in my favor.
At the hospital, I threw myself to the floor. My knees hit the tiles hard, but I didn’t care. The more pain I showed, the more convincing I’d seem. I screamed for Jeff, clawed at my chest, pulled at my hair. All eyes were on me. That’s how it needed to be.
And when Damien finally broke, when his arms wrapped around me, when I felt him hold me again, I knew. I knew this tragedy could bring us closer.
Maybe this was what I needed all along.
Maybe if I gave him a real child, something would change. Jeff wasn’t mine by blood. That had always been a silent weight in my mind. But if I could get Damien to sleep with me again, if I could get pregnant this time, everything would be different. A new child. My child. His child.
Our family.
When the doctor mentioned needing a sibling for a transplant, my heart fluttered with opportunity. I told him I could get pregnant. I was ready,
But Damien shut it down almost instantly.
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Chapter 23
“Jeff doesn’t have time,” he said, voice hard and final.
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No, that wasn’t the real reason. He just didn’t want to be with me. That’s what it was. He’d made up his mind. But I wasn’t done fighting. I would cling to every promise he’d made, every look he’d ever given me. That assistant, Alicia, Cia Jones, whoever the hell she was….. she wasn’t going to win. Not after everything I had
sacrificed.
Then the doctor said it: Fanconi Anemia.
I had no idea what that was. Just hearing the name made my stomach knot. And when he started talking about genetics and bone marrow and samples, I felt ice creep into my spine.
Genetic testing.
DNA.
What if he compared Jeff’s DNA with mine?
What if the truth came out?
I forced my face to stay still, lips trembling just enough. The doctor went on, explaining how they’d need blood samples. I heard him make a phone call, asking nurses to bring equipment.
I needed to get out. Now.
I pushed to my feet so suddenly my chair scraped across the floor. Damien looked up sharply. His eyes narrowed.
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“I… I’m scared of needles,” I blurted. It was the only thing that came to my head.
He scoffed. “Seriously? Our son is fighting for his life, and that’s what you’re thinking about?”
My palms were already slick with sweat. I could feel it rolling down my spine, despite the cold blast of the air conditioning.
The doctor raised a hand, trying to soothe. “It’s okay. If you’re afraid of needles, we can take saliva instead.”
No…
I could feel the floor tilting. There was nowhere to run. Damien’s stare pinned me to the spot. His jaw was clenched so tight I could hear the strain in his silence.
I started backing away. “I… I can’t do this. I’m having a panic attack.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Damien said quietly.
I turned, trying to get to the door, just as the nurses walked in….. one man, two women, all holding trays and containers and gloves.
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And then the doctor spoke again. “Don’t let her leave.”
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Two of them blocked the exit. The male nurse moved toward me. “Ma’am, please. It’ll only take a moment.”
“I’m having a panic attack,” I hissed, voice trembling, “I can’t breathe….”
“You’ll be fine. We just need a quick saliva sample,” the doctor insisted, far too calm.
I struggled, jerking my face away, but the male nurse held my arms from behind, firm but gentle. The other nurse brought a cotton swab close to my mouth.
I saw Damien’s face, watching.
Not helping.
Was this his plan? Did he already suspect?
I stopped fighting. Struggling would only make me look guilty. I let them swab the inside of my cheek. Pretended to be composed. Inside, I was screaming.
When it was Damien’s turn, I collapsed to the ground and wailed.
“Please, Jeff! I can’t live without Jeff! Please, God, don’t take him from me!”
It was the doctor who crouched beside me, murmuring kind words. Patting my shoulder. Saying Jeff would be okay.
But I wasn’t crying for Jeff.
I was crying for myself.
Because if that DNA test exposed the truth… I’d lose everything.
I told them I needed air.
My voice had cracked on the words, but no one looked too closely. They probably thought I was overwhelmed, grieving like a good mother should. But I wasn’t grieving, I was plotting.
I stepped out, pressing my back against the cold hospital wall. The hallway was quiet, sterile, and painfully bright. I peeked around the corner. The nurses were just leaving the room where they’d taken our samples- my sample. My fake identity. My only lifeline.
I waited. Counted their steps as they disappeared down the corridor.
One… two… three…
Now,
I moved quickly, my eyes darting. The room door was just ahead. If I could find my tube, just my tube, I could switch it. Spill it. Smash it. Anything. They’d chalk it up to error. Buy us more time. Buy me more time to get someone else sample and exchange it with mine.
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But just as I reached for the handle……
“Where are you going?”
My stomach dropped.
I turned slowly, already blinking back tears.
Damien.
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His brows were furrowed, concern in his voice. Why now? Why did he always show up when I needed him to disappear?
“I just… I couldn’t stay in there,” I stammered, letting the tears come. “I needed a moment. My son is in that room, Damien. My son, Jeff, he’s lying there like… like he’s already gone. I can’t take it.”
He softened, damn him. His voice dipped low, soothing. “Come on. Let’s go be with him. He needs us both
now.”
No. No, I need to get back to that room. I need to ruin that test.
But he reached for my hand and gave me no choice. I plastered a look of brokenness across my face and let him lead me.
When we entered Jeff’s room, the sight of him sucked the breath out of me. He looked worse, palid and still, a pale mask covering half his face. Damien told me to sit with him, and I did, though my legs shook beneath
- me.
Damien stood at the foot of the bed, watching Jeff like a man on the edge of something fragile. I swallowed hard. I needed him gone.
Just as I opened my mouth to invent a reason to leave, Damien said, “Stay here and watch him. I need to make a phone call.”
I froze. Yes. Yes, go. Leave me.
I nodded quickly, hiding my relief. “Of course,” I whispered.
The second he left, I slid off the chair and moved fast. My steps were silent, but my heart was pounding like war drums. I kept my eyes ahead–straight to the room.
When I reached the door, I grabbed the handle and tugged. Locked.
What?
No. No, it wasn’t locked. I jiggled it again…. harder……and it popped open with a quiet click. Just tightly shut. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me.
Empty.
No samples. No trays. Nothing.
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My chest caved. I circled the room, opening every cabinet, checking behind the privacy curtain, even looking under the counter like a madwoman.
“Where the hell is it? Where did they put it?”
This was the room. I’d seen the nurses come out of it. I knew it.
I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to think. Could I bribe the doctor?
No.
Not someone like him. He looked at Damien like he was royalty. And Damien? He had enough money to buy his loyalty ten times over. I couldn’t compete.
Even if I offered the doctor everything I had, he’d never risk it. Not for me.
And that meant…
Damien.
He’d be back soon. If he came into the room and I was missing, again, it would be worse.
I rushed back, my heart thundering. I turned the corner, and there he was, just stepping into Jeff’s room.
I ran to catch up.
“Why are you outside?” he asked.
I didn’t flinch. I was already crying.
“I…. I went to look for you,” I lied, holding his gaze. “Jeff’s hand twitched. I got excited. I thought maybe he was waking up, so I ran to get you.”
Damien didn’t question it. He nodded and stepped inside.
We both stood over Jeff, watching him sleep like the dead. His tiny chest rose and fell, very slow, very faint.
“He’s still unconscious,” Damien said. His voice cracked.
I nodded, staying silent.
He turned to me. “Stay with him. I’ll go ask the doctor if any matches have come in yet. Maybe the registries…”
He trailed off and left.
And I exhaled.
But it wasn’t relief. It was dread.
Because if the doctor ran even one extra test…. one harmless DNA match between Jeff and me…. everything
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Chapter 23
would fall apart.
My mask. My name. My only thread to Damien.
I sat beside Jeff, hands clenched tightly on my lap, and whispered into the sterile, humming air.
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“Please. Just don’t let them test the DNA. Please. Because if they do… if they find out… I won’t just lose Damien. I’ll lose everything I stole from Alicia.”
