"I thought if you stayed away..." She swallowed hard. "Maybe your life wouldn’t be ruined because of me."

"Amara..."

"But you refused," she continued, tears gathering in her eyes now. "You stayed anyway." Julian felt his heart breaking piece by piece listening to her.

"And now..." Her breathing became uneven. "Now your own family is calling me a whore." The last word shattered in her throat. Julian closed his eyes briefly, as the sound physically hurt him.

Because it did. God, it did. Amara finally looked at him again, and the tears she had been holding back started falling.

"I know I shouldn’t care," she whispered. "I know I should be stronger than this..." A shaky breath escaped her. "But hearing those things hurt." Julian’s face crumpled instantly.

"It really hurt." She wiped at her tears quickly, almost embarrassed by them.

"I don’t want to make this about me," she continued quietly. "I just... I want this nightmare to end." Julian felt completely helpless. Seeing Amara cry always destroyed him.

But this? This was worse. Because she wasn’t crying from anger. She was crying from humiliation. From exhaustion. From feeling like a burden to the man she loved.

"Baby..." His voice broke badly. Julian reached for her immediately, taking her hand tightly into his. "I’m sorry," he whispered desperately. "I’m so sorry." Amara shook her head faintly, but more tears kept falling anyway.

The car became painfully quiet except for her soft crying. Then she whispered the words Julian feared most. "If the baby is Seb’s..." Julian froze. Amara looked down as she spoke, unable to hold his gaze.

"Please grant me the divorce." The world inside Julian stopped. For a second, he genuinely looked like he could not breathe. Then. "No." The word came out violently. Raw panic flooded his face immediately.

"Hell no." Amara startled slightly at the intensity in his voice. Julian turned fully toward her now, gripping her hand tighter. "Don’t ever say that again." His voice shook.

Not with anger. With fear. Real fear. "Unless you want me to lose my mind completely," he whispered hoarsely, "do not ever bring up divorce to me again."

Fresh tears slipped down Amara’s face. Julian looked devastated, hearing her even suggest it. "I’m never leaving you." Every word came out firm despite the emotion breaking through his voice.

"I don’t care what that DNA test says."

"Julian—"

"I mean it." His eyes filled as he stared at her.

"Unless you look me in the face and tell me you don’t love me anymore..." His breathing became uneven. "That is the only thing that could ever make me let you go."

Amara broke down harder after that because he sounded so sincere. So terrified. Julian lifted his hand to her face immediately, wiping at her tears with trembling fingers. "Nothing else matters to me," he whispered.

"The baby matters."

"You matter."

"But biology?" He shook his head painfully. "I don’t care." Amara cried silently as Julian leaned closer, pressing his forehead gently against hers.

"I chose you," he whispered. The words wrapped around her aching heart. "And I will keep choosing you." Another tear slipped from Amara’s eyes. Julian kissed it away carefully.

"You are my wife," he murmured shakily. "My home. My family." His hand rested protectively over her stomach again.

"And that baby..." His voice softened completely. "That baby is already mine in every way that actually matters." The rest of the drive passed in painful silence. Not the peaceful kind. The kind filled with thoughts too heavy to speak out loud.

Amara leaned against the window quietly, watching the city lights blur together while Julian sat beside her with one hand still holding hers tightly.

Neither of them let go. But neither of them knew how to ease the ache sitting between them, either. By the time they arrived home, exhaustion clung to both of them like a second skin.

The moment they stepped inside the Pedro mansion, Amara slipped off her shoes slowly and reached for her phone again. Julian watched her carefully from across the room. He already knew who she was texting.

Her fingers moved quickly across the screen. Tomorrow. DNA test. Be there. A few seconds later, her phone rang immediately.

Sebastian. Julian’s jaw tightened the second his name appeared. Amara stared at the screen for a moment before answering. "What?" Her voice was cold. Completely stripped of warmth.

On the other side of the line, Seb sighed softly. "Listen, Amara..." he began quietly. "I know you hate me." Julian looked away sharply, already irritated by the sound of his voice.

"And if this is about yesterday," Sebastian continued carefully, "you don’t have to worry. It won’t happen again."

Amara let out a bitter laugh. "Shut up." The words sliced through the air instantly.

Julian glanced at her again. "You act innocent like you haven’t spent years trying to destroy my life," Amara snapped. "Like you haven’t hurt me over and over again." Her breathing became sharper.

"You are exactly who you’ve always been, Sebastain." There was genuine anger in her voice now.

"You only know how to be kind when you want something, or you are getting something from it."

Sebastain went quiet. But Amara wasn’t done. "Show up tomorrow for the test," she continued coldly. "And after that, stay the hell out of my life." Julian listened silently beside her, his chest tightening hearing the pain underneath her anger.

Then Sebastian spoke again. "Come to Mercy Hospital tomorrow instead." Amara frowned immediately.

"What?"

"There’s something I want to show you," Seb said softly. Julian’s eyes narrowed. Every instinct in him immediately distrusted whatever this was.

"You don’t need the DNA test, believe me," Seb continued. "And I’m not going to mess with you anymore." Amara’s expression hardened.

"I can see you’ve moved on," he added quietly. "I won’t bother you again." The sudden softness in his tone only made Julian more suspicious. Because Seb never gave up that easily. Never. Amara looked disturbed, now more than angry.

"What are you planning now? I’m done with your games. Just show up tomorrow," she said quietly.

"Just come tomorrow." And then the line went dead. Amara slowly lowered the phone. The room became quiet again. Julian stared at her for a long second before finally speaking.

"What is he up to now?" His voice carried frustration and fear underneath it. Amara rubbed tiredly at her forehead.

"I don’t know." But the uncertainty in her eyes worried him deeply. Julian walked closer slowly.

"Amara..." His voice softened immediately. "Please reconsider the test." She looked up at him. Julian’s throat tightened. Because the truth was, a small part of him was beginning to fear the answer more than the uncertainty itself.

The uncertainty hurt. But the truth? The truth could destroy everything. And not because of the baby. Never because of the baby. But because Amara had already tied the result to divorce. And Julian could not survive that. He simply couldn’t.