“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he continued, his voice barely audible now. “But I saw the kids, and I just... I had to know.”
I looked away, my heart pounding. I had kept the truth hidden for so long, buried beneath layers of resentment and heartache. But now, faced with Roman’s regret, the truth hovered on the tip of my tongue.
“You’re not leaving this van until we talk,” Roman said firmly but not in an unkind manner.
"You don’t know anything about them, Roman," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, though my chest tightened with each word.
His jaw clenched as he replied through gritted teeth. “I saw them, Ruby. They look just like—”
“They’re not yours,” I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. The words came out sharper than I intended, like the crack of a whip. I needed to stop this before he got any closer to the truth.
“I moved on. You don’t get to come back and claim something that isn’t yours.”
For a brief moment, his face softened—just a flicker of vulnerability tha
