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Evelyn's POV

“Oh my God… Genevieve, what is this?”

I held the little stick up like it was evidence in a courtroom.

Both their heads turned toward me.

Damien frowned, squinting. But when the realization hit, his eyes widened.

“Is that—” he started.

“Yes,” I said, my grip tightening on the strip. “A pregnancy test. And it’s positive.”

Genevieve turned around so quickly you’d think I’d caught her red-handed with a smoking gun. Her hands went to her hair, scratching and fidgeting. For a moment, she looked nervous. But then, just as fast she blinked it away, smoothing her features into calmness.

“I was… I was meaning to tell you,” she said quietly. “It’s part of why my condition worsened. Everything has gone wrong for me lately. My cards were frozen. My account, empty. I was even robbed at my hostel. All my money is gone. And now—” she pressed a hand delicately against her stomach, “now I’m pregnant. I can’t take care of myself. That’s why I came here. I need family.”

Damien’s brows pulled tight. “Robbed? When?”

“In school,” she said quickly, eyes darting away. “At my hostel. I’ve lost everything.”

My arms crossed over my chest. “Pregnant? With whose child, Genevieve? Since when do you even have a boyfriend?”

She hesitated. Scratched her head again. And then… she turned to Damien.

“It’s… yours.”

The words hit me like a clap of thunder on my head.

My mouth fell open. Damien froze, blinking like his brain had short-circuited.

“What?” His tone was raked in disbelief.

Even I couldn’t process it. I staggered a step forward.

“What did you just say, Genevieve? I hope it's my ear that is faulty and not your sentence, right?”

And then, like the venomous snake she was, Genevieve slithered closer. Her lips curved into that demure little smile I’d seen her practice in mirrors when we were teenagers.

She reached out, curling her fingers around Damien’s arm tenderly.

“Brother-in-law,” she purred softly, “don’t you remember that night?”

~

The silence after her words was deafening. Even the house seemed to hold its breath. I blinked once, then twice. My ears buzzed like I had just stepped in an explosion's range.

“Excuse me?” Damien’s stiffened beneath her grip, his entire body went rigid like stone.

Genevieve’s hand lingered there, Her eyes glistened, soft and fragile, but underneath that gloss, I saw a very saucy-scheming brat.

“Genevieve, what did you just say?”

She tilted her head, batting her lashes as though this were some coy game.

“That night at the deal-signing celebration, after you two had a little quarrel. Damien…..you came to me. You don’t remember?”

Damien gulped.

“What?” His tone was strangled, frantic. “I would never, I-I—”

But Genevieve pressed on. “It’s fine… I don’t blame you. We were both hurting. You had too much to drink. You needed comfort, and I simply gave it.”

The room tilted around me. My chest tightened, fury clawing up my throat.

“You liar.” My voice came out like a hiss. “You manipulative, vile—”

“Evelyn—” Damien tried, but his words faltered.

Genevieve, meanwhile, straightened her spine, feigning wounded dignity. “You think I want to admit this? Do you think I enjoy being in this position Evelyn, I didn't mean to get pregnant, I was drunk too, I just...I don't know okay, it just happened. But the truth is the truth. I’m carrying his child.”

I wanted to yell, to question if I was really hearing these words correctly. But instead, I laughed.

“You expect me to believe this? That my husband, my husband of all people, slept with you?” I spat the word like venom.

Her lips curved just slightly. “Believe what you like. The proof will come in nine months.”

Damien dragged both hands down his face, his voice rough, hoarse. “No. No, this is insane. Evelyn, I swear to you, I never touched her!”

Genevieve tilted her chin. “Oh, but you did, Damien.”

Damien’s head snapped up. “I—what?”

Genevieve stepped forward, her hands clasped protectively over her stomach as though shielding some precious jewel.

“Listen, I don’t want to seem like I’m destroying my sister’s marriage. That’s the last thing I want.” Her eyes flicked to me, shimmering with false tears. “But somebody has to take responsibility for this baby. Because I wasn’t the one who got myself pregnant, was I?”

I let out a broken laugh. “You’re unbelievable. You’ll spin any tale if it benefits you!”

Damien shook his head violently. “This is madness, Genevieve. I don’t even—”

She cut him off. “Fine. Since you’re pretending and putting on a show… I’ll show you proof.”

Before I could even process what she was doing, she slipped her phone out of her pocket.  She tapped her screen and it revealed a video, grainy and in black-and-white.

It portrayed Damien, he was in her room. His body moved above hers, her hands gripping his back while he balls slapped the underside of Genevieve's cheeks. And she, she didn't seem drunk, he didn't either.

But then came the worst part.

“Gen, I wonder what it would feel like to see your belly rounded with my child.”

“No…” I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.

Damien froze in horror. His eyes locked on the screen like it was the first time he was seeing it. “That’s—No, no, that’s not—This is a setup. Evelyn, I swear to you, this is not—this isn’t—”

But Genevieve only smirked. “You said you were drunk that night. But your breath didn’t even stink of alcohol. Which means…” She gave a little shrug, smugness dripping from every syllable. “You did it with a clear mind. You wanted me.”

Damien whipped around to face her, his voice hardening. “You should have discussed this privately with me, Genevieve! Not here and definitely not like this!”

Privately.

I reeled back as if I had been slapped. My gaze snapped to Damien. “Privately? PRIVATELY?” I screamed. “You—you mean there is truth to this?”

He reached for me, desperate. “Evelyn, no. Listen to me. It was a lapse in judgement...”

But my hand flew up, stopping him mid-step.

“My husband, you would do this? You would do this to me?”

Damien’s face crumpled. “Evelyn, please—”

But I was already shaking my head. “No. No. I will not allow this. I can’t allow this! Genevieve will not have this baby here, Damien! Not under this roof. Not while I am still breathing!”

Genevieve’s lips curved like she had been waiting for this very moment. “Oh, Evelyn,” she said softly, her hand smoothing over her still-flat belly. “I’ll have more than just this baby.”

I snapped my head toward her. “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes glittered with triumph. “Tradition.” She smirked. “You know what it means in our family. If a woman conceives with a man outside wedlock, it is a stain on the family rep. A disgrace. The only way to redeem that child’s bloodline is marriage.”

Damien’s face drained of color.

Genevieve smirked.

"You broke my hymen Damien, don't act so surprised."

She turned to me.

“Damien will have to marry me. Before my bump becomes visible.”