Chapter 2 The Confession Escalates

The game continued.

Gwen dropped another bombshell without the slightest hint of hesitation on her part. "I went to a hotel with Nikolas the night I accepted your proposal."

She paused before adding, "We had sex the whole night. No protection."

The words landed like a hammer, and the air in the room seemed to freeze. No one said a word. They simply looked at me with sympathy in their eyes.

"Gwen… don't you think that's going a little too far?"

"You started off with something this explosive. Do you think Luc can handle it?"

Nikolas tugged lightly at Gwen's sleeve, pretending to dissuade her. However, the smugness in his voice was impossible to hide.

Gwen merely waved him off. "This is nothing. I figured I'd start with something big so he'd have time to prepare himself. Otherwise, he might not survive more than a couple of rounds."

I smiled faintly, my heart utterly unmoved as I shot back, "I already knew that. Seven years ago, while the two of you were screwing each other senseless… I was in the room next door with another woman."

The night I proposed, I had received a phone call from Nikolas' then-girlfriend, Jasmine Rivera. The two of us had stood with our ears against the wall, listening to them go at it all night.

Jasmine had wanted to burst into the room and catch them in the act more times than I could count, but I'd stopped her every single time because I had been foolishly in love with Gwen.

I convinced myself that it was nothing more than a breakup fling. That the two of them would finally cut each other out of their lives for good once they got it out of their system.

Alas, reality proved me otherwise, telling me repeatedly for the past seven years that those thoughts had been nothing but wishful thinking.

"Lucien, do you think that'll make me angry?" Gwen scoffed, looking at me with unconcealed disdain. "Do you know what happened after that night? I got pregnant. And I gave birth to the baby."

The room exploded.

One shocking revelation after another had left everyone's scalp tingling as whispers immediately broke out around the table.

"Holy shit… this isn't a confession game anymore. This is a full-blown bloodbath!"

"Lucien's got it rough. Married for seven years before finding out his wife cheated on him with her first love and even had his child? Oof."

"Oh, come on. Why are you pitying him? He knew about it seven years ago and still didn't divorce her. He practically asked to be cuckolded."

"Exactly. Didn't he admit he cheated on her and had a kid too? They're two of a kind if you ask me. Neither of them's any saint."

I paid no attention to their comments. I simply pulled a cigarette from my pocket, lit it, and took a slow drag.

As the smoke drifted from my lips, I spoke calmly. "I knew that too. Your prenatal checkup report was hidden inside the coat Nikolas gave you. Bayport Medical Center. You went there three times."

All color visibly drained from Gwen and Nikolas' faces.

She had expected this revelation to shatter me. She'd thought I'd lose control, scream, make a scene, maybe even flip the table and storm out. Instead, I denied her the satisfaction of watching me break.

When she remained silent, I calmly twisted the knife a little deeper. "There's just one thing I've always wanted to ask you. Where is that child now?"