By the time Dani got home, exhaustion had already settled deep into his bones.
The twins had fallen asleep in the back seat during the drive, unaware that the world around them had changed overnight. Dani carried them inside one after the other while the caregiver quietly followed behind.
The apartment felt unusually silent.
Heavy.
Like every wall now carried secrets he had been too blind to notice before.
After settling the children into their room, the caregiver checked the time nervously.
It was already late.
"I should head home now, sir," she said softly.
Dani barely responded. "Fine."
The woman left quickly, grateful to escape the suffocating tension hanging in the air.
Dani remained seated at the edge of the children's bed long after she left.
The twins slept peacefully, completely innocent in all of this.
He stared at them quietly.
The same children he had once looked at with pride now filled him with confusion.
He wanted to hate them.
But he couldn't.
None of this was their fault.
His thoughts slowly blurred together until exhaustion finally overtook him.
Without realizing it, Dani fell asleep sitting beside the bed.
The next morning, he woke to the sound of the caregiver entering the room again.
Sunlight spilled through the curtains, and for a moment, Dani looked disoriented.
Then reality hit him all over again.
The test results.
Abi.
Chelsea.
Josh.
His chest tightened.
He stood up silently and left the children's room to prepare for work.
When Dani arrived at the company, the atmosphere immediately shifted.
Employees greeted him nervously as he walked past, sensing the dangerous mood surrounding him.
But Dani ignored everyone.
The moment he spotted Josh across the office floor, his expression darkened.
"Come to my office," he said coldly before walking away.
Josh frowned in confusion but followed shortly after.
A few minutes later, Josh hurried into the office.
"Boss," he greeted quickly. "I heard Chelsea was hospitalized. How is she feeling now? And the baby? I thought you'd still be with her—"
The questions poured out one after another without pause.
Josh never noticed the terrifying silence inside the room.
Dani sat behind his desk staring at him coldly.
Then he spoke.
"Chelsea is fine."
Josh visibly relaxed.
"And your baby is fine too," Dani continued.
The relief on Josh's face froze instantly.
Dani leaned back slowly in his chair.
"I've really been doing a good job raising your children for you."
For a second, Josh looked completely blank.
Then realization struck him like lightning.
His face lost all color.
"Mr… Mr. Wellfound…" he stammered weakly. "What do you mean by that?"
Dani stood up.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
He walked toward Josh until only a small distance separated them.
"I said," Dani repeated quietly, "Chelsea is fine. And your baby is fine too."
His jaw tightened.
"You hid it well, Josh. I'll give you that."
Josh's legs suddenly gave out beneath him.
He dropped to his knees immediately.
"Boss, please!" he cried. "It wasn't my intention! Please forgive me!"
Dani's eyes narrowed.
Josh grabbed onto his trousers desperately.
"It was Chelsea!" he confessed frantically. "Everything was Chelsea's idea! She threatened me… I swear I never wanted this to happen!"
Dani's breathing grew heavier.
"She threatened you?" he repeated darkly.
Josh nodded repeatedly while crying.
"The first time she came into this company… she approached me first. I tried to avoid her, but she kept coming back. Then one night…" His voice shook violently. "She said if I refused her, she would accuse me of assault and ruin my life."
Dani froze.
Josh lowered his head in shame.
"I was scared," he whispered. "But then things got worse. She said she was pregnant and claimed the child was yours. I wanted to confess many times, but I didn't know how. You trusted me so much…"
Dani looked away sharply.
That part hurt more than he expected.
He had treated Josh like family.
Like a younger brother.
And all this time…
The betrayal had been happening right under his nose.
As Dani struggled to process everything, the office door suddenly burst open.
Mrs. Wellfound stormed inside.
Without hesitation, she marched straight toward Josh and slapped him violently across the face.
"You ungrateful rat!" she screamed. "My son treated you like family and this is how you repay him?"
Josh lowered his head silently.
"You people from dirty gutters never change!" she spat furiously.
"Mother, enough!" Dani snapped.
But Mrs. Wellfound was trembling uncontrollably with rage.
Dani stared at her carefully.
Only then did he notice her appearance properly.
Her hair was scattered.
Her makeup ruined.
Even her clothes looked wrinkled.
"Mom…" Dani frowned. "What happened to you?"
The moment he asked, Mrs. Wellfound broke down completely.
Tears poured from her eyes.
"It's all my fault…" she cried.
Dani stiffened.
For years, Mrs. Wellfound had buried a secret deep inside her heart.
The accident Dani suffered years ago…
The one that affected him permanently…
She was responsible.
Back then, after the accident damaged Dani internally, doctors had recommended expensive treatment and proper medication.
But instead of using the money fully for his care, she secretly chose a cheaper hospital and lower-quality drugs to save money.
The result destroyed Dani's fertility permanently.
His body still functioned normally.
But his sperm cells had long died.
Mrs. Wellfound collapsed into a chair while crying bitterly.
"I ruined my own son's future…" she whispered painfully.
And now…
She had also been the one who introduced Chelsea into Dani's life.
The guilt was suffocating her.
Earlier that morning, after receiving copies of the fertility and DNA reports from Abi, she had immediately flown back to Country Q.
The moment she landed, she rushed straight to the hospital.
And there—
She attacked Chelsea.
At first, Chelsea had smiled when she saw Mrs. Wellfound entering the room.
She thought the older woman had come to comfort her.
Instead—
SLAP!
The force of the slap nearly threw her off the bed.
Chelsea stared at her in shock.
"What is the meaning of this?!" she screamed.
That was when she learned the truth had finally been exposed.
But the moment she heard Dani was infertile, her expression changed.
Then suddenly—
She laughed.
"I helped your infertile son!" Chelsea shouted back viciously. "You should be thanking me instead!"
Years of suppressed resentment exploded out of her.
Chelsea was tired of pretending.
Tired of being controlled.
Tired of Mrs. Wellfound constantly ordering her around.
The hospital room instantly became chaotic.
The two women grabbed at each other violently, screaming insults while nurses rushed in to separate them.
No one could believe the strength Chelsea suddenly displayed despite always pretending delicate because of her pregnancy.
Eventually, the nurses forced them apart.
Mrs. Wellfound stormed out furiously.
The moment she entered her car, she immediately called Chelsea's mother.
After all
It was Chelsea's mother who introduced her daughter while proudly claiming she was "pure" and innocent.
But Chelsea's mother was not someone who accepted insults quietly.
As the owner of a small rural brothel, she had survived life through harsh experience and manipulation.
The moment Mrs. Wellfound began cursing her daughter, the older woman exploded.
"You should be ashamed of yourself too!" Chelsea's mother fired back. "Like mother, like son! You rich people think money makes you better than everyone!"
Mrs. Wellfound's face twisted in disgust.
Then coldly—
She ended the call.