Chapter 861

 861:
He looked up, locking eyes with Collin’s cold, steady gaze. His mouth opened, but no words would come.
“You can leave now,” Collin said flatly, glancing at the assistant.
The assistant gave a slight bow and slipped quietly out of the office. Dustin was still staring at the papers, trembling in his grip. How was this even possible?
“Enough.” Collin extended his hand, calmly retrieved the file, and set it aside with a flick of indifference. “Linsey had a daughter,” he said. “There’s no reason to act so shocked.”
Dustin studied Collin’s face, searching for even a flicker of emotion—but found nothing. There was no anger or sadness, just that familiar, unreadable calm.
After a pause, he ventured carefully, “Who is the father of Linsey’s daughter?”
He didn’t have to finish the question. Collin caught the thread.
“Gorman claims he is the father.”
His lids lifted a fraction, his voice calm and remote, as though recounting something insignificant. “I ran into the child again yesterday at the hospital. That makes it the third time now.”
Only then did the memory snap into place for Dustin—the time he had seen Gorman at the airport, not long ago, accompanied by a little girl. Back then, they had both remarked on how strikingly the child resembled Linsey.
So it was true. Linsey had a daughter. And that child… was Gorman’s.
Lɑtєѕτ cнαρτєrs ιn g𝒶l𝑛ovєls.𝗰𝒐𝓂
The realization hit him like a slow, rolling tide.
Four years had passed. Everything had changed.
Dustin just couldn’t resist asking the question aloud.
“Is that child really Gorman’s?”
He glanced toward the stack of documents Collin had tossed aside earlier. “Those papers don’t confirm paternity.”
Collin gave a short nod. “No, they don’t. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve made my decision. I’m going after Linsey again.”
A spark lit in Dustin’s eyes. “You’re serious? You’re actually going to pursue her again?”
Collin’s lips thinned into a firm line. “Yes.”
“But… what about Gorman?” Dustin asked hesitantly, the uncertainty threading into his voice.
After all, Linsey and Gorman shared a child. Didn’t that make them a family now?
“They’re not married,” Collin said flatly, cutting clean through the fog of implication. “Gorman told me himself.”
A muscle in Collin’s jaw twitched, and for the first time, anger flashed in his eyes. “He let her raise a child on her own without marrying her. What kind of man does that? Irresponsible bastard.”
A slow grin crept across Dustin’s face. “Collin, this could be your window. Maybe she never even loved him. If she had, they would’ve tied the knot years ago. Four years—they had more than enough time for vows and a grand wedding.”
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