Chapter 692
Here is the revised and polished translation, faithfully reflecting the original text’s intent, cultural context, and emotional tone, while ensuring it reads naturally for an American audience:
Forget it, she thought. It would be better to find another chance to tell Amara later- right now, she honestly didn’t have the courage.
As Amara lay on the bed with her eyes closed, trying to rest, she got a text from Keith: “Where did you go?”
She replied, “I brought Tina to a hotel. Tina’s the girl who ran out earlier.”
Keith responded, “Send me the hotel address. I’ll come find you.”
“Okay,” Amara answered, sending him the location.
Keith arrived soon after. Since Tina was still in the room, Amara didn’t want to bring Keith inside, so she met him out in the hallway. The two of them stepped into the stairwell next door.
Keith asked, “Who is this Tina, and how does she know about you and Finnian?”
Amara explained, “She’s a maid for the Everly family. Four months ago, when I went into Finnian’s room, she saw me.”
“She’s actually a really kind-hearted girl. She came to me about it a while back and even offered to speak up for me, but I told her it wasn’t necessary.”
“Tonight, she saw how Emma and the others publicly humiliated me, and she felt so bad for me that she tried to reveal the truth and prove I’m not the kind of woman they said I was. She’s a good kid.”
Amara let out a sigh.
Tina was only five years younger than her, but she was so petite-barely five foot three, pale and slender-she looked even younger, almost fragile. Amara couldn’t help but feel protective of her.
Keith frowned, clearly unsettled by the thought that Finnian might already have figured out the truth about Amara’s pregnancy.
He said, “If you’re not planning to be with Finnian, you must never admit the child is his. No matter what.”
“In the future, it’d be best if you had the baby somewhere else—don’t let Finnian find you. If he ever sees the child and secretly does a paternity test, that would be a disaster.”
Amara knew he was right. She’d already considered that, if Finnian found out, all kinds of trouble would follow.
She sighed again. “I know. I need to think all this through. You probably have a lot to deal with at home-go on, you should get back.”
But even as she spoke, Amara felt completely at a loss.
Finnian was someone with far-reaching influence; if he wanted to know where she was, he could find out with just a phone call. How could she possibly hide from tim another city to have her baby?
Before, she could have gotten away with saying she was going on vacation, but now
that Finnian knew, would he ever let her leave again?
Keith knew it wasn’t a simple
problem to solve, either. He gave Amara’s shoulder areassuring pat “Don’t worry. If you ever decide to leave, I’ll help you. For now, try to get some rest. I’ll head back.”
He gave her a few more words of encouragement, then left the hotel.
Amara returned to her room. Almost immediately, her phone started ringing again—
it was Finnian. He’d been calling her nonstop since earlier, one call after another. She was at her wit’s end.
If this had been before, Amara would
never have blocked him. But after
everything that happened tonight, thinking about Finnian filled her with a complicated mix of
feelings mostly frustration and resentment.
Without hesitating, she bit her lip and blocked his number.
It was only after doing that she finally felt some relief. She lay back down on the bed, and just then, a message popped up from Elysia: “Ama, where are you? I’II come find you.”
Elysia hadn’t attended the dinner tonight, but she was always in the know-she must have already heard what happened. Amara replied, “I’m at a hotel. I’ll send you the address.”