Emma raised her glass, offered a warm toast filled with good wishes, and finished her drink in one go, prompting a round of applause from everyone.

At that moment, it was time for Finnian and Liliana to make their rounds and toast the guests together. Traditionally, when the newlyweds make their toasts, they’re accompanied by assistants to help with their belongings. Liliana was joined by her assistant, Nora. Finnian was supposed to be followed by Hogan.

But Hogan still hadn’t shown up, and no one knew where he had gone. Emma was starting to get annoyed and sent someone to look for him.

Suddenly, Hogan burst into the room, lips pressed tightly together, his expression unusually serious-totally unlike his normal self. He walked straight in, grabbed Finnian’s arm, and said in a low voice, “Bro, I need to tell you something-Amara’s baby might be yours.”

He had spoken quietly enough that the other guests in the hall didn’t hear him, but Finnian, and those close by-Liliana, Emma, Mr. Kevin Everly-caught every word

clearly.

All eyes turned to Hogan, shocked and incredulous, but Hogan paid them no attention; he looked only at Finnian.

“What did you say?”

Finnian appeared as if he hadn’t heard him the first time and asked Hogan to repeat himself. Hogan immediately realized that Finnian hadn’t failed to hear him—he just couldn’t believe what had been said.

Not that you could blame him; who would believe news like this?

“Let’s talk outside,” said Hogan, pulling Finnian out of the hall. Finnian didn’t resist, letting Hogan lead him away.

The wedding guests had no idea what was going on. All they saw was Hogan suddenly rush in and say something to Finnian, after which the groom-the star of the evening-just left. Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

What just happened? Why did he suddenly leave right before the wedding banquet began? Is this wedding even going to happen?

Emma was fuming on the inside at the chaos, but she knew she couldn’t allow the situation to get out of hand and had to step up as host. She forced a smile and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m terribly sorry-my son, Finnian, has something urgent to attend to. He’ll be back as soon as he can.”

“Please don’t worry-he’ll be here soon to toast with everyone. In the meantime, enjoy the food and drinks…”

Emma raised her glass again, drank another as an apology, said a few more cheerful words to lighten the mood, and then stepped outside.

“What exactly did you want to say?”

Alone in a corridor nearby, Finnian turned to Hogan, demanding an explanation.

“It’s urgent, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Hogan said. “Celeste just returned and told me something important. Do you remember how Celeste ended up leaving the country?”

Finnian nodded. “Of course I remember.”

Back then Celeste had tried to set up Hogan and Amara, but her plan failed. Amara managed to get away from Hogan and then Celeste left the country soon after, How could he possibly forget that?

Hogan continued, “The truth is, Celeste wasn’t the one who set up me and Amara. She took the blame for someone else. The person who actually set us up was Liliana.”

Finnian’s expression grew cold, but he stayed silent. Hogan knew Finnian was just waiting for the crucial details, so he continued, “This is a little complicated, so bear with me.”

“Back then, Liliana wanted to set me up with Amara because I had something on her-a secret she didn’t want getting out. That secret- was that she was never pregnant Not once. She never carried your child, because you and she never slept together.”