Chapter 161: I Knew You Would Come
#EDITED
Lyse had found a measure of peace at the women’s shelter, a temporary respite from the turmoil of her personal life. But the calm was shattered by the ringing of her phone. When she glanced at the screen and saw James’s name, a wave of relief washed over her; she had missed his comforting presence and his jovial manner. It seemed that he had come back from his trip, there was finally someone she could wail and complain to.
"James!" she answered, her voice filled with warmth. "It is so good to hear from you, I can’t believe you abandoned me for this long." She added with a pout.
"Lyse, thank God I caught you," James’s voice was strained, laced with urgency. "You need to come back to the city. It’s... it’s about Levi, so much is happening here."
Lyse’s heart pounded in her chest. A cold dread settled over her, a premonition that something terrible had happened.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "What has happened to Levi?"
"It’s complicated," James said, his voice hesitant. "But you need to hear this. First... Levi is not Brandon’s father."
Lyse froze, her mind reeling. She thought she knew everything, that the most dramatic thing had happened, the fact that Levi had hidden Brandon’s true parentage, but this was a new revelation.
"What? What do you mean?" she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "What are you talking about?"
"It’s all over the news, the whole city is in an uproar I’m surprised you are unaware." James explained. "But Levi must have done a DNA test that confirmed that he is not Brandon’s biological father."
Lyse remained silent, trying to process this information. It was a shocking revelation, a complete upheaval of everything she had believed to be true. She felt a strain of guilt press down on her chest as she realized that she had judged Levi harshly, she wondered how long he had known about Brandon not being his son.