Chapter 206: To Hold You Together
The conversation Cammy had with her mother the night before was nothing like what she had imagined. She had prayed for calm, for closure, for a soft unraveling of the tangled questions in her heart. But instead, her world tilted—violently.
She never expected Monica to look her in the eyes with trembling desperation and beg to return to the man whom her mother abandoned—her biological father.
Sleep had evaded her. Her thoughts churned endlessly, too loud to ignore. So she left early, heading to Arlon Medical Center a full hour before the DNA test results would be ready—anything to escape the echo of her mother’s voice, pleading with a ghost from the past.
She remembered Ric had mentioned he’d be attending the Children’s Month event at the center. Somehow, her feet moved toward the promise of his presence without much thought. And he was there, exactly where he said he would be—impossible to miss. The moment she walked in, her eyes found him.
Ric stood like a beacon amid the crowd, glowing with effortless charm. People flocked to him near the buffet table he’d generously sponsored, his laughter light and magnetic, his smile disarming.
He was the kind of man who made everyone feel like they mattered, even in a sea of strangers. His face was striking, his physique commanding—but it was his warmth that truly drew people in.
So different from Greg.
Greg, with his cold edges and sharp stares, with the air of a man who wore authority like armor. His presence alone could silence a room. He didn’t invite conversation—he dared people to challenge him. Where Ric radiated light, Greg was a storm contained in a suit.
Her breath hitched as her mind whispered his name. "Greg..." The syllables fell from her lips like a prayer covered in ache.
She turned toward the towering window, eyes unfocused as she stared into the blur of the world outside. Her reflection wavered against the glass, just as her heart did.
The truth Monica confessed still hadn’t fully landed. It hovered above her, waiting to strike. Maybe when she saw the DNA test results in black and white—cold, clinical, undeniable—maybe then it would break through. Maybe then she’d finally accept the cruel truth: