Chapter 157: What did you just say?
The words burst out of her lips before she could even stop herself. A gasp emerged from my lips as silence enveloped us for what felt like an eternity.
I watched as Evelyn’s face went pale within the next second while James froze in his spot and he was looking at his wife with wide eyes. A mixture of shock and surprise was swirling in the depths of his eyes as he remained dumbfounded with disbelief written all over his face.
"What... did you just say?" The words finally left his lips as his eyes darted between Natalie and I with a tiny frown etched between his brows. I could see the gears in his head shifting as he struggled to register what had just happened. "Aurelia is our daughter?" He repeated, tossing her words right back at her.
Natalie kept her gaze steady and her voice remained unwavering. She knew it was too late to back out now. The truth is out and she wasn’t planning on hiding it anymore.
She straightened her posture and cleared her throat audibly. "That is right," she said, confirming her words without hesitation while James continued to stare at her with a blank expression that masked his features. "Aurelia is our daughter. They were swapped as babies and we never suspect a thing," she explained.
Silence stretched between them once again as the air crackled with unspoken tension.
He shook his head. "No," he muttered softly under his breath, clearly still in denial. He took a step back, creating some distance between us before he looked back up to meet her eyes. "There’s no way. I don’t believe you. Is this some kind of sick joke?" He asked, the words that left his lips were dripping with accusation as he glared at her with narrowed eyes.
"No it isn’t," Natalie said, her voice filled with certainty as she looked at her husband. "Aurelia really is our daughter! I –"
"No, Evelyn is our daughter!" His voice boomed loudly, cutting her off before she could complete her sentence. He was now standing next to Evelyn as he had his hand resting on her shoulder, emotions running wild in his eyes.
I watched as Evelyn’s hand travelled up to hold onto her father’s hand as she looked up at him and they locked eyes. She had a pitiful look plastered across her face as tears filled the brim of her eyes.
"Daddy..." She muttered softly under her breath, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Is it true? I’m not your daughter?" She questioned, feigning innocence as she let a single tear drop roll down her rosy cheeks.