Chapter 108 The Paternity
Test Results Are In
Renee forced a composed smile, her posture poised as she met William’s gaze with a formal nod. “Good evening, Mr. Mitchell.”
Unfazed, William continued looking at her with an indulgent warmth, as if silently telling the onlookers—“My wife is just being difficult again, but I don’t mind.”
Renee clenched her jaw. What was with that smirk? Did he find this amusing?
“You should have told me you were coming,” William said, stepping closer. “I would have come to pick you up.”
As he moved toward her, the space between them grew smaller. And then smaller still.
Realizing his intent, Renee instinctively took a step back. But she had underestimated his speed–before she could put real distance between them, he closed the gap in one swift motion, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
“Wow…” Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd, followed by a wave of playful teasing.
Renee felt her face heat up. When had she become so easily flustered? In the past, she could have easily played along, shamelessly flirting with him in public. Now, she actually felt embarrassed.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” William murmured near her ear.
She lowered her voice, her words meant only for him. “Let go of me. Or I swear, you’ll regret it.”
She couldn’t overpower him, but she wasn’t helpless either. If they ended up fighting in front of everyone, the entire city would be talking about it tomorrow.
Fortunately, William knew when to stop. He released her. Renee exhaled, thinking the ordeal was over–until he casually shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it in her arms,
She blinked, momentarily caught off guard.
“Hold this for me,” he said, completely serious. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Before she could react and shove the jacket right back at him, he had already turned and walked away.
She stood there, momentarily at a loss. There were attendants for this sort of thing–so why was she the one stuck holding his jacket? And what kind of excuse was needing to remove it just to go to the bathroom?
What she didn’t realize was that to the onlookers, the act carried a different meaning. It was subtle but deliberate, a quiet signal that there was still something between them.
The murmurs began almost immediately. Speculation swirled, whispers of a rekindled relationship spreading like wildfire. Those privy to certain rumors knew that Sylvia had recently been detained, allegedly tied to a kidnapping case, and William hadn’t lifted a finger to help her. If that wasn’t enough to cast doubt on their so–called engagement, his public display with Renee only added fuel to the fire.
But Renee remained oblivious to it all. Her attention was elsewhere on the nearest trash can, to be precise. There was no reason for her to be holding onto this jacket, and she seriously considered tossing it.
Just as she was about to act on that thought, she heard a familiar ringtone that made
her freeze.
For a split second, she almost reached for her own device, thinking it was hers. But then she realized she had changed her ringtone a long time ago.
She looked down, reached into the pocket of William’s jacket, pulled out his phone and
saw the name on the screen. Denton.
She had no intention of answering. It wasn’t her business. But when the call went
unanswered and immediately came through again, she hesitated.
Was it urgent?
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for William or Denton, but neither was in sight. On a night like this, Denton should have been here. Yet he was instead calling nonstop
instead. After a brief pause, she made a decision.
She answered.
Before she could even say a word, Denton’s voice came through, hurried and direct. “William, the paternity test results are in. I haven’t looked at them yet and had them
sent straight to you. They’re in your study now, Sorry I got held up and I couldn’t bring them over myself…”
