Broken by son, claimed by father

Chapterfive

Marcus' pov

I forced myself to breathe evenly, though my pulse had begun to pound. I turned my face slightly away, pretending to look at the files on the table.I was so confused and embarrassed at this point. How could this happen?My son’s ex wife to be?

Reyna seemed to recover faster than I did. She moved to the head of the table, setting down her tablet, her tone steady. “Shall we begin?”

If anyone else sensed the storm beneath the calm, they didn’t show it.

As the presentation began, I tried to focus on the numbers ,the proposed budget, the research design, and the expected outcomes. But all I could see was her.

Her voice was clear and measured, explaining surgical techniques and patient statistics with quiet authority. The woman who’d broken down at a bar days ago now stood tall, unshaken, commanding the room.

And yet, every time her eyes drifted toward me, there was something else there. Something colder.

Jeremy leaned forward, nodding along. “Impressive work, Dr. Martinez,” he said, smiling. “I’ve always known you to be this smart.”

Reyna returned the smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

When the director finally turned the conversation toward funding, Jeremy took the lead, as he always did. He spoke of “innovation” and “collaboration,” all the polished phrases of someone raised in boardrooms. I watched him, and then her - the two people tied together by a secret I now felt thrumming in my veins.

By the time the meeting ended, I wasn’t sure if the tightness in my chest was anger, guilt, or something worse.

As everyone stood to leave, I reached for my briefcase, only to realize Reyna had stepped closer.

“Dr. Hesse,” she said softly.

Her tone was polite and professional but her eyes told a different story.

“Yes?” I answered, matching her calm.

“I just wanted to thank you,” she said. “For the funding. It means a lot to our department.”

“It’s my pleasure,” I said evenly, though my throat felt dry.

Jeremy was across the room talking to the director, his back turned. For a brief moment, it was just us.

Reyna leaned in slightly , not close enough to draw attention, but close enough that her words hit me like a scalpel.

“You didn’t tell me your last name that night,” she said quietly.

I met her gaze. “You didn’t ask.”

Her lips curved , not a smile.“I should have.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

“Oh, it makes all the difference now,” she murmured.

I didn’t understand her meaning, not fully, but something in her tone chilled me. There was no embarrassment, no regret. Only precision. Like she’d just found the missing piece to a puzzle she’d been dying to solve.

She stepped back just as Jeremy returned, his voice light. “Dad, the director invited us for lunch in the private wing. You coming?”

“Reyna, you should join our table too,” he said easily.

She looked at him “ not when you’re present “ she said, picking files from the table ready to leave.

The lunch was polite .

Jeremy talked most of the time, filling the air with plans and jokes. The director laughed, the staff smiled, and I kept glancing at Reyna across the table. She barely spoke, but her silence was loud.

At one point, she met my eyes and said, “You must be proud of your son, Dr. Hesse. He’s… very accomplished.”

There was something deliberate in her pause.

“I am,” I said quietly.

“I can see where he gets it from,” she replied, eyes glinting. “Strong, successful men ,always in control.”

Jeremy grinned, taking it as a compliment.

By the time we left the table, my nerves were frayed. I excused myself to take a call, though the phone hadn’t rung.

In the hallway, I exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to my temple. The pieces were starting to arrange themselves in my head, though I didn’t want to believe them.

Reyna’s sharp look. Jeremy’s familiarity. Her reaction to that single word - Dad.

No. It couldn’t be.

But the truth had a way of bleeding through denial.

When I stepped out of the elevator, I found her waiting near the entrance, coat in hand.

“Dr. Martinez,” I said.

She turned slowly. “Marcus.”

The use of my first name hit harder than I expected.

“I suppose you’ve figured it out,” she continued.

“I’m not sure what there is to figure out,” I said, though my voice betrayed me.

Her smile was cruelly calm. “Your son, Jeremy. My ex-boyfriend. The man I caught in bed with my best friend a day ago.”

The words landed like a physical blow.

I couldn’t find an answer.

“Don’t worry,” she added, tilting her head slightly. “I’m not here to cause trouble. At least… not yet.”

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice low.

Her gaze softened, but only for a second. “To make sure he knows what betrayal feels like. And maybe, if I’m lucky, to remind you that some sins don’t stay buried.”

“Reyna”

“Good afternoon, Dr. Hesse.”

She walked away before I could speak again, her heels clicking against the polished floor like punctuation marks.

Through the glass doors, I watched her step out into the fading sunlight, her figure swallowed by the crowd.

Jeremy joined me a minute later, frowning. “You okay?”

I nodded slowly. “Yes,” I said. “Just… thinking.” not

noticing how my hands trembled slightly as we left.