Chapter 14
1194 Words
Serena’s Pov
The words hung in the air like smoke that wouldn’t clear. Victor Calloway is a biological match. I felt the floor tilt under me. Nate’s hand was still in mine, but everything else spun. Robert sat frozen on the couch, his face drained of color. I wanted to scream or run or wake up from this nightmare, but all I could do was stare at Nate.
“Nate,” I whispered, my voice cracking. Tears burned my eyes. “This can’t be right. We just… I can’t be his. We kissed. We said I love you. How is this happening?”
Nate pulled me into his arms right there in front of everyone. His hold was tight, almost desperate, like he was afraid I’d slip away. “It doesn’t matter,” he said against my hair. His voice was rough, steady for me even though I felt his heart pounding. “The first test said no. This one says yes. Someone is messing with us. Diana. Victor. I don’t care. You’re still Serena. My Serena.”
I clung to him, burying my face in his chest. He smelled safe, like home after the longest day. “But what if it’s true? What if your dad is my dad? We can’t… the will, everything. People will say horrible things. And us? How do we look at each other the same?”
He cupped my face, thumbs wiping my tears. His eyes were dark and fierce, locked only on me. “Look at me. I love you. Not the test, not the blood. You. The woman who saved me ten years ago. The one who makes me laugh in the kitchen and holds my hand through hell. Nothing changes that. Not Victor. Not some lab.”
I searched his face, looking for any doubt. There wasn’t any. Just love, raw and real. It broke something in me and healed it at the same time. “I love you too,” I said, voice small. “So much. But this feels like the universe is punishing us for finally being happy. We were talking about forever on the balcony. Now this.”
Nate kissed me softly, right there. Gentle, reassuring, full of everything we’d built in these crazy days. His lips tasted like salt from my tears. I kissed him back, holding on tight, forgetting the others in the room for a second. When we pulled apart, foreheads touching, he whispered, “We’ll get another test. Independent lab. No one touches it this time. And even if… we figure it out. Together.”
Robert stood slowly, leaning on his cane. “Serena, girl. I don’t need a paper to tell me you’re mine. I held you the day you were born. Raised you through every hard thing. That’s real. This Calloway mess? It doesn’t erase us.”
I stepped over to him, Nate right beside me with his hand on my back. I hugged Dad careful, feeling his thin frame. “I know, Dad. I love you. No test changes that. But if Victor is… I don’t know what to do.”
Victor cleared his throat, looking too calm. “It’s true. Elizabeth and I had our moment. Your mother kept quiet. Eleanor knew pieces. That’s why the will is twisted this way. To force the truth out.”
“Shut up,” Nate snapped at him, but his arm stayed around me. “You don’t get to rewrite her life for your ego. Serena, don’t listen. He’s poison.”
The executor shuffled papers, looking exhausted. “The clause stands. With the match, marriage must happen soon or the company transfers. Your mother hoped it would heal old wounds, Nate. Or expose them.”
I turned back to Nate, gripping his shirt. “I can’t marry you if this is true. It feels wrong. Twisted. We were supposed to choose each other freely, not because some will or secret forces it.”
Nate shook his head, pulling me close again. His hand rubbed slow circles on my back, the way he did when I was falling apart. “We are choosing. Right now. I choose you, Serena Voss. Every day. Test or no test. I don’t care what anyone calls it. I waited ten years to feel this. I’m not losing it.”
His words wrapped around me warm. I nodded against him. “I choose you too. Even scared. Even messy. You make me feel strong, Nate. Like I can face anything with you holding my hand.”
We stood like that for a long time, just holding each other while the room buzzed around us. Nate kissed my temple, then my cheek, soft little reminders that he was here. “We’ll fight Diana. Get the real truth. Move forward. You, me, Robert. Family our way.”
Robert watched us with tired eyes but a small nod. “He’s good for you, Serena. Don’t let the past steal your future.”
Nate ordered more food and coffee while we waited for arrangements for a new test. We sat on the couch together, my head on his shoulder, his fingers playing with mine. We talked quiet—about normal things to stay sane. My favorite books, his mom’s old recipes, how we’d tell Lily everything later. Every few minutes he’d squeeze my hand or drop a kiss on my hair.
“You’re my safe place now,” I told him softly. “After years of carrying it all alone. Don’t let go.”
“Never,” he promised, eyes soft on me. “I love you more today than yesterday. We’ll get through tonight. Then the next day. Sixty days was just the start.”
The new lab tech arrived with fresh kits. We did the swabs again, watched closely by all of us. Nate never left my side, his presence solid and calming. When it was done, he pulled me onto his lap on the big chair, arms around me like a shield.
“Whatever comes back,” he said against my ear, “we face it as us. I’m marrying you because I can’t picture my life without you in it. Not the money. Not the company. You.”
I smiled through fresh tears and kissed him. Deep, slow, full of hope and fear mixed together. His hands held my waist, warm and sure. For a moment, it felt possible. Us against everything.
Marcus came back in, phone in hand. “New test is rushing. But Diana just went live on some interview. She’s claiming full proof of the affair and that the engagement is a cover for family secrets. Stocks are tanking hard. And Victor… he just handed the executor an old letter from Eleanor.”
The executor opened it, face going pale. “This changes things. Eleanor wrote that she suspected the child but also hid another truth. Serena isn’t the only one with hidden parentage.”
Nate and I looked at each other, hearts racing.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
The executor read on. “It appears Nate… you may not be Victor’s biological son either.”
- Writer
