PART 3
The next day, we met at the hospital for the DNA results. Bianca lay in bed. Adrian’s mother was furious. Rafael couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Atty. Salazar arrived with the sealed envelope, along with the lab representative and the nurse who had collected the samples.
The representative confirmed the samples had come from the baby, from Adrian, and from Rafael. Bianca panicked when she heard Rafael had been tested too.
Then the results were read aloud: Adrian Villareal was excluded as the biological father. Rafael Villareal showed a paternity probability of more than 99.99 percent.
The room collapsed into silence. Adrian finally understood he had been betrayed by both Bianca and his own brother. Then Rafael shouted the truth — that Adrian had refused to divorce me because he knew doing so would cost him access to the trust tied to my name.
That was when I understood: Adrian had never been afraid of losing me. Only of losing the power I held.
I handed him the final divorce settlement. This time, his hand shook as he signed it. Weeks later, Rafael disappeared from the company once evidence surfaced showing that he and Bianca had conspired for control of the trust shares.
I left the Villareal house with two suitcases and left my plain stainless-steel wedding ring behind on the table.
For the first time in three years, I lived in a home I had chosen for myself. When Adrian later texted, “Sorry. I finally understand what I lost,” I deleted the message.
Some people only see your worth after you leave. But it isn’t a woman’s job to come back and teach them how to love properly.
