Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 224

Her mind went blank, a sharp ringing in her ears under the blazing sun. Daniel’s words struck like a bolt from the blue.

Amelia gripped the car door, chest rising and falling as she managed to squeeze out a few words. "Can you not make a scene right now?"

Daniel was already in the car, turning to look at her. Ruby twisted around too. Genetics really were a strange thing—those two had barely spent a full day together, and they didn’t even look much alike, yet the way they both turned their heads at the same angle, with nearly identical expressions, gave them the unmistakable air of a family.

"I'm making a scene?" Daniel sneered, lips curling. "My wife disappears for three years, comes back with a daughter she never told me about, and now I'm the one overreacting for wanting a paternity test?"

The driver in the front seat glanced back in wide-eyed shock, clearly eavesdropping on the drama.

Ruby turned her little head to Daniel, studying the handsome man before her. Her voice was small and curious. "Is my mom really your wife?"

Daniel let out a laugh—a laugh full of exasperation, not amusement. He shot Amelia a sarcastic thumbs-up. "Well done. You didn't even bother to let our daughter know I exist."

Then he looked at Ruby, intent on explaining, "That's right. Your mother is my wife—legally stamped, signed, and recognized. You’re her daughter, which means you’re my daughter. So, what should you call me?"

Dad.

Ruby knew she was supposed to say "Dad," but hadn’t her mom said her father was dead?

Ruby didn’t understand. She hesitated, lips pressed together. "Can I think about it first?"

Daniel laughed again, clearly more annoyed than entertained.

See? Both Amelia and the daughter she gave birth to were infuriatingly gifted at getting under his skin. Even calling him "Dad" required deliberation.

As if Amelia’s daughter could possibly belong to anyone else.

Amelia’s knuckles whitened around the car door. In less than two minutes, she’d already run through a dozen different strategies in her mind—none of them perfect.

Ruby understood from her mother’s tone that this was a serious conversation. She obediently took the phone, slid off Daniel’s lap, buckled herself into the last row, and started watching her insects.

She was so small, yet everything she did was orderly and clear. Her logic was sharp, her speech precise. She was miles ahead of Finley, Daniel’s bumbling son. Daniel looked on, unable to hide the pride in his eyes—see, that’s my daughter.

"Daniel, she’s not your daughter." Amelia shattered his pride in the very next breath.

Daniel reached over and pinched her cheeks, shaking her face side to side as if inspecting her. "Amelia, just how good are you at lying?"

Amelia glared. "..."

"Keep lying. I’d love to see what you say when the test comes back."

She slapped his hand away. "Believe what you want, but she’s not your daughter. She’s only two. I’ve been gone three years. Do you really think you could pull off a long-distance immaculate conception?"