Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 226

Ruby had finally tired herself out and drifted off to sleep in Amelia’s arms. With Ruby nestled against her, Amelia couldn’t get up; all she could do was crane her neck, anxiety twisting in her chest as she tried to see what was happening across the room.

But she wasn’t the only one on edge. Daniel was just as tense.

He drew in a shallow breath, his slender fingers flipping to the last page of the first DNA report. His gaze dropped straight to the final line.

Based on current evidence and DNA analysis, Amelia is confirmed as Ruby’s biological mother.

Daniel placed the report on the table, his hand hesitating before he reached for the second envelope.

He turned to the last page, eyes locking onto the very last line.

Based on current evidence and DNA analysis, Daniel is excluded as Ruby’s biological father.

He froze, every muscle in his body tensing, the blood in his veins turning to ice.

Amelia hadn’t seen the reports, but she could read everything in the sudden shift of Daniel’s expression.

Her heart, which had been teetering on a knife’s edge, finally found relief. She exhaled quietly, her nerves beginning to unclench.

Perhaps the shock was too much. Daniel stood there motionless, like a statue, for what felt like an eternity. Then, all at once, he jerked his head up, flung the report onto the table, and shouted.

“Amelia!”

His voice was so loud it made Ruby stir in her sleep. Amelia immediately covered one of Ruby’s ears and frowned. “I told you—don’t drag the kid into our mess.”

Daniel’s chest heaved with rage, fury burning through him so hot it felt as though it would consume him from the inside out. He struggled to keep his voice in check, but it still came out dark and menacing.

“How dare you.”

“Amelia, answer me. How could you?”

Each word was forced out, bit by bit, through clenched teeth.

Amelia had expected a storm and met it with calm. “When I left, I hadn’t withdrawn the divorce petition. You’re the one who kept blocking the proceedings. If you hadn’t interfered, we’d have been done long ago. You have your own life. I have mine. Did you really expect me to stay locked in a dead marriage, waiting forever?”

A storm of anger blazed in Daniel’s eyes; the way he looked at her was icy, sharp enough to cut. “We weren’t divorced yet, and you— You cheated. That’s adultery, Amelia. It’s a crime.”

Amelia was unmoved. “Then call the police.”

Daniel let out a low, bitter laugh, his eyes cold but rimmed with red. He realized, miserably, that even now, even like this, he couldn’t bring himself to curse her or lay a hand on her. The fury had nowhere to go, boiling inside him, threatening to tear him apart.

He turned and slammed his fist against the white wall.

The dull thud of bone on plaster echoed through the room.

“Amelia!”

He ground out her name, his voice ragged, as if he were shredding her with every syllable. For a second, Amelia thought he might turn his fists on her—but instead, Daniel spun on his heel and stormed out.

He yanked the door open, probably intending to slam it behind him. But halfway through the motion, something stopped him. The door closed with barely a sound.

The tension left Amelia’s body in a rush, like a deflating balloon. She slumped back against the sofa, exhausted, and only after a long moment did she find the strength to reach for her phone.

She typed out a short message to Charles: Thank you.

The mental image made Amelia laugh for the first time all day, but her smile faded as memories from three years ago surfaced.

“Don’t call me again. Call Violet if you’re desperate. If he’s not dead drunk, tell him to go home. If he is, dump him at the hospital. If he dies, cremate him and scatter the ashes. I really don’t care.”

She hung up without waiting for a reply.

Daniel could drink most people under the table, but tonight he was genuinely drunk, though not yet unconscious. Slouched on the sofa, head tilted back, the lines of his throat sharply defined, he opened his eyes as the call ended.

His voice was hoarse, rough from drink. “What did she say? Is she coming?”

He hated her—hated her so much it hurt. He wanted to scream at her, to demand why she’d done this to him, to ask all the things he could never bring himself to say when sober. Only with a bellyful of whiskey could he let the anger pour out.

Why.

Why did she have to hurt him like this?

Finley was caught in a terrible bind. He wanted to tell the truth, but looking at Daniel—who would only be this out of control if he still cared about Amelia—he couldn’t do it. Everything should have been fine now that she was back, so how had it come to this?

For Daniel to be this drunk, things had to be bad—worse than ever before.

In the end, for the sake of his friend’s fragile heart, Finley edited Amelia’s message down to something harmless. “She said someone else can bring you home. If you’re not too drunk, just go home. If you are, get checked out at the hospital—don’t hurt yourself.”

Daniel let his eyes fall closed again, the fight draining out of him. He looked nothing like the man he used to be.

“She’d care if I ended up at the hospital?” he scoffed, bitterness thick in his voice. “She’d probably rather I went straight to the morgue.”

Finley could only sigh. What a pair they made.