"They said the child I''m carrying must be illegitimate. They used me of partying at bars and nightclubs with random men four months ago, and imed I got pregnant during one of those nights."


    "Then they produced a handful of photos showing me entering and leaving all sorts of bars, with my arms around different men, trying to use these as evidence."


    As Amara finished, Larry''s face grew taut, clearly displeased.


    Fiona and Elowen, after their initial shock, looked at Amara with satisfaction, almost pleased at her embarrassment.


    "So that''s what happened. Not only did you get pregnant out of wedlock, but you did so while hanging out and partying with men... As if having a child before marriage wasn''t humiliating enough, this is even more disgraceful," Elowen sneered.


    Elowen was positively gloating, as if she''d just scored a personal victory.


    But Larry didn''t rush to judgment. He knew Amara well enough to realize that if the situation were really as bad as it looked, she wouldn''t describe it so calmly.


    He asked, "And then? What happened next?"


    Amara was surprised that Larry hadn''t erupted in anger-could he already suspect the truth was moreplicated than it seemed?


    She continued, "Those photos were presented by Emma Everly. I looked at them and said straight out that the person in the images wasn''t me. But Mrs. Emma Everly insisted the owner of that bar imed it was ''Ms. Sullivan'' in the pictures, and because her figure was somewhat simr to mine, they were dead set on saying it was me."


    “But—” Amara let a cold smile tug at her lips. "The woman in those pictures really isn''t me."


    She pulled out her phone andid it on the table, disying the photos for everyone to see.


    “Dad, Mrs. Sullivan, why don''t you both tell me—who is this person, really?"


    Her voice was even and controlled. The living room fell silent, the air stretched tight with tension.


    Amara seemed utterlyposed, though her gaze flickered between Larry, Fiona, and Elowen, silently evaluating their reactions.


    Elowen''s earlier smugness vanished her eyes widened disbelief, fists chepened tight, tight, and


    her body began to tremble. The color drained from her face.


    Larry''s brow was deeply furrowed; his expression had darkened past mere anger.


    Fiona suddenly shot to her feet, pointing at the photos as if searching for words- but nothing came out.


    The woman in the photos wore a surgical mask and sunsses; while


    her build could be mistaken for


    Amara''s by someone unfamiliar, any close family member would know the truth at a nce.


    As Amara''s father, and Elowen''s biological father and mother, Larry and Fiona could


    see it immediately it wasn''t Amara, it was Elowen.


    In the photos, Elowen was wrapped around different men-sometimes cozy with one, sometimes embraced by two at once, the poses unmistakably intimate.


    Despite the mask, there was no evidence she was being forced. Her own arms hugged the men right back.


    The scene was a mess. Elowen was consumed with fear and at a loss for words.


    Despite her reputation as an airhead over the years, she was also known for being obedient and well-behaved. Her words were often cutting, but she spent most days at home rarely venturing out, and even when she did, it was always to reputable ces with her girlfriends. She''d hardly dated anyone-her private life had always seemed spotless.