For a moment, Yvonne thought she''d misheard him, or that her ears were ying tricks on her.


    So she asked, uncertain, "What did you just say?"


    Seth''s gaze was calm, his voice cool and detached as he repeated, "I said, that day will nevere."


    "What do you mean?" rm bells went off in Yvonne''s head, and the color drained from her face.


    "I''m not going to marry Bianca."


    "And I''m not getting any of you out of here."


    Yvonne''s mind went nk as she struggled to process his words, to understand his sudden, clear-cut change in attitude.


    But no matter how she tried, she couldn''t make sense of it. She could only stare at him, her voice trembling. "What are you talking about? Don''t you love Bianca?"


    She had seen it with her own eyes. How could it be fake?


    She had confirmed it over and over again! It had to be real!


    Seth met her gaze without flinching. "I have never loved her."


    "Impossible!" Yvonne denied it instantly.


    But as her eyes met Seth''s icy stare, a powerful sense of unease washed over her.


    Bianca had told her that she was assaulted by her kidnappers, and that Seth knew about it. Yet he had said nothing, hadn''t even called off the engagement. And when Seth found out about Bianca''s past with William, he didn''t cut her off. He had even epted her sordid history.


    Then there were all of Bianca''s professional blunders, one after another, that had cost Seth a fortune. He had never onceined.


    Yvonne herself had been moved by his sincerity, which was why she had trusted himpletely. She believed only a man deeply in love could overlook so much.


    But thinking back on it now, something felt terribly wrong.


    Love might be forgiving. But love was also fiercely possessive.


    If he truly cared about Bianca, he would have been bothered by her chaotic past, not epted it all with such calm.


    That wasn''t the reaction of a normal person.


    At that realization, a chill shot up Yvonne''s spine. She looked at Seth, her eyes now filled with terror. Her body began to tremble


    uncontrobly, her face pale with incredulous anger. "Then what was all of this for?"


    Seth leaned back slightly, and the wooden chair creaked under his weight. The small sound was enough to snap Yvonne''s frayed nerves.


    His eyes were dark as he spoke. "It was for the man behind you, of course."


    "To be precise, it was for Bianca''s biological father."


    "You... you even know about that?" Yvonne''s voice was an uncontrolled shriek.


    "I don''t just know about that. I also know you were originally pregnant with twins, but your body couldn''t


    handle it. One of them didn''t make it, and only one survived.


    ed


    With every word Seth spoke, Yvonne''s terror grew. These were secrets she had


    intended to take to her grave. No one else knew.


    His revtion left her utterly horrified.


    "Of course, that''s not all I know. I also know why he let you live," Seth said, his expression unreadable in the dim light.


    "Did you really think the leverage you


    had on him was enough to control him? A man at his level would never allow an unknown threat to exist. The only reason he didn''t get rid of you is because Bianca''s genes are a perfect match for his."


    "In other words, your daughter is nothing more than a storage unit for his organs."