Truth Sets You Free

Chapter 24

BELLA

Harry stormed out. He let his drunken brother fall to the floor, and then he stormed out of the apartment. But I don't blame him.

I didn't understand at first. I was confused and trying to figure everything out, but when I saw how angry Harry got at the mention of Will's child being five years old, it all made sense.

Will has a five-year-old daughter with Victoria. There's no coincidence that Harry also has a five-year-old daughter with Victoria. They both got mixed up with that woman around the same time, and that's how I came to the conclusion that Grace is not Harry's daughter.

She's Will's.

HARRY

This cannot be happening. This might be worse than the night that I found out that I was going to be a father. Now I'm finding out that I was never even one to begin with.

My emotions are all over the place right now.

Anger. Sadness. Jealousy.

I feel it all.

I know there's nothing I can do about it. I know I should be happy that the burden of a child is no longer mine to bear. I mean, for crying out loud, I hardly even got to know Grace. But there was something special about knowing that she was out there. Knowing that she existed.

Which is why I'm sitting in her driveway right now.

I need two things. I need an explanation from her mother, and I need to see her one more time before this all ends.

I climb out of the car and take a deep breath before making my way up to the front door. After knocking, I wait a few moments for the door to be pulled open by the woman who broke my heart in more ways than one.

"What are you doing here?" Victoria asks right away, glancing over her shoulder before stepping out onto the front porch with me and shutting the door behind her.

"You lied to me."

"What—"

"You strung me along for five years. And I wanna know why." My voice is surprisingly calm and restrained.

Victoria's face changes, making it clear that she understands why I'm here. She knows that I know the truth.

"I didn't have a choice." She tells me with a sigh. "I needed what was best for Grace."

"What the hell does that mean?" I frown. "You wouldn't even let me be in her life."

"I was scared, and I didn't know how I was going to be able to afford a child on my own."

"You weren't on your own, Victoria. I tried to be there for you, and you wouldn't let me." I argue, still not understanding why she lied and told me that Grace was mine when she's actually my brother's.

"Harry, you know that you were in no position to raise a child. I couldn't have you in her life." She takes another stab at me.

"Well, that didn't stop you from asking for child support payments."

When she doesn't say anything back, my face falls. I knew from the beginning that there was no emotional connection between me and Victoria. After I realized that I wasn't in love with her, I accepted that and moved on. But that doesn't mean that I thought she was heartless enough to only want me for my money.

"I needed the money, Harry. You had it. Your brother didn't." She explains slowly, breaking me further. "It was the only way for me to be able to take care of her. To get us on our feet. And now that we are, I figured it was time for you and Will to know the truth."