She crossed the floor toward me one stiletto step at a time and dropped her voice low.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
"Ryan is mine and Landon's. You were just… a free womb."
"The college entrance exam destroyed you. The marriage? You were nothing but the substitute. And now even the son isn't yours. Dora Sullivan, you really did lose everything."
My whole body was shaking. My nails dug into my palms.
"You're lying!"
I shoved her aside and lunged for Ryan, pulling him into my arms. "Ryan is mine! I carried him for ten months—I was on that operating table having a C-section while you were out drinking at a bar, Leonora! How dare you say that to me—"
"Dora!"
Landon's brow knotted hard. "Don't make a scene in front of the child."
I looked at the man I had loved for fifteen years, and the tears finally fell.
"Tell me. Is Ryan my child or not?"
Landon's gaze flickered away. He hesitated.
That hesitation made my stomach turn.
He was figuring out how to spin it.
Or maybe, even now, he was looking for another lie to feed me.
"Landon."
Leonora tugged his arm, her voice syrupy. "Just tell her. She'll find out sooner or later."