Chapter 226

Maxwell froze mere centimeters from Sophia's lips. "I'll admit I'm not some beast like him," he slurred bitterly. "Otherwise you'd have been carrying my child five years ago..."

Sober as could be, Sophia blinked in confusion.

What beast was he talking about?

Who had gotten pregnant five years ago?

Her arousal evaporated instantly.

Drunk men always spilled truths they'd never dare speak sober.

She needed to hear more.

"Maxwell, what do you—ah!" Her question dissolved into a gasp as his wandering hands reignited her desire.

He dragged her to bed, pinning her beneath him with eyes closed. One hand cradled her head while the other traced her cheekbones. "Why couldn't you wait one more day?" he murmured. "I had the money ready. How could you sell yourself to that fifty-year-old? Weren't you disgusted?"

Later he'd learned it wasn't some aging businessman but the dashing Dominic Blackwood who'd funded Evelyn's father's treatment. But the middleman had lied.

"Such a fool," Maxwell whispered, forehead pressed to hers, the alcohol only amplifying his torment.

The liquor loosened his tongue further. "Five years ago... I wanted to storm that hospital and tell your dying father how his precious daughter whored herself to save him..."

Sophia's eyes flew wide.

No amount of touching could rekindle her desire now.

Five years ago... liver disease...

He meant Robert Sinclair, Evelyn's father.

The timeline matched perfectly.

Sold her body?

Sophia's mind reeled.

She pieced together his drunken ramblings. Had Maxwell intended to buy Evelyn but failed? Had some middle-aged man purchased her instead? To bear his child?

The revelation left her speechless.

The prominent bulge in Maxwell's trousers snapped her back to reality.

His desire remained painfully evident.

Did he think she was Evelyn?

Were all these cruel words meant for her stepsister?

Now his recent disinterest made sense. Every time they undressed, he'd push her away. She'd assumed performance issues or waning attraction.

But the evidence straining against his pants proved otherwise.

Tears pricked her eyes—from humiliation or fury, she couldn't tell. Was she truly so undesirable?

She'd accepted being less fortunate than Lillian, but losing to Evelyn? Unbearable.

"Look at me," she demanded. "Who am I?" She'd devoted herself entirely to Maxwell. He provided everything—he was her perfect match.

But being mistaken for Evelyn? The ultimate insult.

She'd despised Evelyn since the day her mother married into the Sinclair family.

If Evelyn dared claim the Sinclair legacy, Sophia would take everything from her.

Maxwell's drunken confession felt like a knife to the heart.

Tears streamed down her defiant face as he gripped her chin. "We share no blood. We look nothing alike. How could you confuse me with her?"

Alcohol transported Maxwell to some twisted fantasy. The more he fixated on Evelyn, the more every woman became her.

He studied the woman beneath him through hooded eyes, sculpted brow furrowing. Evelyn's face and Sophia's voice blurred together. The confusion enraged him.

"Get out!" He shoved her toward the door. "Who gave you the right to be in my bed? A thousand beauties exist, yet you chose to be this repulsive!"

He'd never admit caring for any woman—especially not that used goods who'd borne Dominic Blackwood's brats.

Meanwhile, Evelyn rode the bus to visit her grandfather. After ensuring his health and medication regimen, she headed to her father's hospital.

At dinner, Dominic texted: [Where are you?]

[Staying with Dad tonight. We have catching up to do.]

Respecting father-daughter time, Dominic replied he'd return to town tomorrow but head back to A City tonight. He'd take the twins to school but asked if she could pick them up.

[No problem.]

Morning came.

Dominic spent the day revisiting childhood haunts, finding solace in nostalgia.

Before leaving town, a courier arrived at the courtyard. "Package for Evelyn Sinclair!"

A female employee rushed to sign when her imposing boss intercepted the parcel, scrawling his signature with elegant fingers before tossing it into his car.

The entire courtyard gaped.

Even the yard dog barked in disbelief at the theft.

Dominic drove off toward A City. If people misunderstood his actions? All the better.