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š His Favorite Mistake
Chapter 3: Two Daughters, One Lie
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Zara stared at the photo like it might come alive and explain itself.
Two little girls.
One with bright eyes and thick curlsādefinitely her, around age five.
The other girl? Her age. Same eyes. But a stranger.
She shook her head slowly. "No. That's not possible."
"It is," Xander said, voice low. "Your father had another daughter. Born before you. Abandoned before you."
"No," she whispered. "He neverāhe wouldn'tā"
"You think you know him? Zara, your father destroyed people. Families. You were just protected from it all."
The room spun around her. Her heart pounded against her ribs like it was trying to escape.
Xander didn't flinch. He just stared.
"I don't believe you," she said.
"You don't have to," he said, crossing the room and pulling a file from the desk drawer. "But the DNA test doesn't lie."
He tossed another document on the table.
Zara hesitated, then picked it up.
Two names. Two birth dates.
A paternity testāmatching both girls to Julius Hall.
Her father.
Zara felt the ground shift under her feet.
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"You're lying," she whispered, even though the proof was staring her in the face.
"Your father paid to keep her hidden," Xander said. "Paid to silence her mother. Paid to erase a child."
Her voice cracked. "Why would he do that?"
"Because he's a coward," Xander said coldly. "And because he didn't want his perfect little family ruined."
Zara gripped the edge of the desk to steady herself.
"And you married me to get revenge on him for that?"
A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Among other things."
"Who is she?" Zara asked. "Where is she now?"
Xander didn't answer right away. Then he turned toward the window.
"She's dead."
Zara gasped. "What?"
"She died two years ago. Car crash. No funeral. No press. No justice. Like she never existed."
Zara's throat tightened. "She was yourā¦"
Xander nodded slowly. "She was mine."
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The silence in the room was unbearable.
Everything Zara thought she knew about her life, her father, her husbandāit all crumbled.
"You loved her?" she asked.
Xander turned to face her, eyes darker than she'd ever seen them.
"She was everything," he said. "And your father took her away from me."
Zara swallowed hard. "Soā¦ marrying me? That was punishment."
"Yes."
"And the lies? The games?"
He stepped closer. "Every moment you smile, every time you trust meā¦ I wanted him to wonder what I was doing to his precious daughter."
Zara's eyes stung. "You used me."
He didn't deny it.
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She walked past him, heading for the door.
But just before she reached it, he spoke again.
"She wrote letters. To him. As a child. Begging him to come find her."
Zara froze.
"He never answered. He didn't care."
She turned around, fists clenched. "And you think I'm like him?"
"I thought you were."
Zara's voice trembled. "But I'm not."
He looked at her. Really looked.
And for the first timeā¦ something in his eyes changed.
Maybe doubt.
Maybe something else.
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The next day, Zara found herself in the archives room at the Voss Corporation. Somewhere she technically wasn't allowed.
She had to know more.
She needed to see the letters.
If there was even a sliver of truth to what Xander saidā¦ she needed to read them for herself.
After ten minutes of digging through boxes, she found a small folder labeled "R. Hall".
Zara opened it.
There they were.
Tiny letters, written in a child's handwriting.
Dear Daddy,
Are you mad at me? Mommy says you're very busy. But I miss you. I drew you a pictureā¦
Tears streamed down her face before she could stop them.
Page after page. Letter after letter.
Each one begging for a father who never replied.
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"Did you find what you were looking for?" a voice asked behind her.
She spun around. Xander stood in the doorway, arms crossed.
"How long have you kept these?" she whispered.
"Long enough."
"She really loved him."
"She believed in him," Xander said bitterly. "Until the day she died."
Zara wiped her tears. "You should have told me sooner."
"Would you have believed me?"
"I don't know."
He stepped into the room, eyes locked on hers.
"She was everything to me, Zara. You remind me of her sometimes."
Her heart stuttered.
Was that why he hated her?
Or why he couldn't stay away?
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Back at the mansion that night, Zara couldn't sleep.
She sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through a photo album Xander had left outside her door.
Pictures of the girlāRaina. Smiling, drawing, playing with Xander.
She was beautiful. Smart. Full of life.
Gone too soon.
Zara closed the album gently and placed it on the nightstand.
Then came a knock at her door.
She opened it.
Xander stood there.
He didn't speak.
But she stepped aside and let him in.
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They didn't argue. Didn't raise their voices.
He sat on the couch near the fireplace. She sat across from him.
"I don't hate you," he said finally.
Zara looked at him, surprised.
"I wanted to," he continued. "But you weren't what I expected."
She swallowed. "And what did you expect?"
"A spoiled, cold-hearted brat like your father."
Ouch.
She looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry he hurt her."
Xander stared at the fire. "She didn't deserve that."
"I didn't either," Zara said softly.
He turned to her.
And for a moment, it was just the two of them. No lies. No revenge. No rage.
Just two broken people, trying to make sense of the pain.
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To Be Continued...
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