Chapter 616: Real Father
Chapter 616: Real Father
Hearing that, a surge of fury exploded within Mary.
’How dare he?’ The thought burned through her mind.
’Is he really trying to manipulate me like this?’
A bitter laugh escaped her lips, sharp and filled with disbelief.
"You actually dare to use something like this... after cheating on me?" she snapped.
The moment the words left her mouth, regret hit her like a sudden drop.
Adam froze.
He stared at her, completely stunned, his brows knitting together in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
Mary fell silent, her lips parting but no words coming out.
Adam immediately reached out and grabbed her hand, his grip firm yet trembling slightly.
"No," he insisted, his voice tightening. "Tell me what you just said. When did I cheat on you?"
The sincerity in his tone made her heart clench painfully.
’Why does he sound so... innocent?’
A strange sensation crept over her, like thousands of tiny ants crawling beneath her skin, making her restless and uneasy.
"You don’t need to act innocent anymore!" she burst out, her voice rising as her emotions spiraled.
"I already know about you and Maria!"
Adam’s expression darkened slightly as he heard her words.
The mention of Maria immediately brought back the memory of her standing in his office, her hand resting on her pregnant belly.
In that instant, something clicked in his mind.
He looked at Mary sharply. "How do you know about Maria?" he asked.
That single question made Mary’s heart sink even further.
’So there really is something between them...’ The thought twisted painfully in her chest.
Without thinking, she raised her hand, ready to slap him but Adam quickly spoke, his voice firm, "That woman is a liar."
Mary froze mid-motion, her hand hovering in the air.
Adam continued, his tone turning cold with anger.
"She tried to seduce me before. When that failed, she used a disgusting method to get herself pregnant."
His jaw tightened as he spoke, and then he began explaining everything, from the condom incident to her absurd claims.
As his words sank in, Mary’s lips slowly parted, her expression turning blank with shock.
Adam frowned slightly and added, "If you don’t believe me, we can do a DNA test."
Mary shook her head weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. "She... she already showed me one. A DNA report."
Adam let out a faint chuckle, though there was no amusement in it.
"Of course it would look real to you," he said. "But did you verify it? Did you get it checked properly?"
Mary hesitated before shaking her head again.
"I wasn’t in the right state of mind back then... I just believed it." Her voice trembled. "And she took the report back before leaving."
Adam’s eyes darkened with understanding as he nodded slightly.
"Of course she did," he muttered. "She wouldn’t dare leave it behind. If you had shown it to professionals, the truth would’ve come out immediately."
Hearing that, Mary felt the suffocating weight in her chest suddenly lift.
In the next second, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Adam, her voice soft and fragile. "I am so sorry..."
Adam’s body stiffened for a brief moment before he gently pulled her into his embrace, his hand resting protectively on her back.
"It’s alright," he murmured softly. "I would never betray you."
Mary buried her face against his chest, her shoulders trembling as quiet sobs escaped her.
’I thought I could accept it... if it were just a mistake...’ she thought bitterly. ’But I can’t... I really can’t...’
Clutching him tighter, she spoke again, her voice muffled, "I want to work as your assistant."
Adam froze.
Mary pulled back slightly, looking at him with determination. "I’ll be your only assistant," she added, clearly expecting him to refuse.
Instead, Adam nodded almost immediately. "Sure."
There was even a faint hint of excitement in his tone.
Mary frowned, confusion flickering across her face.
’Why does he look... happy about this?’ she wondered, unable to understand his reaction.
However, she quickly pushed the thought aside as her expression turned serious again.
She looked at him and said, "What about Maria?"
At the mention of that name, Adam’s face darkened instantly.
His jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth.
"She cost me five nights I could’ve spent peacefully with my wife," he muttered. "How could I let her go so easily?"
Mary’s lips twitched slightly in exasperation. ’This man... even now, that’s what he’s thinking about?’ she thought, half-annoyed, half-relieved.
Still, she asked, "So what are you going to do?"
Adam’s expression shifted into a calculating smile.
"First, we find out who the real father of that child is," he said calmly. "Then we make sure everything falls apart for her."
Mary nodded slowly.
The next day, Maria was called into Adam’s office again.
As she stepped inside, the atmosphere felt colder.
Adam looked at her calmly and said, "I’m going to have to let you go."
Maria’s entire body stiffened.
"Why?" she asked, her voice barely steady.
Adam leaned back slightly and replied,
"I don’t know how, but Mary saw strange photos. She’s demanding that I fire you."
Maria’s hands clenched tightly at her sides.
’So that woman pretended to be calm... but went behind my back and told him everything?’
Rage flared inside her, but she quickly masked it with an innocent expression.
"Is it... because of what I said about the baby?" Her voice softened as she added, "Maybe I caused some misunderstanding..."
Adam frowned, clearly confused. "What are you talking about?"
At that moment, Maria realized that Mary hadn’t revealed everything. ’So she’s trying to fight back now...’ Maria thought, her mind racing.
This was not how things were supposed to go.
According to her original plan, Mary would have silently withdrawn, letting her relationship with Adam crumble.
Then Maria would step in at the perfect moment, either to take his place beside him or to secure a future for her child through him.
But now, everything was falling apart.
Taking a slow breath, she forced a calm expression and said quietly, "Nothing... it doesn’t matter."
She straightened her posture, her tone turning composed. "I’ll leave."
But just as Maria turned to leave, she suddenly paused.
"I know a way," she said quickly, her voice slightly strained, "a way to make sure those ambiguous photos don’t cause any misunderstanding again."
She took a hesitant step forward. "Give me one more chance... I can fix everything."
Adam didn’t even hesitate.
He simply shook his head and pushed the termination letter toward her across the desk.
The moment Maria took the document into her hands, she felt devastated.
’How dare he...’ she thought. ’After everything... he still throws me away like this?’
For a fleeting moment, a reckless idea flashed through her mind.
’What if I expose everything? What if I let the entire world know about this scandal? Then he won’t have a choice... he’ll have to accept me...’
But just as quickly, doubt followed.
’Would that really make me Mrs. Waters... or would it destroy everything?’
Just then, as she stepped out of the office building, before she could collect herself, a familiar figure approached her.
It was the garbage cleaner.
The moment he spotted Maria, his face lit up with a strange, almost excited expression as he hurried toward her.
"Hey!" he called out, his tone casual. "I heard some interesting gossip recently."
Maria frowned slightly, her patience already worn thin. "What are you talking about?"
The cleaner chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I heard you got pregnant... using something from the dustbin."
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at him. "How do you know that?" she demanded, her voice sharp.
He laughed lightly, as if it were nothing important.
"The other day, I was cleaning near the office, and I overheard it," he said. "Adam was on the phone, talking about it."
Then, his expression shifted slightly, becoming more meaningful. "But since we’re talking about it... I should clarify something."
Maria felt an uneasy chill crawl up her spine.
The cleaner leaned closer, lowering his voice as a sly smile spread across his face. "Adam may not use condoms... but I do."
For a moment, Maria couldn’t process what she had just heard.
Then, as realization dawned, her face drained of color.
The cleaner continued, almost proudly,
"I used to throw them in Adam’s office bin sometimes... just to feel like I was somehow on his level."
His grin widened, utterly shameless.
Maria’s stomach churned violently.
"You’re disgusting," she snapped, her voice trembling with rage.
The cleaner only laughed, clearly unbothered. "Disgusting? I don’t think so," he said casually. "Look at it this way... now I have a child with you."
As he spoke, he reached out, attempting to touch her baby bump.
Maria immediately recoiled, stepping back sharply as she slapped his hand away.
"Don’t you dare touch me!" she shouted. "This child has nothing to do with you!"
But even as she said those words, a bitter thought surfaced in her mind.
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