Lucas was waiting near the entrance.
He wore a dark suit and held a slim document folder beneath one arm.
When he saw us, he came forward.
"You're right on time."
I nodded.
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes."
His eyes moved briefly toward the twins.
"Hello, Noah. Hello, Sophie."
They greeted him politely.
Lucas had met them before, but tonight was different.
He was no longer simply the attorney who helped their mother with difficult paperwork.
He was the person guiding us into a room where the truth might become public.
He crouched slightly so he could speak to them without towering over them.
"If either of you needs a break, tell your mother or me. You don't have to answer questions from anyone you don't want to talk to."
Noah nodded.
Sophie looked at the ballroom doors.
"Is there really a dance floor?"
Lucas smiled.
"There is."
"Good."
He stood and turned to me.
"Ethan is speaking now. We can wait here until the scheduled time."
I looked toward the entrance.
The doors were partly open.
Through the gap, I could see warm lights, tables covered in white cloth, and guests sitting with their attention directed toward the stage.
A voice carried through the room.
Ethan's voice.
I had not heard it in person for ten years.
The sound was deeper than I remembered, but the rhythm was familiar.
He spoke with the confidence of a man accustomed to being listened to.
I could not make out every word.
Then the applause began.
Sophie looked up at me.
"Is that him?"
"Yes."
She took a slow breath.
Noah adjusted his glasses.
Lucas checked his watch.
"We have a few minutes."
I stood still and listened.
The applause faded.
Ethan resumed speaking.
I thought about the television interview and the way he had lowered his eyes before telling the world that he wished he had children.
He had made the absence sound like a private wound.
He had invited strangers to feel sorry for him.
Now he was standing in front of people who knew his company, his reputation, and his success.
I wondered whether he would mention his regret again.
I wondered whether anyone in that room had asked what had happened to his marriage.
I wondered whether he had ever told them about the woman he had sent away in the rain.
Then I stopped.
I could spend the rest of my life wondering what Ethan remembered.
Tonight, he would have to look at what he had forgotten.
Lucas checked his watch again.
"It's time."
He placed the folder securely beneath his arm.
I reached for Noah's hand.
Sophie took my other hand.
For a second, I felt the small pressure of their fingers against mine.
I thought of the thirty dollars on the floor.
I thought of the hospital corridors where I had carried one sick child in each arm.
I thought of the nights when I had sat beside their beds, exhausted and afraid, telling myself that the next day would be easier.
Some days had been easier.
Others had not.
But we had made it here.
The doors opened wider.
The room beyond them was bright and crowded.
A large chandelier hung above the center of the ballroom.
Guests sat around tables, their glasses catching the light.
At the far end, Ethan stood on the stage with a microphone in his hand.
He was speaking to a room full of people who admired him.
He had no idea we were there.
Not yet.
I took one step forward.
Then another.
The sound of our shoes against the floor seemed small beneath the music and conversation.
A few guests near the entrance turned to look.
One woman paused with a glass raised halfway to her mouth.
A man beside her followed her gaze.
I kept walking.
Noah stayed close to my side.
Sophie held my hand firmly.
We had agreed that we would not rush, shout, or make a scene simply for the sake of making one.
We were there to be seen.
That was enough.
As we moved farther into the room, I caught sight of Lucas just ahead of us.
He gave me a small nod.
I looked toward the stage.
Ethan's face was turned toward the audience.
His expression was composed.
His suit was immaculate.
He looked exactly like the man who had appeared on television, the man whose sadness had earned so much sympathy.
Then he shifted his gaze toward the entrance.
His eyes passed over the guests standing near the doors.
They moved across the room.
And then they reached us.
I felt Noah's hand tighten around mine.
Sophie stopped smiling.
I couldn't tell what Ethan saw first.
My face.
The children.
Or the resemblance between them and him.
But I watched his expression change.
Only slightly at first.
His mouth stopped moving.
His hand lowered a fraction, leaving the microphone closer to his chest.
The people nearest the stage began to notice that he had paused.
I kept walking.
Ten years earlier, I had stood in front of him waiting for an explanation.
This time, I wasn't waiting.
I stopped at a place where he could see all three of us clearly.
Noah stood straight beside me.
Sophie lifted her chin.
And Ethan Sullivan, who had just told a room full of people how much he regretted never having children, stared at the two children standing beside his former wife.
The microphone remained in his hand.
For the first time since we entered, the ballroom grew quiet enough for me to hear the faint hum of the lights above us.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: The Billionaire Who Claimed He Had No Children Forgot His Speech When He Saw the Two Faces Standing Before Him
The Night I Heard My Ex-Husband Tell the World He Had Never Been a Father
Part 8 of 15
