Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 195

Late at night, close to midnight, the Hayes family home was brightly lit.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes sat on chairs in the living room, while Evan and Emma stood before them.

Eric had tried to come downstairs from the landing, but his mother had yelled him back, saying it was adult business and a kid had no place interfering.

"Part of the reason I came back was to see you, but I also needed to tell you this news," Emma explained calmly. Her face showed no emotion. Aside from worrying about her parents, she herself was unaffected by the situation.

"I don't want to hear it from you. I want to hear it from him." Her daughter had just finished speaking when Mrs. Hayes turned her sharp gaze to Evan, who stood beside Emma. "Aren't you going to explain this to us, Evan?"

Mrs. Hayes's look was as cold and unforgiving as it had been on the first day they arrived.

She simply couldn't forgive him. Just a few days ago, this man had told her and her husband how much he loved their daughter. He had said Emma was pregnant but that they wanted to keep it private for now, asking them to help maintain the secret by pretending they didn't know.

Since that day, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes had acted completely oblivious to Emma's supposed pregnancy.

They thought Emma wanted to give them a surprise and was waiting for the right moment. They never imagined *this* was the surprise.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, it's all my fault. Please don't blame Emma."

Evan looked utterly defeated, as if his earlier argument with Emma had drained him of all his energy.

As he spoke, his knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the floor.

Emma glanced at the kneeling man beside her, feeling a mix of anger and amusement. She couldn't understand why Evan was still putting on an act, even now. Why did he insist on playing the victim, making it seem as though she were the one at fault in their marriage?

Before he could finish, Mrs. Hayes, who had been sitting, shot to her feet, raised her hand, and slapped him hard across the face.

Caught completely off guard, Evan had no time to react. The force of the blow snapped his head to the side.

"You wronged her! How dare you wrong her! Is my daughter—Karen Hayes's daughter—someone you can just walk all over like this!"

Mrs. Hayes was thoroughly enraged. If her earlier restraint had been the calm before the storm, this was the full force of the tempest.

"Karen!"

Seeing his wife lose her temper and strike their son-in-law, Robert quickly moved to intervene.