The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 228

“Why didn't you go drink the soup Lucy made for you? What were you doing hiding in your room?” Jamie’s cold voice washed over her.

Suzie answered with a natural calm. “I was feeling a little tired, so I came up to lie down for a bit.”

His eyes scanned her from head to toe, lingering on the smudges of soot on her face. She probably hadn't looked in a mirror. He was pleased that the servants had the sense not to tell her.

“I told you to rest if you were tired,” Jamie said, stepping into the room.

Seeing him enter, Suzie immediately said, “I’m rested now. I’ll go back downstairs.”

“Wait.”

Jamie’s voice stopped her as she reached the doorway. “Everyone’s about done eating, so you’re not needed outside anymore. You can go down and have your soup later.”

Suzie paused and gave a slow nod. “Alright.”

“Come here,” he commanded, his tone once again flat and emotionless.

She didn't move. “Is there anything else you need to instruct me on?” she asked politely.

Her words seemed to trigger him. He was in her face in an instant. “Instruct you? Is that really how you see yourself right now?”

Sensing his anger, and wanting to avoid provoking him further, Suzie replied calmly, “Aren’t I a servant today? That’s why I’m speaking to you in this tone.”

The tension in Jamie's brow slowly eased.

He jutted his chin toward the interior of the room. “Come in. I have something to say to you.”

After a long, heavy pause, Jamie repeated the same words he had said before. “Scientific evidence doesn’t lie. People do.”

A bitter taste filled her mouth, but she quickly masked it with a gentle smile. “Yes, I think so too. Science is precise, but people’s words can be deceiving. What were you going to say? Please, continue.”

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes before he picked up where he left off. “Even if… let’s assume the last paternity test was wrong, and this one confirms the children are mine. You still owe me an explanation for those photos of you in the hotel bed.”

Suzie lowered her head, her gaze fixed on the floor. She had asked her question and gotten her answer. Nothing else mattered now, but this wasn't the time to anger him.

“That woman may look like me, but she’s not me,” she said in a flat tone. “But I have no evidence, and you only trust evidence. So, if you want to believe it was me, then let it be me.”

She had studied those photos carefully that day.