Alessia carefully set Avery down in her playpen, the toddler giggling as she reached for her stuffed bunny. Alessia tried to focus on her daughter’s happiness, but her hands trembled as she adjusted the little blanket around Avery.
Theo’s frown deepened, his brow furrowing as he processed her words. “Zoey?” he repeated, the name clearly jogging something in his memory. A flicker of recognition passed over his face, and then his eyes widened slightly. “Zoey Valdez?”
Alessia’s arms tightened across her chest as she studied him, her gaze unrelenting. “So, you know her?”
Theo hesitated, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck—a gesture Alessia had come to recognize as a sign of discomfort or guilt. He glanced away for a moment before meeting her eyes again.
“Yeah, I knew her,” he admitted, his voice careful. “We were… friends during university. We had a little fling going on.”
Alessia’s jaw clenched at the word fling. It wasn’t the past relationship that bothered her—it was the bombshell Zoey had dropped today. “Friends?” she echoed, her tone biting. “Is that all it was?”
“It wasn’t serious,” Theo said quickly, holding her gaze. “We were young, Alessia. It was just—”
She raised a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t care about what it was, Theo. I care about what it is now.”
Theo’s brows knit together, confusion evident on his face. “What do you mean? What is this about? Why did Zoey come to see you?”
Alessia’s chest tightened, her emotions threatening to spill over. Anger and disbelief were written all over her face as she took a step closer to him. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, feel the heat rising in her cheeks, but she forced herself to stay calm.
“She has your baby, Theo,” she said, her voice sharp and unwavering.
Theo’s eyes widened in shock, his lips parting as he processed her words. His arms dropped to his sides, and for a moment, he seemed completely frozen, unable to respond.
“What?” he finally managed, his voice barely above a whisper.