"Keeping it from her this long—that doesn't seem like your style."
So that was it. That was the truth all along.
My fists clenched so hard my nails broke the skin of my palms, and blood seeped between my fingers.
Hudson. Ten years of love—a lie. The children—a lie.
What between us had ever been real?
"Once Thelma is released, I'll send her abroad. Don't worry. She won't come back."
Hudson's calm voice reached my ears, and the irony of it was searing.
"You'd really let her go? She's been by your side for ten years."
But I never heard his answer. Not that time.
A guard appeared and escorted me to the visiting room.
Aria sat there in a custom-tailored dress, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. A diamond ring glittered on her finger.
She noticed where my eyes had landed and smiled. "Colton has such a gift for drawing. This morning he insisted on painting a ring for me. He said I'm his mom, and no one can ever take me away from him."
I said nothing. My gaze drifted to some empty point in the distance, thoughts dissolving into static.
The children weren't mine.
They had always been Aria's and Hudson's.
The truth hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.