Julian looked down at the small hand, then at Ethan’s face, which was a perfect miniature copy of his own.
He did not shake the hand.
Oliver stepped forward next.
“I am Oliver,” he said cheerfully. “Mama says you were not ready to be a father. That is okay. We turned out great anyway.”
Lucas said nothing, just stared at Julian with those serious, assessing eyes.
Sophia was last.
She looked at Julian, then at Victoria, then back at her father.
“You picked wrong,” she said simply. “Mama is way cooler than her.”
Some of the wedding guests actually laughed at that.
I put my hand on Sophia’s shoulder.
“Alright, babies,” I said. “We have made our point. Let us let these nice people get back to their wedding.”
I turned to leave, then paused and looked back at Arthur.
“Oh, and Mr. Sterling? That one hundred twenty million you paid me to disappear? I invested it. It is now worth approximately forty billion. So thank you. You gave me the seed capital to destroy everything you built. I could not have done it without you.”
I smiled, that same serene smile.
“Enjoy the wedding.”
I walked out of that ballroom with my head high, my children beside me, and the sound of chaos erupting behind me.