Falling For My Ex's Uncle - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Angela took a sip of her drink and immediately choked. I set down my own glass and patted her back gently. "You okay?" I asked. "Come on, let's go clean up in the bathroom."
Before she could react, I subtly held her back from swinging at someone nearby. My voice was calm but firm. "Now's not the time."
Behind us, Rosemary's saccharine voice rang out. "Austin, I told you Laurel wouldn't get mad. You lost, so don't forget to send me the money."
I shot Angela a look and pulled her toward the restroom before she could make a scene.
Inside, she checked the stalls, ensuring we were alone before lowering her voice. "Laurel, what exactly did that fake little sweetheart want with you yesterday? And why the hell was she suddenly grilling you about what happened five years ago?"
Angela was one of the few people who knew about that night—about what happened between me and Austin when I was drunk.
Back then, she hadn't thought much of it. After all, Austin and I had been together for a year, and he had always been attentive and considerate. He was handsome and charming—what was there to regret?
But once Angela found out who he really was, she started warning me not to fall too deep.
Getting Austin to marry me wouldn't be easy. More importantly, she believed he was calculating, keeping his true identity a secret even from his closest friends.
No one had known he was the heir to the Herrera Group until Lucas spilled the truth after we graduated high school.
I frowned. "I knew why Austin never slept with me all these years."
Then, she stilled, rubbing her temple. "Wait... He's not—he doesn't have issues in that department, does he?"
She had always believed that Austin's reluctance to be intimate meant one of two things—either he was incapable, or he was too busy sleeping around to bother with me.
But knowing the Herrera family's strict rules, she leaned toward the former.
"It wasn't Austin that night," I admitted.
Angela froze, staring at me in shock before letting out a low laugh. "I knew something felt off. But... "
Her expression shifted, sharp with realization. "If it wasn't him, then who was it? Did he ask Gideon to replace him?"
She turned on her heel, furious, ready to storm out and find someone to blame. I caught her wrist, stopping her before she could leave.
"Angela, don't do anything rash," I pleaded, gripping her tightly. "Austin isn't... incapable. That night was just an accident."
Her face was a mix of disbelief, concern, and frustration. "Laurel, are you hiding something from me?"
My breath caught in my throat. I hesitated before finally whispering, "There's something I never told anyone."
Angela's brows furrowed. "What is it?"
I exhaled slowly. "Austin's secretary came to see me once."
It had been the year Austin joined one of the Herrera Group's subsidiary companies after graduation.
That was the year a beautiful woman showed up at the apartment we shared, pregnancy certificate in hand.
Even now, I couldn't forget the way she sat across from me, exuding a victor's confidence.
"I'm pregnant with Austin's child. You should break up with him," she said confidently.
She thought that having his baby meant she could secure her place.
She didn't realize the Herrera family never cared about illegitimate children. There were too many women willing to throw themselves at Austin.
I had merely smiled at her. "You should be talking to Austin, not me." At the time, I surprised even myself with how composed I was.
I had read too many novels about power struggles in wealthy families after knowing Austin's identity.
But in the end, I didn't gain much inspiration or insights.
The endings were always the same—either the wife poisoned the husband, or she found another man to help take him down.
There were no foolishly naive men—only women blinded by love.
Marriage, to me, had never been just about love.
I wanted a family.
Loving only one person for a lifetime? That wasn't as easy as people made it sound.
So I convinced myself that as long as Austin didn't leave me, I could turn a blind eye to whatever else he did.
But I wasn't as indifferent as I thought.
The woman must have realized she had failed to provoke me. Two weeks later, she was in a car accident and resigned from her job.
Austin never spoke about her again, but I had already hired a private investigator to uncover the truth.
She had drugged his drink during a business trip and slept with him at a hotel.
When he found out, he forced her to resign.
Desperate, she came to me with the pregnancy report of another person, pretending to be pregnant.
When that didn't work, she went straight to Amanda.
Amanda wasn't someone to be trifled with. There was no way she would let some random woman jeopardize her son's future. So, on her way home, that woman was involved in a 'convenient' accident.
When it was revealed she wasn't even pregnant, she was thrown out of the company for good.
Austin didn't mention it to me.
Angela's expression darkened. "Are you insane? After everything he's done, you—"
Angela was so angered that she was rendered speechless.
"I thought he was just scared," I interrupted, laughing bitterly. "Maybe he didn't touch me because he didn't want another scandal. And if I had gotten pregnant, who knows what his mother would have done to me?"
I had once believed that Austin truly cared for me.
Even when Amanda disapproved of me, he never pushed me away. He had always been thoughtful, even when his work kept him busy.
But now, looking back, maybe his kindness was just guilt.
Guilt for betraying me. Guilt for disappearing that night and leaving me to suffer alone.
Guilt for lying to me all these years.
But guilt doesn't last forever.
Over time, everything had changed. Or maybe, Austin had always been the same. Maybe I had never truly known him at all.
Angela exhaled sharply. "Laurel, what are you going to do? Are you going to find out the truth about that night?"
I smiled, shaking my head slowly. "No rush," I murmured. "First, I want them to taste what it feels like to be deceived."