Chapter 461 Do You Hate Me?
Today's birthday celebration was organized by Anouk and Waverly for Zephyr's forty-seventh birthday.
Initially, Zephyr had no intention of attending. He knew that Anouk's sudden desire to host this party wasn't merely celebratory—she had ulterior motives.
However, an unexpected development changed everything: Victoria's appearance—a child connected to Esme.
After leaving the hospital that day, he had taken a strand of Victoria's hair from her room and quietly arranged for DNA testing.
According to the timeline, the results would be available today.
Just half an hour ago, he had received the test report.
Simultaneously, Anouk had obtained a report of her own.
Both were sitting in their respective waiting areas.
Casey knocked on the door, then opened it and stepped aside, announcing, "Mr. Windsor, Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Howard have arrived."
In the spacious waiting room, a man in a brown suit stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Hearing the announcement, Zephyr turned to see Alexander pushing Victoria in her wheelchair.
Zephyr walked toward them, his expression betraying his excitement, particularly at the sight of Victoria.
Perhaps due to years in his position, he had mastered emotional control, or perhaps he feared frightening her. Whatever the reason, he restrained his eagerness to acknowledge their connection.
"Mr. Windsor, you wanted to see us?" Victoria asked.
Reading people came naturally to Victoria. She deliberately ignored his momentary change in expression, though she already suspected what this meeting was about.
Zephyr felt a thousand needles in his heart hearing Victoria address him so formally. Beyond the pain was guilt.
Taking a deep breath, he asked indirectly, "Did you know that your father in Rihegde wasn't your biological father?"
Victoria nodded calmly, answering without hesitation, "Yes."
Zephyr's brow furrowed. "And you never tried to find your biological father?"
Victoria paused briefly before responding, "I've had my suspicions for a long time, but lacked proof. Recently, I found my answers." She gave a soft laugh. "Besides, I'm grown now. There's no need to search. My life is good as it is."
Her optimistic response was like a knife to his heart.
Victoria's emotional state was like an autumn leaf falling into a pond—creating ripples that quickly subsided into stillness.
With perfect composure, she asked, "Why are you so interested in my personal affairs, Mr. Windsor?"
Their eyes met.
Zephyr searched her clear gaze for any hint of emotion, but found nothing.
After a long moment, he began, "If... I mean..."
Victoria interrupted, completing his thought, "You're suggesting that you're my biological father, aren't you?"
Zephyr froze.
"You know?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
She maintained her calm demeanor and nodded. "I suspected it, and recently confirmed it."
When Zephyr had sent someone for DNA testing, Victoria's people had been monitoring the situation closely.
When someone attempted to switch the samples, her associates had quietly switched them back.
In the end, the authentic test results had reached her hands first.
Naturally, Zephyr's report was also genuine.
As for Anouk, who had attempted to manipulate the results—she received exactly what she had hoped for.
After speaking, Victoria turned to Winter. "Winter, the photograph, please."
Apart from Victoria and Alexander, no one else present knew about the DNA report.
When they heard the conversation, they were all stunned.
Winter didn't even register Victoria's request at first.
Kimberly was the first to react, gently nudging Winter.
"What? Oh, right. Here, Victoria," Winter said.
She quickly pulled a photograph from the file she'd been holding and handed it over.
Victoria glanced at it before passing it to Zephyr.
He looked down, surprise flashing in his eyes. "You took this photo?"
Her silence was answer enough.
"So you were the one impersonating Waverly that night."
Zephyr didn't know how to feel, realizing they had already had a close encounter.
Given the current situation, however, she seemed unwilling to acknowledge him as her biological father.
For a moment, the only sound was their breathing.
Finally, with trepidation, he asked, "Do you hate me?"
Victoria had never avoided his gaze. After a pause, she said, "I don't think so. We have no foundation of family bonds, so why would I hate you? For twenty-some years, I didn't even know you existed. Hatred doesn't enter into it."
Her answer surprised Zephyr.
But her next words brought a different kind of pain.
"Besides," she said with a faint smile, "the word 'dad' is just a word to me—it holds no special memories."
After age five, the concept of "dad" had gradually faded from her consciousness.
Whether Simon was her biological father or not, he had given her a few years of happy memories, only to erase them over the following decade.
To her, the identity of her biological father no longer mattered.
Meanwhile, Anouk had received her DNA report but hadn't opened it yet.
Whether from fear or lack of courage, she kept staring at the envelope on the table.
After what seemed like an eternity, she took a deep breath, reached for the envelope, and opened it.
Test result: DNA comparison showed high degree of non-matching. No blood relation existed.
In that moment, half of Anouk's anxiety and unease lifted.
She had known they merely looked alike.
Even if Victoria were truly Esme's daughter, she couldn't possibly be related to Zephyr.
That child had been lost in a miscarriage years ago—it couldn't have been born.
This girl who resembled Esme must have been conceived with another man after Esme left.
Suddenly, Anouk began to laugh almost maniacally, her usual elegance and poise vanishing.
"Zephyr, she didn't love you that much after all. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left and had a child with someone else," she said to herself, her eyes filled with mockery and vindictive satisfaction.
She was genuinely grateful that Esme had betrayed Zephyr.
And Esme would never know what Zephyr had done for her.
Outside the door stood Waverly. She had intended to go to Zephyr's waiting area but had been stopped by Harry.
Harry took orders only from Zephyr and made exceptions for no one, not even Presidential Palace's favored socialite.
She had detoured to Anouk's room to remind her that the birthday celebration was about to begin.
Unexpectedly, she heard Anouk's laughter from the doorway.
She had never heard such an unrestrained laugh from her before—one that sent chills down her spine.
Furrowing her brow slightly, she decided against knocking and turned to leave.
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