The assembly gradually dispersed upon the conclusion of the press conference.
John looked quizzically at Evan, “Mr. Seet, the results…”
“A job well done, John!” Evan seemed fairly pleased with the outcome.
John quickly explained himself, “No, please listen to me, Mr. Seet. I didn’t have anyone doctor the result. It is authentic!”
Evan raised an eyebrow in annoyance. “You find this amusing, don’t you?”
It was the outcome that he wanted for the press conference as when he had first instructed John earlier, but if what he was told by John about the testing was true, that would mean that Nina and Maya were indeed his own daughters.
This… How could this be?
Evan looked nonchalantly at John as he took Nina and Maya by the hand and led them away.
It does not matter even if they were not of his blood. He will love them all the same.
John could only sigh at Evan’s disbelief as even he too was confounded by the test result. Initially, he did dutifully arrange for the results to be altered.
“Do you want to change the results to negative? To reflect that they are not related?”
“No. If they are negative, why would there be a need to change things? You have to indicate that they are related by blood!”
The doctor looked rather bemusedly at John, “They are indeed related by blood and the results of the paternity test have already precisely indicated that. Is there anything else about that outcome which you would like to change?”
John was dumbstruck as he started to question the reliability of his own hearing. He stared at the paternity test report after repeated verification, stunned by what was reflected in it.
What a fluke that was!
Ms. Lane had withheld the truth of the identity of Nina and Maya’s birth father when it was Mr. Seet all along.
How would Mr. Seet react were he to find out?
——
While John zoned out, Evan had taken the two girls into the elevator. John then shot out after them like a rocket, stepping in after the door reopened. At first, he forced a smile, then regarded Evan with extreme seriousness.
“Mr. Seet. What I have told you was the absolute truth. The result was authentic. The two of them are your daughters! Your own flesh and blood!”
Evan blanked out momentarily when he saw that John was not messing around, then lowered his head to look at Nina.
Nina raised her head and looked back at him with a straight face.
Evan then turned to Maya, who was equally straight-faced, sheepishly stuck out her tongue before looking away.
What sort of reaction is this from them? Did they know something that I did not?
Nina was usually tight-lipped and hard to engage. As Evan felt that he would unlikely be able to coax anything from her, he redirected his attention to Maya.
He remembered asking Maya what her father did for a living and how he looked like back at Rose Garden, and her response was: He is like you.
Now that he recalled it, he realized how hugely important that four worded message was.
“Maya, is your Daddy like me? Exactly like me?”
Maya raised her head and blinked twice, not knowing how best to respond. She looked to Nina for direction and Nina shot her a look as if to tell her not to speak.
Maya proceeded to hold a hand over her mouth.
From her reaction, Evan sensed something amiss and so persisted with his questioning through coercion and cajolery, “Maya, if you tell Uncle Evan, Uncle Evan will gift Imperial Garden to your Mummy and also take you to visit all the top restaurants in Y City.”
The two rascals Juan and Kyle had previously swiped money from Evan’s account and bought Imperial Garden for Nicole, but she retained neither as she promptly returned both cash and property to him.
If Nicole’s two girls were his children, there was probably nothing he could ever do to properly make amends. But Evan was nonetheless determined to try.
Maya was a little tempted by the offer and tried again to look to Nina, but John was perceptive enough to step in between them. He then turned to regard Maya, “Children should not tell lies, and Maya is the cutest and most honest little girl that I’ve ever known.”
