Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess novel Chapter 477

The scene unfolded before Billy's eyes, igniting a fury that he could barely contain.

"Lauren, how could you keep this from me?" Billy's voice trembled with a mix of anger and pain.

Ruby's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Lauren, pretending she knew nothing.

Lauren's resolve hardened, and she confessed, "Billy, I'm sorry. I wronged you. Ruby didn't know anything. I didn't even know I was pregnant when we got together."

"So, you knew all along that Josie wasn't mine?" Billy's eyes searched Lauren's face for any trace of truth.

Lauren's gaze darted anxiously, her mind scrambling for words, but Billy cut her off with bitter accusation, "I get it now. You knew Josefina wasn't my daughter, nor yours, and that's why you sent her off to the countryside to fend for herself. I never understood why you were so cruel to Josefina, but now it all makes sense. Lauren, have you no conscience?"

Lauren's voice rose in desperation, "Billy, Ruby is not just your daughter, she's mine too. Can't we just live in this muddled existence? No one else has to know."

Billy shot back, "Who says no one knows? If Josie hadn't clued me in, I'd still be in the dark. Had I known, I would never have pushed Josie away, nor would I have allowed Ruby into my home!"

At his words, Ruby's heart turned to ice.

"Billy, Ruby is my daughter. How can you talk about her like that?"

Billy scoffed, "My daughter? I doubt even the boy is mine! I'm bringing little Tommy back, and we're getting a paternity test!"

Lauren exploded, "Billy, how could you even say that? If Tommy finds out, how will he focus on his studies? Billy, Tommy is your son!"

But Billy's trust was shattered beyond repair.

Ruby, tears streaming down her face, looked at Billy with pleading eyes, "Daddy..."

"Don't you call me dad. I have no daughter in you! Ruby, I should never have let you in. Casting out Josefina was the biggest mistake of my life!"

With anger seething through his veins, Billy stormed out, unwilling to lay eyes on Ruby any longer.

...

Josefina offered a slight smile, but her words were sharp as thorns.

"So, Ruby isn't your daughter?"

Billy's heart clenched, a silent acknowledgment of the pain.

"Josie, I bought you chestnuts, and I got your favorite pistachio cake. You love the pistachio spread from that deli in the university quarter, right? I got you some of that too."

Billy stood there, sweating, his arms laden with gifts.

But Josefina found it all bitterly amusing, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So now that you know Ruby isn't yours, you're thinking of divorce?"

She didn't reach for the treats, instead coldly rejecting him, "Take your things back. I won't accept them. Mr. Antonio, I'm not part of the Antonio family."