Chapter 5: The Blood Test
I spent the next morning sitting in a hospital parking lot with my hands wrapped around a paper cup of coffee I never drank.
The sun was rising.
People were walking into the building carrying grocery bags, backpacks, and appointment folders.
Everyone looked normal.
That was the strangest part.
The world had no idea mine had cracked open.
Inside my purse was the envelope containing my prenatal test results.
Inside my phone were dozens of missed calls from Cole.
Inside my heart was a question I was terrified to ask.
Was my daughter even his?
A week ago, I had been choosing nursery curtains.
Now I was sitting outside a genetics clinic.
I touched my stomach.
“She’s still mine,” I whispered.
My voice broke.
“No matter what anyone says.””
The passenger door opened.
I looked up sharply.
Cole stood there.
I hadn’t heard him approach.
For a second, my anger disappeared.
Not because I forgave him.
Because seeing him hurt.
He looked exhausted.
Like he hadn’t slept since the baby shower.
“Emma.””
I looked away.
“How did you find me?””
“Lily told me.””
Of course she did.
Lily had always been terrible at keeping secrets when she thought someone needed help.
Cole stood beside the car.
“I’m not here to pressure you.””
“Good.””
“I’m here because I need you to know something.””
I laughed quietly.
“Every time someone says that, my life gets worse.””
He accepted that.
Maybe because he knew I was right.
“Your mother wasn’t telling the whole truth.””
My fingers tightened around the coffee cup.
“About what?””
“The kiss.””
I looked at him.
“We’re still talking about that?””
“Yes.””
“Cole, you kissed my mother.””
“No.””
His voice was firm.
“I didn’t start it.””
I shook my head.
“I don’t care who started it.””
“But you should.””
“Why?””
“Because she was trying to get information from me.””
I frowned.
“What information?””
He looked toward the hospital entrance.
“The truth about the baby.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
Cole sat on the hood of the car.
“My father’s journals weren’t the only thing I found.””
I waited.
He took a breath.
“Before he died, my father had another secret.””
“What secret?””
“He had medical records.””
I stared at him.
“Medical records?””
“He knew there was a possibility he had another child.””
The parking lot suddenly felt silent.
“Another child?””
Cole nodded.
“Your mother wasn’t the only woman he had a relationship with.””
My stomach turned.
“Then why did you think it was me?””
“Because of the timing.””
“What timing?””
“My father was with your mother around the same period she became pregnant with you.””
I closed my eyes.
This was too much.
Too many impossible connections.
“So you thought I was your sister?””
“I didn’t know.””
“But you suspected.””
“Yes.””
“And you still married me.””
His eyes filled with shame.
“I thought I could find the truth without hurting you.””
“You don’t get to decide what hurts me.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
I opened the car door.
“You knew there was a possibility that we were related, and you built a life with me anyway.””
His face twisted.
“I was wrong.””
“You were.””
A silence passed.
Then he said something that made me stop.
“But I found out we weren’t.””
I looked back.
“What?””
“I had a DNA test done.””
My heart started racing.
“When?””
“Before the wedding.””
I stared at him.
“You tested us?””
“Yes.””
The betrayal felt endless.
“You secretly tested me?””
“I was terrified.””
“Of what?””
“That I would lose you.””
I shook my head.
“You already did.””
He looked down.
“The results showed we weren’t related.””
I froze.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because after that, I thought the worst was over.””
“And then?””
“Then my father’s records revealed something else.””
I waited.
Cole’s voice lowered.
“The DNA test wasn’t wrong.””
“Then what?””
He looked directly at me.
“It tested the wrong person.””
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?””
“It means the sample we used wasn’t enough.””
A chill moved through me.
“Whose sample?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation scared me.
“Cole.””
“Your mother gave me the sample.””
My heart stopped.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
The coffee cup slipped from my hand and hit the pavement.
“She lied.””
Cole nodded slowly.
“She knew exactly what she was doing.””
I stared at the hospital doors.
My mother.
The woman who raised me.
The woman who held my hand through every heartbreak.
The woman who cried when I got married.
Had she been controlling this entire story from the beginning?
“Why would she lie?””
Cole looked at me.
“Because she was afraid of losing you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“She should have thought about that before destroying me.””
The hospital doors opened.
A nurse stepped outside.
“Emma Carter?””
I looked up.
“Yes?””
“She’s ready for your appointment.””
I stood.
Cole moved.
“Can I come?””
I looked at him.
The old me would have said yes.
The old me would have reached for his hand.
The woman standing there now couldn’t.
“No.””
His face fell.
“I understand.””
I walked toward the entrance.
But before I opened the door, he said:
“Emma.””
I stopped.
“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness.””
I didn’t turn around.
“But please don’t let our mistakes become hers.””
My hand moved to my belly.
Then I heard him say:
“Because there’s something else your mother never told you.””
I slowly turned.
“What?””
His expression changed.
Fear.
May you like
Real fear.
“She already knew your daughter’s DNA results before you did.””
