The waiting period felt endless. I spent my days caring for Henry and our four daughters while wondering how the man I had loved for eight years could abandon us so easily. Eventually, the laboratory contacted me. The results confirmed that Aaron was Henry’s biological father, with a reported probability of paternity of 99.99 percent. I felt enormous relief, but the relief quickly turned into anger. I forwarded the report to Aaron without writing a single word. Less than an hour later, someone knocked urgently on Diana’s front door.

Aaron stood outside, looking exhausted. He apologized repeatedly and asked to hold his son. I allowed him to enter, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him. I asked one question: why had he believed a birthmark instead of his wife? He explained that Michael had the same unusual mark and that he couldn’t ignore the resemblance. I reminded him that Michael had never betrayed our family. Then I suggested we speak to him directly. Aaron agreed. When he called Michael and explained what had happened, the silence on the other end lasted so long that we both became worried.