They looked at me, confused.
“What’s this?” Kelly asked, her brow furrowing.
“A paternity test,” I said, my voice steady. “For Thomas and Ryan.”
“WHAT?!” Ryan shouted, jumping up. “How did you…?”
“It doesn’t matter how I did it,” I said, cutting him off.
“What matters is that you’re Thomas’s father, and I want to understand how this happened and why you didn’t tell me.”
“It was eight years ago,” Kelly said quietly.
“Don’t you dare,” Ryan warned, his voice low and threatening.
“So, you knew? You knew from the beginning of our friendship that my husband is the father of your child?” I asked Kelly, my voice shaking.
Kelly nodded meekly, tears in her eyes.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Because it didn’t matter. You and Ryan are happy, and Thomas and I are fine,” Kelly said, her voice trembling.
“It doesn’t matter?
You two deceived me! How long have you known?” I asked Ryan, turning to face him.
“Why do you need to know?” Ryan said, avoiding my eyes.
“Answer me!” I shouted, my anger boiling over.
“Since I first saw Kelly and Thomas with you,” Ryan replied, his voice barely a whisper.
“Oh my God,” I said, feeling like the ground had been pulled out from under me.
“Amanda, it happened in high school. We were both kids, and Ryan didn’t even know about Thomas’s existence until we started being friends,” Kelly said, trying to explain.
“Why?
Why didn’t you tell me everything right away?” I asked, feeling tears prick in my eyes.
“I was afraid of losing you,” Ryan said, his voice full of regret.
“You’re more likely to lose me now because of the lies, not because you have a son,” I said, my voice breaking.
“I’m sorry. We thought it was best for everyone,” Kelly said, tears streaming down her face.
“I can’t believe I was so blind all this time,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Please forgive us,” Ryan begged, his eyes pleading.
“What happens next?” I asked, my mind racing.
“In what sense?” Ryan asked, looking confused.
“Thomas deserves to know who his father is,” I replied, my voice firm.
“No, wait, I—” Ryan began, but I interrupted him.
“You weren’t in his life for eight years. It’s the right thing to do for you to become his father now,” I said, feeling a strange sense of calm.
“Do you want me to leave you?” Ryan asked, his voice full of fear.
“What?
No. You’re still my husband, and I hope you’ll remain so after I calm down. But Thomas deserves a father.
You have no idea how wonderful he is; Kelly has done a great job,” I said, feeling a pang of sadness.
“So maybe we should ask Kelly if she’s okay with it?” Ryan said, looking over at Kelly.
“Kelly?” I looked at her hopefully.
“I don’t mind, but we need to do it gradually,” she said, her voice soft.
“Yes, of course,” I agreed, nodding. “I’m still very angry with both of you, but we’ll figure it out.”
Kelly and Ryan looked at me sadly, their faces full of regret. I thought about how quickly life could change and how much we had to move forward together, step by step.
We had a long road ahead, but we would face it together.
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