“Wait—where are you taking her?” I asked, nearly stumbling as they began to move her.
“She needs a minute, sir,” the nurse said firmly, placing a gentle but unmovable hand against my chest. “We’ll come get you soon.”
The door closed, leaving me alone in the hallway.
I paced back and forth for what felt like hours. My palms were slick with sweat. I counted cracks in the floor tiles just to keep my mind from spiraling. Every passing second stretched longer than the last. I prayed quietly under my breath.
Finally, another nurse appeared and waved me toward the room.
“You can come in now.”
My heart pounded as I stepped inside.
Anna lay beneath the bright hospital lights, looking exhausted and pale. She clutched two small bundles wrapped tightly in blankets, holding them close against her chest. Her whole body trembled.
“Anna?” I rushed to her side. “Are you okay? Is something wrong? Is it the pain? Do I need to call someone?”
She didn’t answer at first. She just tightened her grip on the babies.
Then suddenly she cried out, her voice breaking.
“Don’t look at our babies, Henry!”
Her sobs filled the room.
I dropped to my knees beside the bed, stunned.
“Anna, hey… whatever it is, we’ll figure it out,” I said softly. “Please. Just show me my boys.”
Her hands shook as she slowly loosened the blankets.
“Look, Henry,” she whispered.
I leaned forward.
And then I froze.
One of the babies—Josh—had pale skin, rosy cheeks, and soft light hair. He looked unmistakably like me.
The other—Raiden—had deep brown skin, thick dark curls, and Anna’s beautiful eyes staring back at me.
Both were tiny. Both were perfect.
But they looked completely different.
Anna began crying harder.
“I only love you, Henry,” she said desperately. “They’re your babies—I swear they are! I don’t know how this happened! I didn’t cheat! I would never do that to you!”
My mind struggled to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. But instinctively, I reached out and gently stroked both babies’ heads.
Then I looked straight at her.
“Anna,” I said calmly, “look at me.”
She hesitated, then slowly raised her eyes.
“I believe you.”
Her breath caught.
“We’ll figure this out together,” I continued. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Just then, a nurse quietly stepped into the room.
“The doctors would like to run a few tests on the babies,” she said carefully. “Just some routine checks given the… unique circumstances.”
Anna stiffened immediately.
“Are they okay?”
“Their vitals at birth were excellent,” the nurse assured us. “Everything looks healthy. But the doctors would like to make sure of a few things—and they’ll want to speak with you as well.”
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