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I Can’t Believe It! My Best Friend Turns Out to Be Alex’s Father – I’ve Been Raising His Son for Over Four Years Without a Clue!
“I can’t believe this! My best friend is Alex’s father! Ive raised him for over four years, never once doubting he was mine!”
Emma and James had been in love since their school days. After graduation, James left for flight school in another city, while Emma didnt get in. They spoke every day, their love unwavering.
But when James began his flights, Emma grew jealous of the beautiful flight attendants. She visited him to reconcile, and they spent a perfect night together, whispering their love. Yet in the morning, she saw a message from one of his colleaguesasking when the next flight was, saying she felt safer flying with him.
Jealousy flared. Emma stormed out in tears.
James was offered a job abroadgreat prospects, high salary. He agonised over telling Emma hed have to leave in a year. Then, three weeks later, she told him she was pregnant.
He proposed. They married in a lavish ceremony, half the town celebrating. The overseas job was forgottenEmma refused to go.
After the wedding, James moved them to London. When their son was born, they took out a hefty mortgage on a large flat with his mothers help. James worked tirelessly to pay it off, to provide.
“If Id taken that job abroad, I wouldnt be stuck in this grind! Id be climbing the ladder by now!”
“Oh, sure, James! While Im here with the baby, youd be off with new women on flights?” Emma snapped.
“You never stop with the jealousy! If Im with you, Im with you!”
The fights became daily. After every flight, Emma would pounce, checking his phone, searching for betrayal. Three years in, James quit flying to become an instructor at the aviation school, driving taxis on weekends to make ends meet.
For Emmas peace, he abandoned his dream. He gave everything to be the best husband and father.
Then, one day, James missed a mortgage payment. He needed the contract for the bank. Emma was out, so he searched himself. He found the contractand something else. Beneath the papers lay a paternity test.
“What the hell is this?”
Results: Child: Alex Jameson. Alleged father: Andrew Bennett. Probability of paternity: 99%.
“I cant believe it. My best friend is Alexs father. Four years raising him, never suspecting he wasnt mine.”
James was numb. How could he face Emma? How could Andrewhis closest friendkeep this from him?
“Hi, love!” Emma kissed him, but he didnt react. “Alex, dinner, then the park,” he said flatly.
“James? Whats wrong?” Emma laughed nervously.
“Not now.” He stood and walked away.
She followed, desperate. “Talk to me! Im your wife!”
“A wife who lied. I gave up everything for you. Everything. And all this timeAlex isnt even mine.”
Emma paled. “How did you?”
“Doesnt matter. I know.”
Two months passed in silence. James couldnt bear to speak to her. How had Andrew hidden this?
Andrew had always fancied Emma. He never hid it. But months before their wedding, he married someone else, knowing Emma would never be his. Yet at every party, he danced with Emma, not his wife.
Jamess mother once remarked, “Emma, you and Andrew wouldve made a lovely pair.”
Emma laughed awkwardly. “Dont be silly! I married your son! We have a child!”
“But why do you always turn to Andrew, not James?”
“James is always working! Andrew helps. Hes kind.”
His mothers suspicions grew. Alex had Andrews birthmark on his neck. As he grew, the resemblance deepened. She took matters into her own handscollecting DNA from Andrews glass and Alexs cup during a family visit.
Late one night, she confronted Emma in tears. “I knew it! How could you betray my son? Does Andrew even know hes a father?”
Emma begged. “Please, dont ruin us! It was one reckless nightJames and I were fighting. Andrew was there, weI never meant for this! James loves Alex. Please, dont take that from him!”
His mother left, heartbroken. Emma hid the test results, praying James would never find them.
She decided to confess. But when she got home, James was goneonly a new remote-controlled car left on Alexs bed.
“Mum, wheres Dad?” Alex asked.
“Work trip, sweetheart,” Emma lied, rushing to the balcony to cry.
She called James, voice shaking. “Please, talk to me!”
“Theres nothing left to say. Ill always love Alex. Ill support him. But I cant live with you. Not after this.”
He hung up.
When James visited to take Alex for the weekend, Emma begged. “Remember that fight about the flight attendant? I went out with friends, drank too muchAndrew was there. I dont even remember how it happened. I wanted to tell you, but I was terrified of losing you. Thenthe test came positive. I thought he was yours. Your mother showed me the truth when Alex was six months old. I buried it. This is Andrews faulthe always envied you! Please, forgive me!”
Jamess face was stone. “No.”
He returned to flying, filed for divorce. He sent gifts from every country, supported Alex financially. Andrew never learned the truthhe moved abroad with his wife.
One reckless night had shattered everything. Trust. Love. James lost his best friend and his wife.
Emma kept the flat, the money, the car. She thrived at work, Alex attended the best school. But love? Gone.
She tried endlessly to win James backhe refused. Even with other women, he couldnt trust again. Eventually, he achieved the heights hed once dreamed of.
Such is life. Was Emma right to hide the truth? What would you have done?
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