While waiting, I noticed something startling on Andrea—a birthmark, identical to Joshua’s. My heart sank.
When I showed him, Joshua’s face went pale. Slowly, he confessed that he’d had a brief affair with a woman named Kira, who knew of our struggles.
He insisted he hadn’t known about the pregnancy. I was shattered. While I went through treatment after treatment, he was hiding this secret from me.
Andrea’s innocence melted my anger, but I was torn. Joshua begged me to try to work things out, for Andrea’s sake. We started therapy, though I questioned if I could ever trust him again.
Every night, holding Andrea, I felt a strange, painful beauty in this new reality. Love, forgiveness, and healing are complicated, and life rarely plays by the rules.
It’s been months now, and while Joshua and I are still finding our way, I know one thing: Andrea is part of my heart, and whatever happens, we’ll build a life around her.