father. Hospitals were busy. Nurses were tired. Mistakes happened.
But when I returned to the room, Daniel smiled too quickly.
Nora looked at him before asking whether something was wrong.
“No,” I said. “Everything is fine.”
But it wasn’t.
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For the next two days, I acted normally while the nurse’s words repeated inside my head.
That isn’t the baby your son left with.
Suddenly, every strange detail returned.
No pregnancy pictures.
No large baby shower.
No family visits.
Daniel constantly changing the subject.
During a drive back from the hospital, I finally confronted him.
“A nurse told me something strange,” I said.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“She said that wasn’t the baby you left with.”
Daniel missed a breath before forcing a laugh.
“She must have been confused.”
“Then why do you sound frightened?”
He remained silent before claiming he
