“Father?” Stephanie asked in shock.
“What do you mean by I’m his father, Rosebella?” Sebastian had never been so confused his whole life.
“I mean the same thing you are thinking, James. This is your son, okay?” Rosebella responded, and Stephanie cleared her throat.
“Sebastian, are you going to tell me what is going on? I’m confused and I need an explanation.”
“Can I hug him, Mom?” Liam asked, and Sebastian moved back before he could move closer to him.
“I am as confused as you are, Stephanie. Can you please tell me what this is about, Rosebella?”
“It’s quite simple, Sebastian. You got me pregnant and broke up with me afterwards, didn’t you? I’m sorry for this new girl. She looks too innocent to be treated the way I was treated.”
Stephanie’s eyes heated up as she listened to Rosebella. Before Sebastian could defend himself, Stephanie took to her heels and ran from the scene.
She headed to the hotel room.
“What the f**k is wrong with you, Rosebella?! You cheated on me with another man. Did you expect me to still stay with you? Maybe you got confused and can’t remember who his father is, but I won’t let you push him on me like that, okay?!”
Before Rosebella could respond, Sebastian ran back to the hotel. He got to the hotel room and met Stephanie sobbing on the bed.
He moved closer to her and wanted to touch her but she moved away.
“Is she telling the truth? You have a son?” She mumbled.
“No! It’s a lie, okay? She is just playing games.”
“Why would you want to play such games with you! Who is she?! Explain to me!” Stephanie yelled in tears.
Sebastian heaved a sigh and bounced his head. He sat on the chair and placed his hands on his legs as he began to speak.
“I once dated Rosebella. She was the first woman I’d ever date. It’s about seven years ago. I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Everything was going well until I realized she never loved me the way I did love her. She had a boyfriend beside me. I was hurt and broke up with her.”
Stephanie raised her head and looked at Sebastian.
“So now she is back with a child she claims to be yours?”
“It’s not true.”
“How are you so sure? It’s been seven years! You said it yourself. What if she was pregnant when you broke up with her?”
“No, I don’t think so. If she was pregnant, she would have talked to me about it.”
“Did you give her the chance to tell you? After you broke up with her, did you let her see you or talk to you?” She further asked, and James exhaled softly.
“I didn’t. I was so mad and broken. Didn’t want to see or talk to her.”
“That is it, Sebastian! There’s a probability that the boy is your son! He looks six! What if he is your son? What are we going to do about it? What if she wants you back? What happens to us? This relationship?”
Stephanie became paranoid and sprang to her feet. Sebastian also stood up and stared at her.
“C’mon, Stephanie. You are taking this too far, okay? She was talking nonsense. Nothing is going to happen to our relationship. I love you so much.”
“I know, and I love you too. But I’m not comfortable with what I heard.”
“Okay. Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
Stephanie raised her head and looked at his face. He bobbed, giving her assurance.
“I want you to find out if you are truly his father. Let’s check his DNA. I want to be sure I don’t have a rival with your first love! If he is your son, and she wants to get back to you because of him, I won’t have a choice but to step down for her.”
“Stephanie, don’t let Rosebella’s words get to you.”
“I’m not letting them get to me, but I won’t want you to ignore your own son for him. It’s better to know the truth before it’s too late. If he isn’t your son, fine. And if he is your son, then, I don’t know. I guess we would have to think about what to do next when we find out.”
Stephanie headed to the bed again and laid on it. She pulled the duvet over her head and kept sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Stephanie.” Sebastian said remorsefully, but she didn’t pull down the duvet. She kept her head tucked in, and her eyes tightly shut.
“Are you going to bed already?” He asked again.
“Yes, I’m tired. We’ll go to the hospital tomorrow,” She mumbled under the duvet.
Sebastian clenched his jaws and fastened his fists in anger. Everything was going well until his first love showed up.
“That boy better not be my son!”
***
Stephanie and Sebastian sat next to each other, waiting for the tests to come out. They were pretty nervous.
Rosebella on the other hand was quite unbothered. Liam kept staring at Sebastian as he sat in between Rosebella’s legs.
Sebastian looked at him and their eyes locked. Liam refused to look away, so Sebastian first looked away.
“Why doesn’t he like me? He hasn’t said anything to me since we left the Hotel,” Liam muttered to his mom.
“Don’t say that, Liam. He hasn’t seen you since I gave birth to you. It’s normal for him to act differently. But you’re his son, and he loves you. Just give him time, okay?”
Liam bounced his head and looked at Sebastian again. He really wanted to hug him and tell him stuff about his school.
His mother had always told him that one day, he was going to see his Dad, and they would reunite. He always asked her why he wasn’t there from the very beginning, but she never told him anything.
A nurse approached them with a pleasant smile, and they all stood up.
“The results are out. Congratulations, Mr. Coleman. You are his father.” She stretched the results out to Sebastian. He was too shocked to collect the paper from her.
Stephanie’s feet wobbled and she fell on the chair in tears.
“I’ll have that,” Rosebella responded, smiling widely. She collected the results and took a look at it. They had a 98.9% similarity.
She giggled and looked at Sebastian who was glued to the spot he stood. She looked at Liam and pulled him closer.
“Go and embrace your father,” She said to him.
Liam bounced his head and excitedly ran to where Sebastian stood. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s legs and laughed.
“I missed you, Dad.”
Sebastian’s eyes watered as the boy hugged him tightly. He didn’t want to push him away, but it was still too hard to accept the fact that he was his son.
He looked at Stephanie and saw she was down in tears.
“Let me have the results, please.” He stretched his hand to Rosebella and she gave it to him.
“I can’t wait to get back to the way we used to be. We are a family now,” She said.
Stephanie stood up after heating Rosebella’s words and ran out of the hospital, crying profusely.