**Diary Entry 15th Wedding Anniversary**
She held the white envelope between two fingers as if it might burn her. “You think this is a gift? How could you?” Emmas voice trembled. “On our fifteenth anniversary, Nicholas! Fifteen years!”
Nicholas stood by the window, his broad shoulders tense, staring into the sunlit garden. The remnants of their celebration surrounded themhalf-drunk champagne, the remains of a cake with fifteen candles, a vase of lilies. Their country home, bought five years ago, suddenly felt cold despite the summer heat.
“You have to understand, Emma. I had a right to know.”
“Know what? That Andrew isnt yours?” She flung the envelope onto the table. “This is some horrible mistake. Ive never betrayed you, Nicholas. Never!”
He turned, pain and anger warring in his eyes. “Then how do you explain these results? Why does it say theres less than a one percent chance Im his father?”
The front door swung open. Their fourteen-year-old daughter, Sophie, stood in the doorwaytall like her father, with his same deep-set grey eyes. “Whats going on? Are you two arguing? On your anniversary?”
Emma snatched the envelope from the table. “Nothing, love. Just work talk.”
“On a weekend?” Sophie narrowed her eyes, her fathers scepticism mirrored perfectly. “Fine, dont tell me. Im going to Katys. Were seeing a film.”
When she left, Emma sank into a chair. “Wheres Andrew?”
“At the Parkers. They picked him up from footballhes staying over.” Nicholas poured himself more champagne. “Funny, isnt it? Celebrating fifteen years of marriage, only to find out Ive been raising another mans child for ten of them.”
“He *is* yours!” Emma shot up. “How can you say that? You held him as a newborn, taught him to ride a bike”
“I thought he was mine!” Nicholas slammed his glass down, champagne splashing onto the tablecloth. “Now I dont know what to believe. Who is he, Emma? Whose son is he?”
“Mine and yours. *Ours.* Theres been a mistake with the test.”
“I checked three times. *Three.* I didnt want to believe the first result.”
Emmas legs threatened to give way. “When did you start doubting? Why did you even do this?”
Nicholas exhaled heavily. “Victor.”
“Victor? Your old colleague? Whats he got to do with it?”
“Ran into him at the hardware shop two weeks ago. We got talking. He asked after you, the kids. Then he said something that got me thinking.”
Emmas hands turned icy.
“What, exactly?”
“He implied youd had an affair. That you and he” Nicholas couldnt finish.
Emma gaped. “Victor and me? Have you lost your mind? I couldnt stand him! You *know* he was always undermining you at work!”
“I know,” Nicholas dragged a hand through his hair. “But then I started thinking Andrew doesnt look like me. Not like anyone in my family. And the timing when I was working away on that project in Manchester”
“I cant believe youd trust Victor over me,” Emma whispered. “Fifteen years together, and you take his word over mine?”
“I *wanted* to believe you. Thats why I did the testto prove him wrong. But these results” He nodded to the envelope. “They say otherwise.”
Silence thickened the air.
“What now?” Emma finally asked.
“I dont know.” Nicholas grabbed his coat. “I need time. Ill stay at Ians.”
She didnt stop him. The door clicked shut, and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
**Later Ians Flat**
“I dont get it,” Ian, Nicholass younger brother, handed him coffee. “Why even do the test?”
Nicholas hadnt slept, the dark circles under his eyes proof. “You didnt see the way Victor looked at me when he said it. So *smug.* And Andrew he doesnt look like me.”
“He looks like Emma,” Ian shrugged. “So what? My Jamie takes after Lucy more than me.”
“But the test results”
“Are you *sure* theyre accurate? Who did the analysis?”
Nicholas pulled a crumpled business card from his pocket. “GeneSure. Private lab, but well-reviewed. I checked.”
Ian turned the card over. “So whats your next move?”
Nicholas rubbed his face. “I dont know. My whole worlds just shattered.”
“Have you talked to Emma? Whats she saying?”
“That she never cheated. That its a mistake.”
“Do you believe her?”
Nicholas met his brothers gaze. “I did for fifteen years. Now I dont know.”
**Emmas Investigation**
Emma sat across from the director of MedScreen, her voice steady despite sleepless nights. “I need the results as fast as possible.” She slid over the sample tubes. “Ill pay extra.”
The director, a stern woman in glasses, nodded. “Three days. But DNA tests are serious. If you doubt another labs results”
“I *know* theres been a mistake.” Emmas fingers clenched. “Nicholas *is* Andrews father. Ill prove it.”
She called her friend Marianne next. “I need your help. You worked at St. Marys Hospital ten years ago, right? Remember Irina from maternity?”
Later, Sophie found Emma hunched over her laptop, scribbling notes.
“Mum, whats going on? Wheres Dad? Hes not answering my texts.”
Emma flinched, closing the laptop. “Dads at Uncle Ians. We had a disagreement.”
“About *what?*” Sophie crossed her arms.
Emma exhaled. No point lying. “Your father doubts hes Andrews biological dad.”
Sophie froze. “*What?* How?”
“He did a DNA test. It says hes not related. But its wrong, Sophie. I *swear* its wrong.”
“Did you cheat on Dad?” Sophies voice cracked.
“*Never.*” Emma grabbed her hands. “I love him. I always have.”
Sophie yanked free. “Then how is Andrew *his?* DNA doesnt lie, Mum!”
“Labs make mistakes! People manipulate results!”
“Or maybe *youre* lying!” Sophie stormed out, slamming the door.
**The Truth Unfolds**
Marianne arranged a discreet meeting with Irina, a former maternity nurse.
“You think I switched babies out of spite?” Irina scoffed.
Emmas voice broke. “The test says Nicholas isnt his father. I *never* cheated. What else explains it?”
Irina hesitated. “Where was the test done?”
“GeneSure.”
Irinas eyes flickered. “My niece, Alice, works there. She handles results.”
A lead.
Meanwhile, Nicholas confronted Victor.
“You *lied* about Emma!” Nicholas shoved him against the wall.
Victor paled. “II didnt”
“Your niece works at GeneSure. You *knew* Id test after your hints. You even recommended the lab!”
Victor crumbled. “You got the promotion that shouldve been *mine.* You had everything.”
Nicholas recoiled. “You ruined my family out of *jealousy?*”
**The Final Test**
At the state genetics lab, the doctor delivered unexpected news.
“Standard tests *do* show no relation,” he admitted. “But further analysis revealed a rare mutationone that skews paternity results. Nicholas, you *are* Andrews father.”
Emma burst into tears.
Nicholas sagged in relief. “How rare is this?”
“One in ten thousand. And its hereditary. Andrew has it too.”
**Epilogue**
That evening, the family reunited over dinner.
“So it was just a weird mutation?” Sophie asked.
“And one jealous man,” Nicholas sighed.
Andrew grinned. “Does this mean Im a mutant? Like the X-Men?”
Laughter filled the room, tension dissolving.
Later, Nicholas pulled Emma close. “Im sorry. I shouldve trusted you.”
“And I shouldve understood your doubts,” she whispered.
“No more test results for anniversaries,” he promised, kissing her.
The moon shone through the window, casting soft light over their mended family. Trust, theyd learned, was fragilebut worth fighting for. Maybe *that* was the real gift of fifteen years.
**Lesson Learned:** Even the strongest bonds can falter under doubt. But lovereal lovefinds its way back. Always.
