A Quiet Evening
He stood on the porch watching the dusk fall over his quiet neighborhood. His five adoptive kids were already in the house, getting ready for dinner.
But their mom, who had gone out for groceries, was yet to return. He looked at the phone she’d left behind, rereading the text messages.
How could she do this to him and their boys?
His Dream
For Michael Jaquavius Cole, having a big family had always been everything.
From a young age, he’d always dreamed of meeting the love of his life and having as many kids as possible.
But he wasn’t even ten years old when disaster came knocking. He should have known that nothing in life ever came easily.
A Good Life
Mike was like any other thirty-six-year-old in Virginia. He took pride in what he’d achieved in life, mainly because he’d done it all while still in his twenties.
Although his life had a rocky start, he managed to turn it around, finding a stable job and even a spouse that meant the world to him.
He had no idea that it would all come crashing down.
His Wish
Mike met the love of his life when he was still in college. Marissa, the lady in question, had been a class above him.
She snared him with her mind and smile since the first day and had him wishing she could be his forever.
Mike had done everything to get her attention – from flowers and movie invitations to date nights and visits to the park. Eventually, Marissa gave him a chance, culminating with them walking down the aisle four years later.
A First Of Many
Problems started for Mike and Marissa when they tried to get pregnant. After all, most of us want a house full of chaotic children after we tie the knot.
For Mike and Marissa, the problem was rooted in their inability to have kids in the most traditional way.
They’d promised to stand by each other no matter what while on the altar. But this would prove to be too much.
The Truth
The first thing the couple did was visit a doctor friend to ascertain what they were both suspecting.
They were devastated when the doctor confirmed that Mike couldn’t have kids of his own.
But the doctor was good enough to share that her revelation didn’t mean Mike couldn’t be a dad. What she thought was a good solution for the two would drive them to the end of their relationship.
The Best Way Forward
Mike and Marissa sat down to discuss how they would handle the situation.
Mike, who had lived from one foster family to the next in his younger years, suggested being a foster parent.
As someone who understood the pain of needing a stable and loving guardian, he could be just that to a needy child somewhere in his state. If only he knew the troubles waiting for him.
A Second Path
Marissa listened to him as she always did while they were talking. She even went a step further by suggesting they also look into adoption.
The more she talked about it, the more Mike resonated with her idea.
Adoption sounded more permanent from Marissa’s point of view, although she wasn’t ruling out being foster parents. Mike had no idea what she was planning.
Becoming Parents
Marissa suggested a few adoptions and foster care agencies in their state.
It wasn’t long before the doting couple had two wonderful children under their care as foster parents.
Mike thought they would at least take a step back and grow into their new roles as parents. This was going well until Marissa suggested something else.
We Need More
Marissa was still interested in more children, this time looking into adoption.
She’d found the perfect kids, who reminded her so much of her brothers upstate.
The resemblance was so uncanny that she couldn’t sleep for a week, showing Mike photos of the boys and telling him how much she wanted them under their care and protection. But there was one thing she kept to herself.
The Resemblance Is Uncanny
Mike took a look at the three boys. The first, Jody, had just turned fifteen. His little brothers, Aiden and Lester, were twelve and nine, respectively.
But the fact that they were already grown wasn’t what threw Mike off.
The kids bore such a striking resemblance to Marissa that Mike had to sit in bed and turn on the lights to study the photos better. The problem was slowly rearing its head.
Who Are They?
The fact that the three brothers looked like Marissa struck Mike as odd. He’d known her throughout college.
In all those years, he’d known her as a childless woman looking to start a family with him.
He considered the brothers possibly being her nephews but remembered that all her brothers and cousins were almost two decades younger than her. What was happening?
Their Daughters
Marissa didn’t seem that shaken about the matter. If anything, this made her want to adopt the boys even more.
She even brought their foster daughters, Lisa and Milo, into the fold, asking them if they wished to have brothers in the house.
The two little sisters nodded eagerly. They, too, were quick to pick up on the fact that their foster mom shared some features with the boys. These included the shape of her eyes and nose. There was something Marissa wasn’t telling them.
The Key To Happiness
Mike decided not to worry too much about the matter. Even he had a few people around the state that could be confused for him.
He also wanted to make his wife happy, and if opening up his home to the three brothers was the key to that happiness, he would gladly do it.
If only he knew what he was stepping into.
Another Secret
The Cole family got in touch with the adoption agency responsible for the brothers and started the adoption process.
It was long and arduous, but after a few months of ups and downs, the three boys were finally coming home.
As Mike and Marissa drove them to their house, Mike realized one thing Marissa hadn’t mentioned. She and the brothers knew each other.
There Is More To It
Marissa had never mentioned meeting the boys before. She’d also acted like she didn’t know them in their previous meetups.
But that drive home convinced Mike that something else was afoot. The four sang along to songs Mike never knew Marissa liked and even shared inside jokes.
He should have known that his issues were only starting.
Confronting Her
As he always did when something bothered him, Mike brought up the matter as soon as they’d put the kids to bed.
They lived in a modest house despite both parents being young, so the kids wouldn’t hear them quarrel.
Mike told Marissa that he felt like she had met the brothers before and even knew them on a first-name basis. He expected Marissa to deny everything. But he’d soon get the shock of his life.
How Well Do You Know Her?
Marissa didn’t even bother to deny what Mike was saying. She nodded her head with a grin, still acting innocent. “Of course, I know them,” she said.
“How?” Mike asked, unsure of what to think. He thought he knew everything about his wife.
She was the love of his life, after all. How could he not know this?
What To Believe
“What do you mean how?” Marissa asked. She reminded Mike that she’d done charity work back in college. She assured him that she met the first two brothers then while they were still babies.
Mark took in a sharp breath. Although he wanted to believe his wife, he knew things would never be the same.
He’d never outlive his guilt for not believing her if she were telling the truth. But if she were lying, he’d never forgive her for hurting him this way.
A Cold Night
The two went to sleep that night without even saying goodnight. For the first time in their lives as a couple, they slept with their backs to each other.
But as dawn came, things seemed to have cooled down. Marissa, waking up with a bright smile, cuddled up to Mike and asked him how his night was.
It was like they didn’t have their biggest fight the previous night.
The Boys
“It was good,” Mike lied. He swallowed a sigh. Maybe he was looking too much into this. He had already spent time with the brothers and loved them.
They respected each other and him and even showed interest in his conversations.
They were well-behaved and intelligent, watching out for each other, their parents, and their new siblings. So why did Mike feel like something wasn’t right here?
Trust The Process
From a young age, Mike had always known to trust his gut. He’d gotten so far in life by that one simple rule.
If something felt wrong, then high chances were that it was wrong.
So he kept his eye open as the weeks rolled by, praying that his gut wasn’t right this time. But it wasn’t long before he caught something that made him lose all hope.
She’s Hiding Something
Mike had come home early that day when he discovered that Marissa was hiding something from him.
She was in the kitchen making the kids a snack with her phone in her ears as she cheerfully talked away.
Mike didn’t think anything of it at first. But everything changed when Marissa realized he had been watching her all this while.
Personal Space
She asked him how long he had been looking at her and what he had heard. She seemed too defensive about the matter, talking about personal space before storming out of the kitchen.
Mike tried to talk to her about the matter, following her into their bedroom.
When he asked who she was on the phone with, she maintained that it was her mom. Something was not right.
Another Cold Night
Marissa didn’t change one bit of her story. But she spent the night with her phone glued to her face, reading through text messages and replying to some of them.
Mike, who had started the night pretending he didn’t care what she was doing, was more than hurt.
The next day he wouldn’t go to work. One way or another, he’d get to the bottom of what was happening.
Too Much Pressure
Marissa was out of the house when Mike got hold of her phone. They had never had secrets, so he couldn’t understand why she was hiding things from him now.
After hours of debating whether or not he should go through her phone, he finally gave in and opened it, rushing straight to the call log and text messages.
What he would find would leave him speechless.
Her Phone
Most of the messages were from Marissa’s friend, a doctor in town.
The conversations were mainly about Marissa’s relationship with Mike and their kids. But that wasn’t all.
Deep within the sea of messages was a topic that grabbed Mike by the scruff of his neck, showing him that he had no idea what was truly going on behind his back.
Two Months
It turns out that Marissa was two months pregnant with Mike’s baby. She was so startled by the occurrence that she couldn’t even share it with him.
She feared he’d think she went out of their marriage after starting their beautiful family.
Over the past few weeks, she’d been frequenting the doctor for checkups. Each test had come out positive, which is why she seemed so distressed. But that wasn’t all.
Too Much Information
Marissa shared about their fights over the kids. Her friend had been among the individuals who accompanied her in her volunteering days back in college.
She knew the boys as much as Marissa did, given that she’d been present when they were born and was the one who introduced them to Marissa.
Mike couldn’t believe what he was reading. How did Merissa get pregnant when he couldn’t sire any?
His Dream
Mike stood on his porch, eyes glued to the dark pink and orange horizon. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions about Marissa’s pregnancy.
He couldn’t wait for her to return home so they could talk about everything. He would have to be delicate about how he handled the situation. If only he knew there was more to this than he thought.
Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
