My breath caught in my throat.
I had forgotten that Cole was in the room.
I looked at Mark.
He looked at Cole.
Then in Stefan.
And for the first time, I saw something in my husband's eyes that I had never seen before.
Recognition.
That's no surprise.
Recognition.
It's as if I were looking at two parts of a secret that has tried to remain hidden for eight years.
I contacted the headmaster.
"I need a precise explanation as to why my husband was called here."
The director cleared his throat.
"Stefan's mother has listed Mr. Carter as her emergency contact."
My breath caught in my throat.
“Your mother?”
I looked at the woman.
Now she was crying.
"My name is Laura," she said softly.
I looked at her.
Laura, what?
– Laura Bennett.
The name meant nothing to me.
Until Mark whispered:
– Emma, please.
I turned to him.
“Who is she?”
Mark said nothing.
Laura wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Did he never tell you?”
My heart began to beat faster.
“What did he tell me?”
He looked at Mark.
Then in Stefan.
And then back to me.
"Mark was Stefan's father."
I know.
NO.
Her voice trembled.
"I mean, I was his father before Stefan was born."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Laura looked at Mark again.
"He was not just Stefan's father."
She hesitated.
"He was his father when Stefan was still in the hospital."
I felt dizzy.
"Which hospital?"
Laura's lips parted.
"The same hospital where your twins were born."
Everything came to a standstill.
The director's facial expression changed.
Mark's facial expression froze completely.
And suddenly I understood why.
The room.
The hospital.
The twins.
The cradle.
The baby I had never seen before.
Eight years of pain.
I looked at Mark.
– You knew that.
