Dan’s life appeared perfect until a devastating discovery wrecked everything. Luna’s wife, Sarah, discovers a secret while filing Luna’s adoption paperwork: Dan is Luna’s biological father. He and Sarah are growing more tense as the memories come flooding back. Will their family be destroyed by this secret? Luna laughed, a bright, effervescent sound that filled the entire room, as she threw back her head from her seat on the kitchen counter. There was no avoiding a smile. Oh my god, that laugh. When we brought her home four years ago, that is when I first heard it. At first, she was very reserved, but one day, she started laughing. The burden of all the years we had spent trying for a child vanished in an instant. Through and through, Luna was ours.
With a playful flick of flour from her fingertips, Sarah mocked her, saying, “You have got something on your face.” Luna struck her, her laughter infectious enough for Sarah to join in. I never would have thought that I would feel so at ease with my daughter. Everything went to hell later that day. Sarah’s loud voice startled me out of my reverie while I was chopping vegetables in the living room. “Dan! Come on over here. Now.” Her voice had a tone that made my stomach turn. With my pulse already pumping, I rushed inside to see Sarah sitting on the floor, looking as pale as a ghost, with Luna’s adoption file lying open in front of her.
“What is the issue?” I knelt next to her and asked. She murmured, “Look,” and trembled threw the papers toward me. “It fell, and as I reached to grab it, it fell off.” Confused, I took the file, and then… I saw it. My photo. Call me by name. There, in the section pertaining to Luna’s paternal lineage. I blinked once and twice, certain that there had to be some error. However, there was an old picture of me with my ex-girlfriend Rachel, who had silently vanished from my life years prior, next to my name.
“Sarah, I—” My throat tightened at the words. I was at a loss for words. I shook my head, attempting to interpret it. Years ago, I dated Rachel, but we broke up. She never got back to me. I was unaware of her pregnancy.” I could not force myself to look at Sarah, and my voice broke. But I could feel the terror and disbelief in her eyes as they were fixed on me. “We took her in,” muttered Sarah, almost to herself. Since the day we brought her home, we have loved her. Nothing alters, is I correct?
I nodded, but in all honesty, it felt as though things were shifting. My world changed in the space of one heartbeat. Not only was Luna our kid, but she was also my biological daughter. It was all a blur the remainder of the day. I was unable to get rid of the uneasy sensation that was coiling around my heart. Later that night, I felt a twist in my insides when Luna giggled. Nothing remained the same. What was once a happy, clean sound was now heavy.