“Give her to me,” I said carefully. “You’re scaring her.”
“Oh, now you care?” he shot back. “Did you care when you were—”
“Enough,” I interrupted sharply. “Stop talking.”
At that moment the nurse returned carrying a folder. She immediately sensed the tension.
“Is everything alright?”
Jason turned toward her.
“I want a paternity test. Now.”
Her voice stayed calm and professional.
“That’s something we can discuss, sir, but it requires proper consent and procedure.”
“I’m the father,” Jason snapped. “I give consent.”
The nurse looked at me. My heart pounded, but I refused to cry.
“Fine,” I said quietly. “Request it.”
Jason blinked in surprise.
“You’re okay with that?”
“I’m okay with the truth,” I replied. “But give me my baby.”
He hesitated before handing Lily to the nurse instead of to me, as if I were somehow dangerous.
My mother finally exploded.
“Jason, you should be ashamed!”
“Don’t lecture me,” he snapped. “I know what I know.”
The nurse gently placed Lily back in the bassinet and stepped between him and the baby.
“Sir, if you keep raising your voice, I’ll have to call security.”
Jason clenched his jaw but lowered his voice.
“You can’t fool me,” he said quietly to me. “The test will prove everything.”