The tiny outfit slipped from her hands.
“What…?” she whispered.
“I couldn’t watch you suffer anymore,” he said, his voice breaking. “I did it without telling you. But that means this baby… can’t be mine.”
Rachel stood, shaking. “Ethan… no—”
“I did a DNA test!” he interrupted, raising his voice. “I sent in his pacifier. Zero percent. Zero! Tell me the truth!”
Tears streamed down her face—not guilt, but devastation.
“I never cheated on you!” she cried. “I swear—on our son, on everything! You have to believe me!”
“Then explain this!” he shouted, collapsing to his knees.
Rachel covered her face, sobbing, then forced herself to speak.
“Do you remember the fertility clinic downtown? Our last treatment?”
He nodded slowly.
“I went back,” she said. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to give you false hope. They told me they still had one vial of your sample frozen.”
Ethan went still.
“I used it,” she continued. “They said it could still work. I wanted it to be a surprise… our miracle. I didn’t know about your surgery.”
The room fell silent.
“Are you saying… he’s mine?” Ethan whispered.
“He’s our son,” Rachel said, dropping to her knees. “He always has been.”