When Lily and Jason’s son, Nathan, brings his fiancée home for a long weekend, Lily looks forward to getting to know the young woman better. But during that weekend, she notices that her husband is acting strangely. That’s when she tries to find out what’s going on with Jason and opens a can of worms with secrets splashing everywhere.
From the moment Nathan introduced us to his bride, I knew something was off.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t cute or beautiful, it was that she was. Her name was Tessa, and she had come to Chicago with Nathan from his college in Michigan to spend the long weekend with us and meet our family.
My son and his new girlfriend had been dating for over a year and she was still just a name. Now that she was here, I understood why my son had fallen head over heels in love with her. Tessa was sharp, funny and genuinely kind.
Within minutes, my eight-year-old daughter Sophie was practically glued to her.
But my husband, Jason, was different that night. Usually he is lively and relaxed, especially in the company of Nathan and his friends. But when Tessa was around, he was quiet, as if he was in his own head.
It was strange. Very strange.
At one point I even noticed his hand shaking when he lifted his wine glass. At that moment, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Honestly, it could have been anything – work or nerves about meeting our son’s future wife for the first time.
But later, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something behind his newfound silence.
In the days that followed, that feeling only intensified.
Jason would get nervous if his phone beeped when I was around, and he’d always turn it over or pull it closer if I tried to peek. It wasn’t like him to be so secretive.
But one night when he was asleep, I finally let my suspicions take over. I crept up to his side of the bed and took his phone.
I took it into the bathroom with me and crouched on the edge of the nightstand and unlocked it with the code. It was the kids’ birthday, so everything was just fine.
I hated what I was doing, but I just needed to see if I was going crazy or if something was really wrong.
I scrolled down the page for a second or two before everything changed. One message stopped me in my tracks.
I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at the restaurant. 6pm, okay?
The sender was Tessa.
The blood rushed from my face and my stomach twisted. I reread the message over and over, hoping, praying I’d misunderstood it.
Tessa.
Nathan’s fiancée.
Our son’s fiancée was having secret trysts with my husband? I knew I had to see it for myself.
The next day, I watched until Jason left the house at five in the evening. I got in my car and followed him. I parked outside the restaurant where Jason jumped out of the car and hugged Tessa, who was waiting outside, scrolling through her phone.
I could see them well through the large windows. They were sitting across from each other, laughing, hugging.
I started to feel sick.
My breathing became intermittent.
What the hell was that?
And then, even worse, Jason reached out and took my hand and his expression softened in a way I hadn’t seen in a very long time.
That was it.
I couldn’t sit there and watch them share a secret that was tearing me apart. If it was killing me, how would it affect Nathan?
I swung the car door open, walked into the restaurant, and stopped in front of them, crossing my arms over my chest and looking at them both.
Jason looked up, a look of shock on his face.
‘Lily…’
‘What is it?’ I demanded, barely keeping my voice down as my eyes darted between him and Tessa.
‘I’m your wife, for God’s sake, Jason! And you are! You’re my son’s fiancée! Have you both lost your minds?’
Tessa’s eyes widened; she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. I felt like all eyes in the restaurant were on us, but I didn’t care.
Jason stood up, nearly knocking over the bottle of wine that was placed on the table when I walked in.
‘Lily, wait, it’s not what you think!’ – He said, his hands hanging limply at his side.
‘Oh, it’s not?’ I exclaimed, crossing my arms. ‘Because it’s a lot like you going out with your son’s fiancée behind my back.’
Tessa’s lips quivered as she lowered her gaze. She looked like a sad child who wanted to be hugged.
‘Lily, please sit down,’ Jason said. ‘I’ll tell you everything.’
I remained standing, keeping my eyes on him, waiting for any explanation that might make sense.
Jason looked at Tessa, then at me. Tessa nodded and sighed.
‘It’s hard to explain, Lil,’ he said. ‘But…Tessa is my daughter.’
His words hit me like a physical blow.
‘What?’ shouted I. ‘How, when? What?’
Jason lowered his head, taking a long breath.
‘Lily, I just found out about it myself,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know I had a daughter. But Tessa and I took a DNA test a fortnight before she arrived. The results came back yesterday. She’s mine.’
I looked at Tessa, whose face was red and her eyes misty. She nodded slowly.
‘It’s true. I…I wanted to tell Nathan when we found out, but I didn’t know how. My mum saw a picture of your whole family on social media. She wanted to see if she could sense your mood before she let me come here without her. She recognised Jason.’
The poor girl wheezed.
Jason took the initiative from her, his voice shaking.
‘Twenty years ago, before I met you, Lily, I dated someone briefly. She left suddenly. She moved to another state, but I never heard from her again. I had no idea she was pregnant. It turned out she was in another relationship, and when she eventually found out she was pregnant…’
‘She told my dad I was his,’ Tessa finished.
‘Tessa didn’t know I existed until Amanda saw that family photo. Until recently.’
‘Until recently?’ I whispered. I felt dizzy, the edges of the world blurring.
‘So, Nathan is dating his sister,’ I asked.
Tessa covered her mouth with her hand and Jason reached for my hand, his touch was gentle and soothing, now I knew he wasn’t having an affair.
‘We’ll tell him tonight. I wanted to talk to you first, Lily, but you saw us here before I could. We just wanted to get our story straight first.’
Finally I sank down into a chair. I couldn’t speak, I could barely breathe. For years, Jason and I had been inseparable, sharing everything. And now this?
It was like an impossible nightmare I couldn’t comprehend.
But.
To be honest, it didn’t change anything. Well, it did, but it didn’t change anything.
Because.
I couldn’t have children on my own, so both Nathan and Sophie were adopted as babies and raised as our own. There was no biological connection between Tessa and Nathan.
But I knew it would still break my son’s heart. All the horrible scenarios that could develop ran through my mind. Nathan’s heart would be broken and chaos would reign in our family. But looking at Tessa, I saw her pain and confusion, a young woman caught up in a mystery she didn’t choose.
‘I’m so sorry, Lily,’ Jason whispered. ‘I’m really, really sorry. We didn’t mean for this to happen.’
That night we gathered as a family in the living room, and the gravity of the moment tugged the air around us.
I watched Jason and Tessa tell Nathan the truth, and I saw the expression on his face change from confusion to shock.
He sat in silence, looking at Tessa, his fiancée, the woman he planned to marry.
‘Are you my sister?’ asked Nathan, his voice hollow.
‘Theoretically, Nate!’ picked up Jason. ‘Don’t forget you’re adopted, son. There’s no biological connection. We’re just sorry you both had to go through that. Especially at the beginning of your life together…’
‘How long have you two known each other?’ asked Nathan, ignoring Jason.
‘Two weeks. Since my mother agreed to have me visit her on weekends,’ she answered.
The pain and conflict on my son’s face was almost unbearable, but he sighed slowly, running his hand over his face. I just focused on the peaceful lily on the coffee table.
‘I need time, Tessa,’ he said. ‘That’s a lot.’
But he held Tessa’s hand, squeezing it gently, as if to assure me that they’d work it out together somehow.
Later that night, I sat on the porch, trying to make sense of everything. I know that nothing has changed between Jason and I, well, not really. I still think he should have told me, but he didn’t contact Tessa’s mother.
So how would he have known?
But what about Nathan and Tessa now?
‘Mum?’ asked Nathan behind my back. ‘Can I sit with you?’
‘Of course you can,’ I said, shifting.
‘What am I supposed to do?’ – He asked. ‘I mean, really?’
‘Does it make a difference?’ I asked. ‘Ask yourself honestly.’
‘No,’ he said quietly. ‘It should, shouldn’t it? But it doesn’t. Tessa only knows who Daddy is, but she doesn’t know anything about him. Nor does she know anything about him at all. They’re basically strangers. But we love each other and we’re happy.’
‘Then fight for your fairy tale, son,’ I said. ‘I just want you to know that I’ll support you through it all. It’s not Tessa’s fault either.’
‘You know, I never thought I’d say that,’ Nathan said with an amused look. ‘But thank God I’m adopted!’
He started laughing, and before I knew it, I was laughing with him.
In the weeks that followed, Nathan and Tessa decided to stay together no matter what, deciding that the bond they had created was not something they wanted to lose.
And as their wedding approached, I saw something new in Jason. There was a deep gratitude for the daughter he’d never known, and an even greater love for Sophie, to whom he was paying more attention.
Now I’ve become Tessa’s stepmother and mother-in-law, which isn’t as wild as it sounds. But one thing is for sure, this sweet girl completes our family.
What would you do?
