Chapter 1 - Four Boys With My FaceFor the first time in six years, I was afraid of my own reflection.
I stood inside the restaurant bathroom long after the four boys had left.
My hands rested against the marble sink.
I stared at myself.
Gray-blue eyes.
Sharp chin.
Left cheek dimple.
The same dark hair.
The same nervous gesture.
None of it proved anything.
But my instincts were screaming.
I pulled out my phone.
“Daniel?”
My attorney answered immediately.
“Mr. Whitaker?”
“Run a DNA test.”
There was a pause.
“Whose?”
“Four children.”
Another pause.
“Are you in trouble?”
“I don't know.”
I looked through the bathroom doorway.
Mara was standing near the entrance.
She was watching me.
Six years had passed.
She looked thinner.
Older.
But she was still Mara.
The woman I had once planned to marry.
The woman who disappeared two weeks before our wedding.
My mother had told me she left voluntarily.
She had shown me a message supposedly written by Mara.
I'm sorry, Alexander. I never loved you enough to become part of your family.
I had believed it.
For six years, I had hated her.
Now four little boys had walked into my life wearing matching uniforms.
Four little boys who looked exactly like me.
I stepped outside.
Mara immediately shook her head.
“Don't.”
“I need answers.”
“You don't get them here.”
“Then where?”
She glanced at the children.
“They're exhausted.”
“I know.”
“You should go home.”
“My home?”
She laughed bitterly.
“Your mother has probably already told everyone you ran away from your engagement party.”
I stared at her.
“How did you know about the engagement?”
She froze.
“You knew?”
Mara looked away.
“I saw it online.”
“It wasn't announced.”
Her eyes met mine.
“I know.”
Something cold settled in my chest.
“How?”
She didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Mara.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I watched you.”
“From where?”
“Every year.”
My breath caught.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to know if you were happy.”
“And?”
She smiled sadly.
“You never looked happy.”
I couldn't respond.
Then Milo appeared beside her.
“Mom?”
She immediately wiped her eyes.
“What?”
“Can we go home?”
I looked at him.
“Our home?”
Mara stepped between us.
“You need to stop.”
“I need to know if I'm their father.”
She closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“You already know.”
My heart stopped.
“Are they mine?”
Mara looked at the four boys.
“Yes.”
The world became silent.
I heard the traffic.
A horn.
Someone laughing inside the restaurant.
But all I could hear was one sentence.
“Yes.”
I looked at the boys.
My sons.
Four of them.
Six years old.
Four lives I never knew existed.
I crouched in front of Milo.
“Do you know who I am?”
He studied my face.
“Mom says you're Alexander.”
I swallowed.
“Do you know what Alexander is to you?”
Milo looked confused.
“No.”
I looked at Mara.
She couldn't meet my eyes.
Then Mason walked over.
“Mom said our daddy is somewhere far away.”
My chest tightened.
“Did she?”
Mara whispered,
“I didn't know what else to tell them.”
I stood.
“Where were you?”
“Everywhere.”
“No.”
My voice became sharper.
“Where were you six years ago?”
She finally looked at me.
“Your mother came to me.”
Everything inside me went still.
“What did she say?”
Mara's face went pale.
“She told me if I married you, she would destroy you.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“She said your grandfather had already decided your future.”
“That makes no sense.”
“She offered me money.”
“How much?”
“Enough to disappear.”
“And you accepted?”
“I didn't.”
My jaw tightened.
“Then why did you leave?”
Mara looked toward the boys.
“Because she showed me something.”
“What?”
“An ultrasound.”
I froze.
“She told me you were never going to accept children.”
I shook my head.
“That isn't true.”
“I know that now.”
She looked at me.
“But six years ago, I didn't.”
I felt sick.
“What happened after that?”
Mara's voice broke.
“I gave birth to four boys.”
May you like
She paused.
“And then your mother made sure you never knew.”
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