— Annie, we’re having another child, and don’t even think about arguing—I’ve already made up my mind! – her husband declared, coming home from work. – We’re adopting a boy.
— Alex, are you serious? We’ve got a little daughter we can barely handle, and now you’re suggesting we take in someone else’s child?
— I’ve made my decision. You’ll accept him as your own, no discussion.
— Why all of a sudden? What if I can’t or don’t want to? Then what?
— Then I’ll leave, – he said gravely.
— What about me and Natalie?
— You’ll stay with her, and I’ll be with my son, – her husband replied and walked out.
A few minutes later, he returned with a grubby, skinny boy.
— Alex, who’s this? I’m not raising your illegitimate children. Do you think I need this? Have you been cheating on me all this time? Is this your son?
— He’s your son, Ann. Seems you forgot.
The young woman peered into the boy’s face, and memories pierced her heart like lightning.
Anna had always been the life of the party, with all the guys vying for her attention, but she only laughed at their attempts to win her over. Everything changed when, at twenty, the college student fell in love with a forty-five-year-old married professor.
Undoubtedly, Professor William Alexander looked impeccable: a mature, confident man in excellent physical condition. He toyed with her feelings for a long time, seducing her but keeping her at arm’s length, allowing only flirtation. He had no plans to leave his family or have children, but things turned out differently.
At one university event, he noticed a dejected Anna and led her to an empty classroom.
— What’s wrong, Annie? You look so sad.
— I miss you so much, Professor William. Why are you punishing me like this?
— Punishing you?
In the next moment, she pressed her lips to his, and the small spark of passion that had long simmered between them erupted into a blazing fire. From then on, they met regularly, but the euphoria of love blinded her to the sordid reality of their affair.
Anna was terrified to tell William she was pregnant, certain he would insist on breaking things off—and he did.
— Did you think I’d give up my family and career for you and your kid? No way! I didn’t ask for this child, and I don’t want it!
Only then did Anna realize the castles in the air she’d built were nothing but a pitiful illusion of happiness. The man quickly softened his tone:
— When the baby’s born, I’ll leave my wife, and we’ll get married. Just make sure no one finds out it’s mine until then, okay?
Once again, Anna believed his empty promises, picking out names for the baby and browsing onesies, but her happiness was short-lived. The child was stillborn, William cut off all contact with her, and he swore never to get involved with students again.
After that horrific tragedy, Anna graduated but withdrew from everyone, becoming a recluse. Meeting Alexander and the efforts of her friends helped her return to a normal life and bury the past.
Anna didn’t know her son was alive. William’s brother, David, who delivered the baby, had swapped it. He hadn’t liked the idea, but he didn’t want to destroy his brother’s family. On the day Anna gave birth, an alcoholic woman in the next room delivered a stillborn infant, which was given to Anna.
Little James had a rough childhood. His mother constantly neglected him, and there was often not a crumb of bread in the house—all the money went to alcohol. Only his elderly grandmother cared for the boy. The neglectful mother waited for the old woman to pass so she could inherit the apartment. But the grandmother was in good health, which saved James. Margaret Johnson warned Nancy that if she didn’t work and raise her son, she wouldn’t get the apartment.
The grandmother died when James turned four. From then on, his life was mostly spent on the streets; his mother forced him to beg. Easy money allowed her to quit her job and sink deeper into drinking.
Her rare moments of affection spurred James to beg more diligently, desperate to earn her love and praise from a woman who didn’t care for him. Increasingly, Nancy kicked him out with a piece of bread, leaving him to sit in the hallway or playground, waiting to be let back in. Sometimes, engrossed with her drinking buddies, she forgot about him entirely, and he spent nights outside. Neighbors often complained to the local police, and child services would visit. Nancy would promise to change, play the model mother for a couple of days—cleaning the apartment, cooking—before slipping back into her old ways.
Her second pregnancy, as unexpected as the first, gave her dreams of government benefits, but fate had other plans. A severe flu a week before delivery weakened her body, leading to complications. Her drinking companions called an ambulance, driven by Alexander, which took her to the infectious disease ward. Neither she nor the baby could be saved. The girl had died long before, causing sepsis, and Nancy’s weakened body couldn’t cope.
The doctor emerged from the operating room in a cold sweat. In the woman who had just died on the table, he recognized the alcoholic to whom he had given Anna’s son five years earlier.
An elderly nurse asked:
— She’s gone, then?
David only nodded.
— Look at that… And there’s her son, sitting out there, just a little thing. I asked what he’s doing here, says he’s waiting for his mom. Poor kid, hasn’t had a life, and now this.
David rushed to the window and saw the scrawny boy who, because of him, had lived in such conditions. A shiver ran through him, and he hurried back to his office.
His older brother had been living in Germany for a couple of years, with no plans to return or think about the child. That evening, David called his wife, saying he’d be late, then opened a bottle of liquor.
The kind nurse settled James to sleep on a cot in her storage room, told him a bedtime story, and gave him tea. The boy was asleep when Alexander stopped by to chat with Vera Smith. He hadn’t expected to see such a guest. The old woman shared what she knew, adding that they should ask Dr. David Alexander what to do with the boy.
— Alex, can you at least talk to him? The kid’s pitiful.
Alexander entered the chief physician’s office and, for the first time, saw him drunk. Dr. David took a while to collect himself, trying to understand what Alex wanted, then asked him to sit and began confessing. Unknowingly, he spilled everything he’d kept silent about for years.
— It’s eating me up, Alex. I can’t take him home—William won’t forgive me, and my family won’t understand.
— Who’s his real mother?
— Anna Coleman, she was a student when William started his affair with her. Beautiful, young thing. But I don’t know where to find her.
— I do, – Alex said quietly and headed back to Vera’s storage room.
— I’m taking the kid, Vera. I’m bringing him to his family.
— Alex, he’s got no one! I told you—father unknown, mother’s dead. What family are you taking him to?
— Mine.
And so, Alexander stood with the boy before a sobbing Anna. She saw how much James resembled her and William.
— My son, my darling, – she whispered through her tears.
The boy stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her neck, and cried.
James slept in his new home while Alex and Anna sat up all night, embracing in the kitchen, talking about everything that had happened.
— Alex, I’m such an idiot, forgive me! How could I think that? How could I not trust you?
Her husband looked at her with eyes full of love and hugged her. For the first time in years, Anna felt everything was in its place. The children were asleep, James was softly snoring and smiling, her husband was by her side—what more could she need for happiness?
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