Chapter 52: Another Test

Magnus

Luckily, I managed to convince Miranda that a topic like this couldn’t be discussed there in the middle of the street, so we headed to a more private place, and as we walked, my mind was racing.

I couldn’t believe that Laura had appeared out of nowhere, dropping this bomb in the middle of our life when I hadn’t heard from her in a long time.

Finally, in a secluded corner, Miranda looked at me with an expectant expression, and Laura stood there, with a smile, as if ruining my day and possibly shaking my relationship with Miranda was an achievement for her.

“Now that we’re away from everyone, explain to me what happened.”

“Miranda, it’s true that I was married before. But, I thought it was resolved. I sent the divorce papers a long time ago, thinking everything was in order.”

Miranda looked at me with a mix of disbelief and anger.

“Divorce? Married before? Why didn’t you ever tell me anything?”

“It was a long time ago, you weren’t in my life yet, we got married in the heat of the moment and with a bit of alcohol in our system, but I swear I never felt anything for Laura.”

“I wish I could say the same,” the woman intervened, I tried to explain, although each word weighed more than the previous one.

“We said no secrets, Magnus, I told you my whole life, the good and the bad, don’t come now saying you didn’t remember you were married.”

“I didn’t want my past to affect what we had. Laura and I had our differences, and I thought that by divorcing, I would think of it as just another mistake, why tell you about it if we were already happy with Melany?”

I looked at my daughter who was still in Miranda’s arms, anyone can come and tell me whatever they want, but I see this little girl as if she were my own flesh and blood and plan to take care of her and protect her, a woman like Laura can’t come and change that.

Laura, who remained silent, finally spoke.

“Magnus, you sent the papers, it’s true, but I never signed them. I wasn’t going to let a signature on a paper dictate my relationship with you, besides there are things you still don’t know.”

Miranda crossed her arms, looking at me with disappointment.

“So, as I understand it, you’re still married.” Laura nodded. “You know, you haven’t come at a good time. Why now? Why didn’t you sort it out before?” Miranda asked in frustration.

“Things are not that simple. Magnus and I had disagreements, and I wanted to give him space to have a new life. But now I see that it was a mistake not to have faced this before.”

“You’re ruining my life and my family, I hope you know that.”

“My intention is good, Miranda, I wanted to open your eyes.”

I hated that Miranda was believing what this woman was saying, but I couldn’t blame her, with everything we’ve been through, the things she’s discovered, it’s understandable that she still has doubts about me.

“And what does this mean for us?” she asked, looking directly at me.

“It means that we will have to resolve this legally. Laura and I need to finalize our situation before we can move forward with our own wedding.” Laura nodded, acknowledging the need to address this issue.

“I’m sorry, Miranda. It wasn’t my intention to cause problems. I just wanted everyone to know the truth.” She said it as if she was truly sorry for the chaos she had come to cause.

That’s when I realized that the past I tried so hard to leave behind was coming back to haunt us. But, this time, I couldn’t run from it. We had to face it, regardless of the consequences.

“I’ve also come to ask for your help with our son, Magnus,” she pointed in the direction where her sister was, holding the hand of a little boy, “he’s five years old.”

My eyes widened in surprise and confusion as I looked at Laura. A son? Five years. That coincided with the time we hadn’t seen each other.

“A son? How is that possible?” I asked, unable to fully process the information.

“I never told you, Magnus, I thought you didn’t need to be in his life, but now things have changed. His name is Lucas and he’s your son.”

Miranda, by my side, watched the scene with a mix of disbelief and concern. She didn’t know what to think, what to feel.

“I’m sorry, Magnus. I should have told you earlier, but I didn’t know how to confront you with this.” My mind was spinning, trying to process everything.

Five years without knowing I had a son. I looked at Lucas and something in me stirred. It was a mix of emotions that I couldn’t clearly identify.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why now?”

“I just found out that you were in a stable situation and that you might be ready to take on this responsibility. I didn’t want you to feel pressured or for this to affect your life.”

Miranda, her gaze fixed on the photo, finally spoke.

“Do you want him to form a family with you now?”

“I don’t know. I think they need time, but Lucas needs his father, he deserves to know him.”

My mind was a whirlwind of emotions as Laura walked away. I looked at Miranda, her gaze still reflecting surprise and concern.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice full of understanding.

I took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, I had a kind of deja vu, maybe a revelation or something like that, I don’t plan to give up on Miranda, nor on Melany, I won’t let cheap feelings like Laura’s love come to change my life, not when I’ve faced worse things.

“Yes, I’m okay. But we need to resolve this immediately.”

“Resolve what?”

“Lucas’s paternity. We need to know if he’s my son.”

“Laura just said that…”

“I don’t care,” I interrupted, “even if the president himself had come, I wouldn’t have believed him, her word has no relevance to me, the only one that matters is you, Miranda, I could only blindly trust if it’s about you.”

“So, what do you propose?”

“We’re going to do a paternity test. Right now. I can’t let this uncertainty affect us more than it already has.”

Miranda looked at me seriously and then nodded.

“Alright. Let’s resolve this once and for all.”

No matter what comes, no one will take my family away from me.