A woman discovers her husband’s dark secret when her son takes a DNA test. After 36 years together, she decided to file for divorce.
Through the years, Mark had been anxious about the possibility of getting cancer. After all, the terminal illness took the lives of several of his relatives, including his grandfather.
He not only worried about himself but his father as well. To ease his worries, he decided to take a DNA test to find out the probability of him getting cancer and other illnesses, alongside information about his ethnicity and lineage.
Mark insisted that his parents take part in the DNA test too, so he could also feel at ease about their health. After his persistence, his parents agreed, and they all took the test together.
A DNA test changed the course of James and Pamela’s marriage for good. | Source: Shutterstock
Fortunately, when Mark received the results, he learned that his chances of getting cancer were slim, and the same goes for his parents. However, there was one part of his results that confused him.
In the section about his lineage, it showed that Mark had a paternal relative named Thomas. They had a 25% DNA match, which meant Thomas could be his grandfather, uncle, or brother genetically.
“Who is this person?” he thought to himself. He tried to recall every family reunion with his dad’s side of the family, and he was sure he never came across anyone named Thomas.
He immediately called his dad, James, for answers. He was certain Thomas wasn’t his grandfather, so he was either an uncle or his brother, given his age. After a couple of rings, his dad answered.
Mark decided to confront his dad about the results by giving him a call. | Source: Pexels
“My DNA results showed that I have a paternal relative named Thomas. He’s about 33 years old. Do you know this person?” Mark asked him.
Immediately, James denied it. “That’s strange. I don’t know anyone named Thomas who’s that age, and he didn’t show up in my results. It must be some mistake.”
After James put the phone down, Mark wasn’t convinced. He had a hunch that his dad was lying, so he decided to check his dad’s results himself. He had access to it since he was the one who created the online account.
He discovered that his father ticked a box for the option of not showing his lineage in the results sent in by mail. However, the comprehensive results featured online showed that Thomas and Mark shared 50% of their DNA.
Given that Thomas was 33, it meant that Thomas was Mark’s biological son. Mark couldn’t help but shake in his seat as he read through the results. “Dad cheated on mom?” he said to himself in disbelief.
Mark decided to look up his dad’s results online. | Source: Pexels
Mark did not know what to do with the new information he had just discovered. He wanted so badly to confront his dad, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get anything out of him. He printed the results and consulted his older sister Julie instead.
As Julie lived in a nearby town, Mark decided to meet up with her to show her the results in person. “What’s so important we couldn’t just have a call about it?” his sister joked as soon as he arrived at the coffee shop.
“Well, I wish it were as simple as that, but what I found out could change our lives,” Mark told her. He slid the results over to her side of the table, and she began reading.
“Wait,” Julie said as she skimmed through it. “You mean to say dad has a son younger than me by two years but older than you by 3?” she asked, surprised.
“It’s a lot to take in, huh? You know what that means, right?” Mark responded.
Julie nodded. They both understood that their dad had cheated on their mom, Pamela. “What should we do?” he proceeded to ask.
Julie and Mark met up about the DNA results to talk about what to do. | Source: Pexels
Julie fell silent for a couple of minutes. If she was completely honest, she didn’t know what to do either. She wanted her father to set the truth free, but she knew so well that it would hurt her mother in the process.
“A part of me feels as if we’ve been living a lie,” Julie said sadly.
Mark echoed her sentiments, nodding. “I know. I honestly wish I never insisted on the DNA test. Now we have a big mess on our hands.”
Without deciding whether or not they would tell their parents about it, Mark decided to contact Thomas. He lived halfway across the country, so they opted for a video call for the time being.
As soon as their videos appeared, Mark was stunned at their resemblance. They shared the same chocolate brown hair like their dad and his hazelnut brown eyes.
“I’m sorry for bothering you this way,” Mark told him, “but I just wanted to see for myself if what these results say are true.”
Thomas agreed to meet with Mark through a video call. | Source: Pexels
Thomas nodded and proceeded to share his life story. He said he was adopted immediately after birth and never knew his biological parents.
“I searched for years, wanting to know where I came from. However, the hospital wouldn’t disclose who my mother was, nor would my adoptive parents. When I was on my own at 21, I tried doing Ancestry DNA. Along the way, I couldn’t afford to continue with the program,” he admitted.
“They already had my DNA sample with them, so I’m guessing that’s how I showed up on yours. To be honest, I just stopped searching at one point, as I was running out of places to search. I didn’t have money to hire a private investigator,” Thomas added.
Thomas revealed that he had recently become a father himself, and he could not answer his daughter’s pediatrician’s questions about his family medical history.
After listening to his half-brother’s story, Mark was determined to set the truth free. He told Julie that he would confront his parents about the whole ordeal, as he felt Thomas had the right to know the truth and meet his father.
During the video call, Thomas revealed he became a dad himself recently. | Source: Pexels
The whole situation was a roller coaster of emotions for Mark, and it was overwhelming for him to be the bearer of such heavy news. At first, he thought people would rejoice at the information of their family getting bigger, but the reactions were the complete opposite.
The information brought back repressed memories of a dark and half-forgotten betrayal for Pamela. It was painful reopening the wound that she had tried so hard to forget all those years.
“I know about Thomas,” she revealed to her children. “A couple of years before you were born, Mark, I found out your dad had a mistress and that she was pregnant. It was a devastating time, and to be honest, I almost left,” Pamela admitted.
“However, your father promised to change. I gave him an ultimatum, and he eventually chose us. He vowed never to see his mistress again, which meant never seeing their unborn child. After years of therapy, the resentment and bitterness weakened, and we became happy again,” she shared.
She felt guilty that she gave James an ultimatum all those years ago, as it deprived Thomas of a father.
Pamela revealed that she knew about the existence of Thomas. | Source: Pexels
Julie and Mark were stunned. They never imagined that their mom could’ve kept such a secret all these years while remaining strong through it all.
“Your birth kept us together, Mark,” his mother revealed, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry that I kept this all from you and Julie; I truly am,” she told them.
Unfortunately, the memories haunted her for weeks to come. Now that she was a lot older, she realized she was young and in love when she decided to give James another chance.
Pamela couldn’t get herself to see her husband the same way. She remembered the betrayal again, and she regretted Thomas never got the chance to get to know his parents.
She felt guilty that she gave James an ultimatum all those years ago, as it deprived Thomas of a father. Although she understood that it was her husband’s fault, she couldn’t help but feel responsible for how Thomas’ life turned out.
Weeks of silent treatment and crying herself to sleep were enough for Pamela. She couldn’t take it anymore. She decided to file for divorce, and it made James furious.
Pamela decided to file for divorce from James. | Source: Pexels
“Why now?! Why did this topic have to come up when we have lived such a comfortable life for the past three decades?! This is all your fault! We’d be fine if you hadn’t insisted on that DNA test!” he said, suddenly charging toward Mark.
Pamela came to her son’s defense, saying he was not at fault. “Don’t blame your son for something YOU decided to do all those years ago. Get out of this house!”
After their divorce was finalized, no one saw James ever again. He decided to live in a different state, while Thomas and his family moved to the same neighborhood as Pamela and Mark.
Since then, Pamela, Mark, Julie, and Thomas would get together for meals with their respective families, forgetting the past and starting anew.
What can we learn from this story?
- The truth will always be set free. No matter how much someone tries to hide their wrongdoings, they will always come to light one way or another. In the end, Thomas learned about his father and siblings by chance, leading to a fresh start for everyone involved.
- A parent’s mistake is not the mistake of the child. Thomas had to live with the consequences of his parents’ actions all his life, even though it was not his fault. Thankfully, he was able to get the closure he deserved and a chance to become part of a family after his siblings and Pamela welcomed him into their lives.
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