The air was thick with tension as the eight-year-old Tommy entered the hospital room. His parents had just welcomed a new addition to the family, a tiny bundle of joy wrapped in a white blanket. But what he said next stunned everyone, especially his father. “You know it’s not yours, right?”, said Tommy… In the aftermath of that moment, Tommy’s father would file for divorce, setting in motion a series of events that would change their lives forever… Tommy’s father couldn’t believe what he was hearing! Did Tommy just really say that, or was he hearing things after the long night of the birth of his daughter? He had suspicions before this, and now he was sure of it! Their future was at stake, to say the least… Tommy’s father looked at his wife, doubting every little amount of love he had ever given her! He couldn’t believe it, and to think that his son Tommy knew even more about it made it even worse! She was never the same woman for him after that day. After Tommy’s father was sure of what Tommy had said, he knew there was no other way than to divorce his wife and Tommy’s mother. He knew the devastation it meant for Tommy and his newborn, but so would a continued marriage be!  But what did Tommy say? Why was it so terribly upsetting for his father, and what was Tommy’s mother hiding from his father?  Despite the unending joy that a new birth brings, Tommy’s father Henry was soon preoccupied with other things than his daughter. Tommy’s welcoming of his sister confirmed a suspicion he had long had about his wife Andrea. He couldn’t help but look at his wife with disgust. But Henry was a sensible man. In his years as a local politician, he had long since discovered that there is nothing worse than jumping to conclusions, and he wanted to collect evidence against his wife first. But for now, there was no time for that; after all, she was recovering from childbirth. Although the first piece of evidence would not be long in coming After all the checks have been carried out on his new daughter, and she appears to be a very healthy girl, Henry can start thinking about his next steps. He starts by taking Tommy home so he can finally rest from the long day of his little sister’s birth. Henry now had the perfect opportunity to ask Tommy what exactly he was referring to just before… The father and son are in the car together. Henry starts cautiously. ”Are you proud of mommy?” Tommy nods affirmatively since he is almost unable to talk out of fatigue from the long night. Then Henry slyly asks: “But you’re not always proud of mommy, are you?” Tommy looks questioningly at his father, then looks down at his feet. Tommy wants to say something but doesn’t seem to dare. Henry tells Tommy to always be honest, but Tommy bites his tongue and falls asleep soon after. Henry needed a different strategy… Although Henry himself is also very tired and can sleep on the couch for an hour, his rest is quickly disturbed. He is called by the hospital because his wife Andrea has asked about him. Henry asks if he should be concerned, but the doctor says nothing is wrong. Andrea had her own reason for this… Andrea had also heard what Tommy said when he welcomed his new sister, so she wanted to make sure she could nip Henry’s suspicions in the bud. Calling him was the first step. Crafty as she was, she had a clear tactic in mind that Henry had fallen for before… As soon as Henry entered and hesitantly approached Andrea, Andrea began her way of captivating him. She acted extremely motherly as she stroked his forehead and asked him how his work was going. Henry gruffly replied that he had been out of work because of the birth. Andrea’s answer surprised him. Because Andrea tells him that she thinks it’s more important that he goes back to work than that he looks after Tommy. She adds that because he is such a fantastic politician, the city council cannot do without him. But Henry only heard one thing: Andrea didn’t want him to spend time with Tommy so her secret could go undiscovered! But Henry plays along. He says, without looking at her, that he is indeed going back to work soon and that she is right. Andrea acts satisfied as if she has everything under control. Henry can’t stand her but doesn’t want to show it. He knows inside that a divorce is inevitable, and his heart breaks. To keep up appearances, Henry actually goes to his office. He has put himself forward as the new chairman, and must therefore actually show his face a lot. However, he has taken Tommy to the office and has his assistant look after him. Tommy was rested this time, and ready to talk… Henry’s assistant Julia is excellent with children and takes him to play at the park. However, Henry has not yet had the chance to inform Julia about the suspicions he had, so Julia is unaware of anything. That would soon change, as she was capable of more than he knew. For Henry had tremendous faith in Julia’s sincerity. He knew that if he would share his concerns and suspicions, she would be able to understand them without judging them. Unfortunately, Henry didn’t know that Julia already knew who Andrea was, and knew her better than he would have liked. As soon as Julia comes back from the park, Henry takes her aside. He doesn’t tell her everything, but he tells her that he would like it if she asked him why he said something so “crazy” when he first saw his sister. Julia immediately agrees. Henry tends to respond happily to her cooperation but finds it odd that she asks nothing more. Henry’s rest of the day is completely packed with meetings, so he has no view of Tommy and Julia. He doesn’t even have time to have a normal lunch with Tommy and hastily eats a salad at his desk. Then, between two meetings, he has a moment to check on Tommy. But Tommy and Julia are already somewhere else entirely… They went to the hospital to visit Andrea! Henry reads this on a note left by Julia and gets very angry. This was the last thing he needed! He simply wanted her to stay with him at the office, and nothing more! Fortunately, luck would soon be behind him. Henry decides to call Julia right away to tell her to come back right away, after all, maybe they just left! Julia answers, but Henry only hears hiss! He soon finds out that it is a pocket conversation, something that is the case with Julia very often. And then he hears Andrea’s voice in the background. The timing is right in Henry’s favor as he hears Andrea say, “Henry must never find out! I don’t care how much you have to look after Tommy for that, make sure he doesn’t find out!” Henry knows enough and immediately gets into the car. Things were about to unfold. On the way, Henry gets very angry. What had he done to deserve this? He now missed a very important meeting, which could jeopardize his future as chairman, just because his wife kept terrible things from him. And what about poor Tommy, who so inadvertently set this all in motion… Henry arrives at the hospital and soon sees Julia and Tommy in the lobby. Julia looks up in shock, because she has seen that she pocket-dialed Henry, and he may have heard things! Henry walks up to them determinedly and tells her she can go back to the office, grabbing Tommy’s hand. Julia protests for a moment but understands that there is nothing to argue against. She says goodbye to Tommy and leaves the hospital. Henry walks upstairs with Tommy and gently tells him that he would like Tommy to help him once they get to Mum. Henry knows that a confrontation awaits him that he would rather never have wanted. Tommy had no idea what was going on. He had just seen his mother, so why did his father take him back inside the hospital? And why did Julia have to leave? But he just held his father’s hand and followed him inside. Not knowing what was about to unfold in front of his eyes.  As they walked through the hospital, Henry had to try his best not to let his emotions get the best of him. His blood was boiling from the betrayal, but he had to be discreet with his words. Because Andrea, the master manipulator she was, could easily diverge the situation.  And that was exactly what she did. As soon as Henry and Tommy walked through the door, her smile went up. She was surprised to see them, as Julia had just left. “Hi Henry, what are you doing here?” she said, spreading her arms for a hug. But Henry was in no mood for affection. “Cut the act, Andrea,” he said firmly. Andrea frowned. “What do you mean, babe?”  “I called Julia and heard you telling her I could never find out about something. So what are you hiding from me?!” Andrea looked at her husband and shook her head. “Oh, Henry, you have it all wrong.” “I was planning a surprise for you, silly,” Andrea said, slightly annoyed. This took Henry by surprise. For a second, he doubted if he had imagined everything. But then he remembered not to fall for Andrea’s innocent charades. He needed more evidence. Something that she couldn’t talk herself out of. So, he took Tommy by the arm and went back to work. He apologized to Julia for snapping at her, but he only did that to keep up his own charade. She had to believe he really thought Andrea was going to surprise him. Only then would his plan work. And to his surprise, Julia believed him immediately. For the next few days, Henry kept a close eye on his wife and assistant. Andrea had returned home from the hospital and spent her days caring for their newborn child and Tommy. Henry went to work as usual and waited for an opportunity to pop up. He had to catch his wife in the act. To Henry’s luck, the perfect opportunity arrived sooner than he had anticipated. When he got in his car to go to work, he noticed his car’s Bluetooth was still connected to his wife’s phone to his Bluetooth. And to make it even better, she was on a phone call with Julia! All Henry had to do was sit back and listen to the conversation. “Alright, so I’ll see you guys this afternoon?” Andrea asked Julia. “Yes, we’ll be at the restaurant around twelve. Henry is in a meeting around that time, so he won’t even notice I’m gone. Do you have everything ready?” Julia replied. “Yes, everything is set and ready to go. See you then!” Henry was stunned. Why were Julia and Andrea meeting behind his back? And why can’t Henry know about this? This conversation only raised more questions. But at least he knew what to do. So, he drove to work and canceled the meeting he would have at twelve himself so Julia wouldn’t suspect anything.  After that, it was a waiting game. Henry found himself unable to concentrate on anything. His thoughts kept drifting off to what would happen this afternoon. Will his divorce be destroyed after today? Or was Andrea really planning a surprise? No, he thought. He kept repeating what Tommy had said in his head to keep himself from doubting. And then it was time. Around half past eleven, Henry walked over to Julia and told her he would be in a “meeting” in his office. Julia believed him, of course, and said she wouldn’t let anyone inside. But around eleven-fifty, Henry heard Julia leaving. This was it. This was his queue.  Henry cracked the door open and saw Julia leaving the office. He quickly grabbed his jacket and followed behind her. He waited until she was in her car before he got in his car himself. He stayed two cars behind her at all times so she wouldn’t notice him. And to his surprise, he stayed unnoticed.  She drove to a quiet restaurant just outside of town. Wow, they really didn’t want to get caught, Henry thought as he parked his car a little further down the street. He watched Julia’s every move from inside his car and only got out when he was certain she wouldn’t see him.  When he got out, Henry walked to the back of the restaurant. There he noticed Andrea’s car in the parking lot. He figured they would recognize him immediately if he were to walk through the front door. So he wanted to see if there was a way in from the back.  And there was, but it was straight through the kitchen. So, Henry walked around the restaurant a second time while looking through the window. This was when he noticed Andrea and Julia sitting together at the bar. They faced the entrance with their back, so if he were to get in quickly, they wouldn’t notice him. Hopefully.  So, he quickly stepped inside the restaurant. Luckily for him, there was no bell above the door, so that he could enter without much noise. He picked a booth close behind Julia and Andrea, just close enough to listen to their conversation. But just as he ordered a drink, a third person sat down with them.  The third person was a tall man who looked a little bit like Julia.  “Dave! You made it!” Julia yelled as she got up and hugged the man. “Hi, sis. Good to see you,” he said with a cracked smile on his face. Sis, Henry thought. What the heck is going on here?  But what he said next shocked Henry even more.  “He, Andy,” Dave said while kissing Andrea on her cheek. Andy?! Henry thought furiously. No one calls her Andy unless they really know her. Henry didn’t know what to think. He watched with disgust at the trio, laughing and eating together.  After a few hours, Julia said goodbye and left. Henry ducked down in his booth so she wouldn’t see him, and to his surprise, it worked. But now only Andrea and Dave were left. And it looked like they knew each other very well. Andrea even had her hand on Dave’s knee. Henry couldn’t take it anymore. But something told him to wait a little longer. And his patience paid off. Because within ten minutes of Julia leaving, Dave kissed Andrea. Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. He immediately took out his phone and snapped a picture for his attorney. No way Andrea would get away with this.  After snapping the picture, Henry stood up and calmly walked over to Andrea. He cleared his throat, and Andrea quickly pulled away from Dave. “Henry?! She said in shock. “What are you doing here?!”  “I knew something was going on as soon as I heard Tommy say something about his new baby sibling.” “I’m not an idiot, Andy. When my son says that his sibling looks like ‘his other daddy,’ of course, I’ll get to the bottom of that.” Andrea was in shock. She didn’t know what to say. But Dave looked just as shocked. He clearly had no idea the baby was his.  But Henry had no time to stay any longer. He left the restaurant and drove straight to his lawyer’s office. He had called about a week ago to ask for the divorce papers, so he would be able to divorce Andrea on the spot. With the documents in his hand, he drove home. There, he signed the papers and left them on the kitchen counter. Then, he packed his and Tommy’s bags and left. He took Tommy to a hotel where they would stay until the divorce was final. After that, they moved back home. Andrea had to look for her own place and temporarily moved in with Dave.  Henry got full custody of Tommy, and Andrea was only allowed to see him on the weekends. She got nothing out of the divorce, but Dave was very happy to be a father. They later married and got two more children. Henry eventually found love again, and the four of them were great co-parents—the end.