The Shadows We Choose 3

Chapter 1: A Shadow from the Past

As the dust settled from Gloria’s shocking death, Ruth suggested reexamining the DNA tests, which no one had questioned until now. Nathan agreed, though reluctantly. Michael, Nathan’s closest friend, stepped forward with an uneasy look.

“You should test at a different lab,” Michael said. “I’ve worked in the legal field long enough to know that bias in results isn’t uncommon.”

Nathan frowned. “What are you implying?”

Michael hesitated before continuing. “Do you remember Albert Mensah? The one who runs that hospital? Gloria’s secondary school friend?”

Nathan’s memory raced back to the name. Albert had once been close to Gloria—too close.

Joanna, curious, interrupted. “What does he have to do with this?”

Michael cleared his throat. “Albert and Gloria had a complicated past. They were involved in secondary school, but it ended badly. Gloria broke his heart… humiliated him in front of their peers. I’m saying it’s possible he could have tampered with the results.”

The revelation sent shockwaves through the family. Nathan, now boiling with anger, marched into Albert’s hospital. After hours of confrontation and threats of legal action, Albert finally cracked.

“Yes,” he admitted, his voice cold. “I forged the results. Gloria destroyed my life, and this was my way of returning the favor.”

Nathan clenched his fists but held back. Albert continued, his tone bitter, “But for what it’s worth, Joanna is your daughter. I just made you doubt it to ruin your marriage.”

Chapter 2: The Real Father

With Joanna’s true paternity confirmed, another question loomed: Who was the father of Joanna’s child?

Joanna broke down under the pressure of the family’s scrutiny. She confessed the truth. “It was James,” she said, her voice trembling. “We were already… involved before the baby.”

Nathan’s world tilted. James, his mentee and the man he had trusted, had betrayed him. Nathan remembered how James had suggested his inclusion in the family meeting.

“He planned it all,” Nathan muttered. “He wanted to soften the blow because he knew what was coming.”

Joanna nodded tearfully. “I didn’t know I was pregnant until after everything came out. I was too scared to tell anyone, and James convinced me to stay quiet. He said he’d stand by me when the truth came out.”

Nathan’s rage boiled over. He stormed out of the house, heading straight for James. The confrontation was explosive.

“You were like a son to me!” Nathan roared. “And this is how you repay me? By destroying my family?”

James, cornered, admitted everything. “I loved Joanna,” he said. “And I still do. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did. I was afraid you’d never forgive me.”

Chapter 3: Gloria’s Loneliness

As the family tried to process the revelations, Ruth shed light on Gloria’s affair.

“She didn’t do it to hurt you, Nathan,” Ruth explained. “She loved you, but she felt invisible in the marriage. You were always working, always away. She was lonely.”

Nathan’s guilt hit him like a tidal wave. He had been so consumed with building his career that he had neglected his wife. Gloria’s affair was not an excuse, but it was a symptom of their broken relationship.

“I should have been there for her,” Nathan whispered. “But I wasn’t.”

Despite the betrayal, Nathan chose to focus on the bigger picture: rebuilding what was left of his family.

Chapter 4: The Silent Graves The cemetery was a desolate place, quiet but for the rustling leaves and the distant hum of the city. Nathan stood at the edge of two freshly dug graves, his heart heavier than the overcast skies above. He clutched Daniel’s tiny white casket, his hands trembling, as tears streamed down his face.

The burial service was small, just family and a few close friends. Joanna stood beside him, her face pale, her body shaking with silent sobs. Ruth held her close, while Michael stood behind Nathan, unsure if his presence was welcome but unwilling to leave him alone.

Nathan’s eyes kept darting between the two coffins—one so small it felt impossible, and the other carrying the love of his life. The officiant spoke words of comfort, but they felt distant and hollow. All Nathan could hear was Gloria’s laugh echoing in his mind, Daniel’s faint cries that he had ignored, and the deafening silence of his own failures.

When it came time to lower Daniel into the ground, Nathan couldn’t move. His grip on the tiny casket tightened as if holding it might somehow undo what had happened.

“Nathan,” Michael whispered gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s time.”

“No,” Nathan croaked, his voice breaking. “He’s just a baby. He doesn’t deserve this.”

Joanna broke into loud, uncontrollable sobs, collapsing to her knees. Ruth tried to steady her, but her own tears made her arms weak.

“It’s my fault,” Joanna cried. “I should have been there for him. I should’ve—”

Nathan turned to her, his face stricken. “No,” he said, his voice barely audible. “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. All of it.”

He looked down at the casket again, his tears falling onto the pristine white surface. “I was so caught up in everything else—so blinded by anger, pride, and doubt—I forgot to see what mattered most. I wasn’t there when he needed me. I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

The officiant hesitated, unsure whether to proceed. Nathan finally loosened his grip and allowed the pallbearers to take Daniel’s casket. His knees buckled as they lowered it into the ground, and Michael had to catch him before he fell.

When Gloria’s casket was lowered next, Nathan sank to the ground, burying his face in his hands. He didn’t care about appearances, about strength, about holding it together anymore. He wailed—raw, guttural cries that seemed to shake the earth itself.

“She deserved better,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “They both did. I failed them.”

Chapter 5: Days in the Shadows

Nathan didn’t leave the cemetery that day. Long after everyone else had gone home, he stayed, sitting on the cold, damp ground between the two graves. Night fell, and Michael returned to find him still there, staring blankly at the headstones.

“Come home, Nathan,” Michael pleaded.

Nathan shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t deserve to leave them. I don’t deserve to move on.”

The following weeks became a blur of grief and regret. Nathan returned to the cemetery every day, sitting by the graves for hours. He spoke to Gloria as though she were still alive, confessing all the things he wished he’d said while she was still with him.

“I should’ve noticed you were hurting,” he murmured one evening, his fingers tracing her name on the headstone. “You needed me, and I wasn’t there. I was too busy chasing success, too busy being angry. I let you carry all the weight alone, and now… now I’ve lost you.”

He turned to Daniel’s grave, his voice breaking. “And you… my sweet boy. You never even got the chance to live. You deserved so much more. I should’ve been a better father. I should’ve—” His words dissolved into sobs.

Chapter 6: Gloria’s Letter
Nathan returned home from the cemetery, his heart heavy and his soul shattered. The burial had drained him, leaving a hollow shell where his spirit once resided. The image of Gloria and Daniel being lowered into the ground replayed in his mind, each replay cutting deeper into his heart.

The house was eerily silent, as if mourning alongside him. Nathan wandered into the bedroom, seeking solace in the routine of tidying up. As he absentmindedly sorted through Gloria’s things, his hand brushed against a small envelope tucked inside her bedside drawer.

His breath caught when he saw his name written on it in her familiar handwriting.

“For Nathan—when it matters.”

With trembling hands, he opened the envelope, his vision blurred by tears as he unfolded the letter.

“Nathan,
If you’re reading this, I’m no longer here.
I need you to understand something, even if it’s too late for me to tell you in person. I was faithful to you, Nathan. From the day I chose you, you were my everything.
I don’t know why the DNA tests said otherwise, but I know the truth. Joanna is your daughter. She always has been. She carries your kindness, your strength, and your passion.
When those test results came back, the world around me crumbled. And when you doubted me, it broke me in ways I can never describe. I felt so alone, Nathan. So judged. So abandoned.
I brought Samuel into our lives not because I loved him, but because I didn’t know what else to do. I needed to buy time, to find a way to fix everything. He was someone from a past I thought I’d left behind—a time long before you, a life that ended when I chose you.
I thought I could protect you, protect our family, and protect myself. But no one listened, Nathan. Not you. Not the people we trusted. And in the end, I couldn’t bear the weight of it all.
My biggest regret is Daniel. Our son. He was my light, my hope in the darkness. But I was too broken to be the mother he needed, and I failed him.
Nathan, if you truly loved me, then promise me this: raise Daniel for me. Protect him. Love him with everything you have. Show him the kindness I couldn’t show myself. He is your legacy, Nathan. He’s the best of both of us. Don’t let him grow up feeling the emptiness I felt.
I know you’ll find the truth someday. And when you do, I hope you can forgive me. And forgive yourself.
This is my last wish, Nathan. Be the father Daniel deserves. That’s all I ever wanted from you.”

Nathan clutched the letter to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Every word felt like a knife, slicing through his regret and sorrow.

“I’m sorry, Gloria,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m so sorry. I should have listened. I should have been there.”

As he sat on the floor, consumed by grief, the weight of Gloria’s final wish bore down on him like a mountain. But the cruel irony was too much to bear—Daniel, the son she had begged him to protect, was gone.

The promise he made to her in his heart felt like a curse now. He had failed her. He had failed their son. And there was no way to make it right.

Chapter 7: Lessons in the Shadows
The next morning, Nathan returned to the cemetery. He sat between the two graves, his knees pressing into the cold earth. In his hand was Gloria’s letter, now creased and worn from the countless times he had read it through the night.

The silence of the cemetery was comforting in its own way, a stark contrast to the chaos in his mind. He traced the letters on Gloria’s gravestone, his fingers trembling.

“Gloria,” he murmured, his voice barely audible. “I promised you I’d protect Daniel. But I failed. I failed both of you. And I don’t know how to live with that.”

The wind carried the scent of fresh flowers from a nearby grave, and for a moment, he thought he could hear her voice in the rustling leaves.

Days turned into weeks, and Nathan became a shadow of himself. He spent hours sitting in Daniel’s empty room, staring at the crib that would never be used again. He replayed every argument, every moment of doubt, every chance he had to reach out to Gloria but didn’t.

His mind wandered to the moments he had missed—Daniel’s cries that he hadn’t heard because he was too busy, Gloria’s tears that he hadn’t comforted because he was too consumed by work.

One evening, as the sun set behind the horizon, Nathan stood in front of a mirror, holding the letter. He looked at his reflection and saw a man he no longer recognized.

“I can’t change the past,” he whispered. “But I can honor your memory, Gloria. And I can make sure Joanna knows the truth. That she knows how much you loved her.”

Lessons Learned

1. Cherish What Matters Most: Nathan’s obsession with his career cost him the moments that truly mattered. His loss served as a painful reminder of the importance of presence and connection.
2. The Power of Listening: Gloria’s letter highlighted the devastating consequences of assumptions and silence. Her pain could have been alleviated if Nathan had only listened—if he had been more present.
3. The Weight of Regret: Regret, once earned, is impossible to undo. The lessons Nathan learned too late were written in the faces of the people he loved and lost.
4. The Need for Forgiveness: Forgiveness is essential—not just for those who hurt us, but for ourselves. Without it, healing remains out of reach, and the past holds us captive.

As the final chapter of his story unfolded, Nathan realized that some lessons could only be learned in the shadows. Only in the depths of his grief and regret did he begin to understand the profound truth that had eluded him for so long: Love, in all its forms, was worth everything. And it was the only thing that could guide him out of the darkness.

He had to choose to live for those who were still with him, especially Joanna. She, too, carried pieces of Gloria’s love, and he would honor her memory by becoming the father she needed.

To be continued…