Zora’s life falls apart at her husband’s funeral when she meets an older woman holding a baby. The woman says the child in her arms is Zora’s late husband’s. Is she telling the truth? Or are there more surprising secrets waiting for Zora?
Zora stared at the last moments of her husband’s funeral. She couldn’t believe Talon was gone. He’d died in a car accident. A week had passed, but she still felt him near her. How could he be gone forever?
With a heavy heart, she walked toward the cemetery gate, telling herself she needed to figure out what to do with her life now.
Suddenly, an older woman with a baby stood in her path.
“Are you Zora?” the woman asked as the baby in her arms whimpered.
Zora didn’t know her. Who was this stranger?
“I am. Who are you?” Zora answered.
Zora’s heart sank when the woman, named Corin, said the baby was Talon’s child.
“You’re the only one who can take care of this child now,” Corin told her. “Her mother can’t look after her.”
A cold shiver ran through Zora. She looked at the baby and took a step back.
“No, that can’t be true! Talon was a loving husband. He’d never do this to me!”
Zora turned and hurried away. She wouldn’t let herself doubt Talon.
“Watch out!”
Zora bumped into one of Talon’s old friends, Victor. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t see where she was going.
Victor started talking, offering his condolences. Zora didn’t want to chat with anyone, but she forced herself to be polite. She ended the conversation as soon as she could and headed to her car.
The baby’s image kept popping into her mind, but she brushed it off. But when Zora opened her car door, she froze. The same baby was lying in the back seat, crying softly.
Zora looked around. Corin was nowhere in sight. “How did this baby get here?” she wondered.
It was cold outside, so Zora took off her jacket and wrapped it around the little one.
Then she stopped dead when she saw a birthmark on the baby’s neck. “This can’t be real,” she whispered.
The birthmark was just like Talon’s. Zora didn’t want to think her husband had cheated. But now, she had to know the truth. She needed to find out if Talon had betrayed her.
Zora drove home with the baby, grabbed some of Talon’s hair from his brush, and went to a hospital.
“Hi, I need a paternity test,” she told the woman at the front desk.
“Sure, ma’am. It usually takes a few days to get the results,” the woman said.
“Can you make it faster?” Zora asked. “I’ll pay extra.”
“We have a quick service. Let me check what we can do. It’ll cost more, though.”
“I’ll do it,” Zora said. She gave them Talon’s hair and paid for the test.
Sitting in the hospital hallway, Zora noticed the baby getting fussy. She checked the baby’s clothes. The diaper was clean.
Zora guessed the baby was hungry. With some time before the results, she drove to a store and bought formula, bottles, and a few diapers, just in case.
Back in the hallway, she fed the baby formula. After what felt like ages, a nurse came with the results.
The nurse handed her an envelope and left.
“This is the truth, and I have to accept it, like it or not,” Zora thought as she opened the envelope.
Her head spun when she saw the words, “Paternity rate – 99%.”
Zora looked at the sleeping baby in her arms and swallowed her tears. Talon had cheated on her and kept it a secret.
Zora decided she wouldn’t live with the proof of his betrayal forever. She would find the baby’s mother and give the child back.
Gathering her strength, Zora drove home and started going through Talon’s things. But she found nothing about his lover. She checked his office next, looking through drawers, files, and cabinets. Still nothing.
Zora sighed. The baby was asleep in the living room. Taking the baby monitor, she went to Talon’s car. She searched under the seats, in the glovebox, and every corner. But she found nothing important.
Zora sank into the driver’s seat when she noticed the GPS. Then it hit her. Talon was awful with directions and always used the navigator. If he’d visited his lover’s house, her address would be there.
Zora checked the recent destinations on the GPS. The list was short, mostly familiar places: local restaurants, the hardware store, and Talon’s office. But one address caught her eye—it showed up more than the others, and she didn’t know it.
“This has to be it,” she thought. She took the baby and drove to the address.
When she got there, Zora stood in front of a small house. She picked up the baby, walked to the front door, and knocked.
“Hello? Anyone home?” she called.
After knocking ten times with no answer, Zora figured the house was empty. She looked around and decided to ask the neighbors. She started with the house next door and rang the doorbell.
The door creaked open, and Zora’s eyes widened when Corin stepped out.
“You?” Zora asked.
“How…how did you find me?” Corin stammered.
“I was looking for my husband’s…” Zora paused. “His other woman. I wanted to give her baby back.”
A strange sadness crossed Corin’s face. “The woman next door… she passed away a few days ago. She had a heart attack when she heard about your husband’s accident. Briar is gone.”
“Wait…did you say Briar?” Zora asked, shocked.
“Yes,” Corin nodded. “Did you know her?”
“Was…Was her last name Warren?”
When Corin nodded, Zora lowered her head in shame. “Can-Can I come in?” she asked. “There’s something I want to tell you. I need to talk.”
Corin opened the door wider, and Zora stepped inside. They sat in the living room. “Briar was my classmate,” Zora began, sharing her past. “She was my friend, too. But I hurt her and…Talon…”
20 years ago…
Zora and Talon were in their school’s hallway. She was by her locker when Talon walked up.
“Hey, Zora,” he said quietly, and she turned to him.
“I…I need to tell you something,” Talon said, sounding nervous.
“Hey,” she smiled. “What’s up?”
“I…I’m in love with someone else, Zora,” he admitted. “You’ve been great, but I’m sorry.”
Zora was stunned. “Tell me you’re joking, Talon,” she cried. “You can’t mean this!”
But Talon was serious. He was head over heels for Briar, and Briar loved him back.
Zora was so upset that day that she went home crying.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Her mother could tell something had happened at school.
Sobbing, Zora told her how Talon had broken up with her.
“I want to break them up!” she yelled. “I won’t let them be together!”
“Zora, you can’t find happiness by ruining someone else’s,” her mother said. “Revenge won’t help. Let him go.”
But Zora was burning with the need to get even.
Over the next few days, Zora tried everything to pull Talon and Briar apart—she spread silly rumors, planned run-ins where she’d act confident, and even sent secret notes to stir up jealousy.
But nothing worked. Briar seemed happy, lost in her world with Talon, and Zora was left on the outside, her plans falling apart.
Still, Zora wouldn’t give up. One night, she thought of the perfect way to come between Briar and Talon.
“Hello, Zora, how are you?” Zora visited Talon, and his mother opened the door.
“I’m okay, Mrs. White. Is Talon home?”
“Yes, dear. Let me get him.”
Talon was confused to see her at his door. “Zora? What’s going on?”
“I know this will shock you, Talon, but…I’m-I’m pregnant!” she said.
Talon was stunned and scared. “What…Are you sure?”
When she nodded, Talon let her inside. She told him she hadn’t told her parents because she was afraid. Zora said her father would never agree and would make her end the pregnancy. So she begged Talon to keep it quiet and saw how easily he believed her lie.
Talon was a responsible guy. Zora knew that. He took her hands and said, “I’m the father, so I’ll take care of our baby. Don’t worry; this stays between us.”
Present-day…
“I used him. I lied to him. I wasn’t pregnant,” Zora confessed to Corin. “I was hurt, and I couldn’t stand losing him to Briar. So I told a lie that changed everything. He was ready to step up, leave Briar, and be a father.”
“Lies ruin everything, dear,” Corin said, shaking her head. “What happened after that? Did he ever find out?”
“He didn’t,” Zora admitted. “I kept up the act, pretending to be sick in the mornings, the whole thing. But after a few months, I couldn’t keep going. So I told him the test was wrong, that the doctor made a mistake. By then, Briar had…moved away. She was heartbroken and left town with her parents. Talon and I stayed together. He never went back to her, never looked for her. We just moved on. Or I thought we did…” Zora said, looking at the sleeping baby in her arms. Now she knew Talon had found Briar again.
“And I think it’s time to fix what I couldn’t back then,” Zora said, standing up.
She was leaving Corin’s house with the baby when the older woman stopped her.
“What will you do with the baby?” Corin asked.
Zora turned and smiled at Corin. “I’ll raise her as my own daughter. Maybe that’ll help me earn forgiveness from Talon and Briar.”
And Zora kept her word. She raised baby Wren with love. When Wren turned 16, Zora told her everything about her past. She thought Wren might hate her. And she was ready for it.
But Wren smiled and said, “Nothing changes how I feel about you, Mom. You raised me. You were there for every scraped knee, every fever, every heartbreak. You’re my mom in every way that matters.”
Zora cried quietly and hugged her daughter. Wren’s words not only lifted her heart but also made her believe that Talon and Briar had forgiven her.