Chapter 6: The Ugly Truth

Aria's POV

“Mrs Smith, honestly, I have no idea. And I want to assure you that the school did not request this. We only conduct routine medical tests for all students. How this was slipped into Hailey’s report, or who requested it and sent the results to us together with her medical report, I have no idea.”

The principal’s voice was calm, professional, almost rehearsed, but it barely reached me. I stared down at the paper in my hands as though it might dissolve if I looked hard enough.

It didn’t.

If Mark’s name had not been printed so clearly at the top of the document, I would have dismissed the results as a clerical error, something accidentally attached to the school’s paperwork. Mark and I had signed consent forms for routine medical tests when the school requested them. Vaccinations. Blood group confirmation. General health screening.

Not this.

Never this.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the paper, creasing it slightly. How? Who authorised this? DNA testing didn’t happen casually. It required intent, consent, access. Someone had gone out of their way.

I blinked once. Twice. Hard.

The names remained unchanged.

I shook the paper, a small, irrational gesture, as though the letters might rearrange themselves if startled.

They didn’t.

Slowly, I lifted my head and stared at the principal. For one wild moment, I had the urge to take her glasses from her face and put them on myself, as though her lenses might reveal a different truth. A softened one.

If this result was accurate, then it meant another man had got me pregnant that night. Not Mark.

And if Mark was not Hailey’s father… then who was?

“Mrs Smith, I know what this means, and I don’t see you as that kind of person,” the principal continued gently, as if reading my thoughts. “This could be a mistake, but again. It’s important to put your mind at ease. I strongly suggest you and your husband go to the hospital and run this test again. For all you know, someone may have swap your baby at birth. Either deliberately or mistakenly.”

The room felt suddenly smaller. The walls too close.

“Is that possible?” I asked, my voice barely steady.

She nodded. Once.

I stood up without remembering the act of standing. My legs carried me out of the office while my mind lagged behind, struggling to catch up. The paper remained clutched in my hand like a verdict.

Everything in me wanted it to be a lie.

I drove straight to my old apartment. If Hailey was not Mark’s daughter, I could not, would not, tell him yet. He would twist this into something ugly. He would accuse me of cheating.

And I hadn’t.

I needed the truth first. Quietly. Without alerting anyone. I found myself in my old apartment. 

The apartment smelled faintly of dust and the cologne Mark used to favour. The silence inside it pressed against my ears. I went straight into the bedroom. Mark’s clothes still hung in the wardrobe, orderly, untouched.

I didn’t know what I was looking for until I saw it.

In the bathroom, his toothbrush sat in its holder.

Saliva.

That would work. I reached for it, then hesitated. It was bone dry.

Then my gaze shifted.

The hairbrush lay on the counter, strands tangled in its bristles.

Hair.

My heart kicked hard against my ribs. I picked it up, fingers trembling, and pulled several strands free. I didn’t stop to count them. I went to the study, grabbed an envelope, and sealed the hair inside as though it were contraband.

When I left the apartment, my hands were shaking.

Back at my parents’ place, the house was alive with voices when I arrived.

“Mummy!” Hailey cried, running straight into my arms. “Look what Aunty Helina got me.”

I hugged her tightly, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair, my gaze dropping to the learning set in her hands.

“Did you say thank you to Aunty Helina?” I asked, forcing brightness into my voice.

“Mummy, are you alright?” she asked instead, her small brow creasing.

“I’m fine, why do you ask?” I said, smiling widely.

“Mummy, your smile is too broad.”

Of course she noticed. I smiled like that when I was nervous, when I was lying to myself.

“Mummy is just tired,” I said softly. I couldn't tell her what is happening now.

“Then you should get some rest,” she replied, accepting my explanation.

“Helina, do you mind taking Hailey to wash down?” Elliot said.

My stomach dropped.

“Sure. Hailey, come with me,” Helina said, leading her away.

The moment they disappeared, the air changed.

“Aria, why would you use a company property without going through the process?” Elliot asked.

“What are you, a detective?” I snapped.

“Aria, that is not the question. Why would you do that?” my mum added.

“Elliot, mum, I appreciated whatever you think you are doing for me, but please, stop spying on me,” I said, already turning away.

“Aria, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to work for anyone. Come home and manage one of your dad’s companies,” Elliot said.

“Elliot, you know how dad felt about me when he was alive. I swore not to make use of anything that belong to him. I only came back here, because this house was a gift to my mum from my grandmother.”

He sighed.

I walked away.

The next morning, I left the house under the pretence of scouting for a job. Instead, I went straight to the hospital.

The process was clinical, discreet. I explained what I needed. I handed over the envelope with Mark’s hair and consented to Hailey’s sample being taken through a simple, non-invasive cheek swab. The nurse assured me results would take a few days.

It felt like a lifetime.

As I walked down the corridor afterwards, my footsteps echoing softly, I slowed when I heard a familiar voice.

“If I get married now, what are my chances of having a child?”

I froze.

That voice.

“Your chances are very slim, Mr Howard.”

I peeped around the corner.

Desmond Howard stood with his back to me, facing a doctor in a white coat.

“You can try all the other options. Today technology have made things easy.”

“No, I don’t want petri dish or bottle babies.”

“That leaves you with one option.”

“I know.”

“Mr Howard, my team are still on it. I’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”

“Be discrete. If Janet finds out, she would ruin everything for me.”

He walked away.

I waited a full minute before moving.

“Wow,” I murmured under my breath. “Who would have thought that such a magnetic outstanding looking man. A man with a perfect body sculpture have problem getting a woman pregnant. Huh, it’s true about what they say, not all the nice package has something amazing inside.”

I left quickly, ensuring he never saw me.

Days passed.

When I returned for the results, the paper felt heavier than it should have.

Black and white.

Mark Smith was not Hailey’s father.

My heart surged painfully in my chest. I couldn’t breathe for a moment.

The principal’s words came back to me. Swapped at birth.

Clinging to that possibility, I decided to get a new sample to request another test, this time to confirm whether I was Hailey’s mother.

I went home.

And walked straight into a firing squad.

Mark. Elliot. My mum.

“What the hell is he doing here?”

“Aria, I consider you my sister, even if we are not from the same mother, but I don’t support what is wrong. Why did you use Hailey knowing Mark wasn’t responsible to force Mark into marriage?”

“Mum......”

She raised her hands.

“You lied, from the start. Fine I married you. Just because you earn more than me, you chose to disrespect me. This is why I went out to find the respect and comfort I need.”

This had to be a dream.

When I opened my eyes, they were all still there.

And I was completely alone.