My Husband Left Me When I Was 8 Months Pregnant For My Best Friend Of 20 Years. He Just Crawled Back After Finding Out Her Baby Isn’t Even His. Should I Let My Mom Throw Another Bucket Of Water On Him?

An Unexpected Kindness

One afternoon, my mother brought Lucas to the shop. Lucas was particularly fussy and suddenly burst into tears. I touched his forehead and it was burning.

“Mom, I think Lucas has a fever.”

I was so scared I didn’t know what to do. Just then, Dr. Evans came down for his coffee and saw the situation.

“The child has a fever. If you’d like, I can take a look.”

It was the first time he had truly spoken to me. I nodded. Doctor Evans touched Lucas’s forehead and neck and said, “It doesn’t seem too high, but if you come up to the clinic I can take his temperature properly.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor.”

We went up to the clinic and he examined him. Luckily it wasn’t anything serious, just a mild cold. He prescribed a fever reducer and we went back down.

“Doctor, really thank you so much.”,

“You’re welcome. When a child gets sick, the mother is the one who worries the most. If his fever doesn’t go down, don’t hesitate to come back.”

Dr. Evans smiled for the first time. I, who had thought he was a serious and distant man, saw his expression completely change with his smile. From that day on, Doctor Evans would occasionally ask about Lucas.

“Has the boy’s fever gone down? Is he feeling better from his cold?”

They were short phrases, but I could feel his concern. Juggling the coffee shop with raising Lucas was still a challenge. In the morning, I would drop Lucas at daycare and work non-stop until 7:00 p.m. Then I would close up, go pick up Lucas, give him dinner, and put him to bed. By then it was already 10:00 p.m.

I slept little and was always tired. But when Lucas came home from daycare and ran into my arms, or when a customer told me the coffee was delicious, all the fatigue would vanish.

One night, after putting Lucas to bed, I was sitting in the living room. I noticed the calendar. 3 months had passed since I opened the shop.

“I can finally breathe a little,” I said out loud,.

There was still a long way to go, but it was clear I was making progress. Sales were slowly increasing and I had more and more regulars. The moon was shining outside. I gently stroked Lucas’s sleeping cheek.

“Lucas, Mommy is going to work very hard. We’re going to stay this happy.”

A new routine had been established. Busy days, but happy ones. It was the morning of the day that marked exactly one year since my divorce. With a cup of coffee in hand, I looked at the calendar. Today’s date circled in red caught my eye.

I remembered the moment I signed the papers at the county clerk’s office a year ago. Back then I felt like my world was falling apart, but now strangely I felt light. Lucas, who was in the living room building a tower of blocks, knocked it down and burst into laughter. I smiled too.

“A year has changed me so much,” I thought.

At 9:00 a.m. I opened the shop and started the day as usual. I warmed up the espresso machine and ground coffee. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the shop and calmed me. At lunchtime, Dr. Evans came down for a while. Now he no longer just grabbed his coffee and left, but would stop to chat for a moment,.

“How did Lucas sleep today?”

“Very well. He slept through the night,” I replied as I served him his iced Americano.

Dr. Evans nodded with a smile. His initial seriousness had disappeared, replaced by a warm expression.

“I’m glad. When kids wake up a lot during the night, it’s tough on the mothers.”

It was a short conversation, but I felt his concern and it made me feel good. He’s a good person, I thought to myself. After he left, around 2:00 p.m., I stepped outside for a moment to get some fresh air. Suddenly I saw someone huddled by the planters at the entrance.

The Ghost of Mistakes Past

I thought it was a homeless person and approached cautiously. As I got closer, I felt my heart stop. It was James. He had a scruffy beard and greasy tangled hair. Instead of the impeccable suit he used to wear, he was wearing a wrinkled jacket. His face, once sharp, was so swollen he was barely recognizable,.

He looked at me with half-closed eyes and his lips trembled.

“Emily.”

Hearing his voice, I took a step back. I felt my hands go numb.

“What are you doing here?”

James staggered to his feet and knelt before me. People passing by were staring at us. I felt my face burn.

“Get up. Everyone is watching us.”

“Emily, please listen to me.” James’s eyes were filled with tears.

I couldn’t believe this was the same man who a year ago had handed me the divorce papers with such arrogance. I crossed my arms and looked at him coldly.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly. I have to work.”

James lowered his head and began to speak with a broken voice. “Sarah’s son wasn’t mine.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What did you say?”

“I’m type B and Sarah is type O, but the baby came out type A. The doctor at the hospital explained it to us. It was genetically impossible.”

James’ shoulders were shaking. He was crying.

“It turns out Sarah had an ex-boyfriend. She got pregnant right before they broke up and pinned it on me.”,

I couldn’t say anything. My mind was a mess. I hadn’t imagined Sarah was capable of going that far, but at the same time, strangely, I wasn’t surprised.

“I already knew her true face.” “So what does that have to do with me?” I asked coldly.

James lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot.

“I fought with Sarah every day about the child, whether he was yours, whether he was mine. In the end she left. We’re in the middle of a divorce now, also because of the debts.”

“Debts?”

“I lost everything in the stock market. My mother’s house was foreclosed on too. I even started borrowing from loan sharks and the interest rates skyrocketed. Credit card debts, loans. I have no one left to borrow from.”

James slammed his forehead against the ground. I heard the dull thud of his forehead against the concrete.

“Can’t we start over? Lucas is my son. No, give me one last chance.”

I bit my lip hard. I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. I was furious. The man who a year ago had arrogantly asked for a divorce while holding Sarah’s hand was now begging me for a last chance,.

At that moment, my mother came out of the shop. She was holding a bucket of water. She had seen everything.

“What are you doing here? How dare you show your face in front of my daughter?” my mother said in an icy voice.

James looked up. In that instant, my mother tilted the bucket. The cold water splashed over James’ head.

“You have some nerve. Get out of my daughter’s sight right now,” my mother shouted.

The customers inside the shop looked out in surprise. James, with his hair soaked and water dripping down his face, didn’t move. His hunched body seemed even smaller.

“Mom, go inside. I’ll handle this.” I helped my mother back into the shop.

Just then, Dr. Evans was arriving at the coffee shop and saw the scene. He looked back and forth between James, kneeling and soaked on the ground, and me with a pale face.

“Emily, what’s happening? Are you okay?” he asked cautiously.

I forced a nod. “Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be right in.”

Doctor Evans entered the shop with a worried look on his face. I looked at James again. He looked from Dr. Evans to me and his expression faltered. He seemed to have realized that we now lived in completely different worlds,.

“Get up,” I said calmly. James staggered to his feet. I looked him directly in the eyes.

“Lucas is not your son. When you left the house with your things, you said it yourself that I should never come looking for you talking about blood ties.”

James’s face contorted.

“I gave birth to Lucas alone. I raised him alone and I have protected him alone. He is my son and he has nothing to do with you.” My voice didn’t tremble. It sounded surprisingly calm. “And I have no intention of getting involved in your life again, so you don’t get involved in ours.”

James opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. It seemed he had nothing left to say. He turned around with slumped shoulders. His figure as he stumbled away down the alley looked incredibly small. I watched him for a long time.

Just a few years ago, that man was everything to me. I believed we would spend our whole lives together. But now I felt absolutely nothing. Not hate, not pity, nothing. I went into the shop and took a deep breath,.

My mother approached with a worried face. “Emily, are you okay?”

“Yes, Mom. Now it’s really over,” I replied with a smile. I meant it.

Dr. Evans was at the counter. He had been waiting for me. “Really, are you okay? You look exhausted. You should close early today and go rest.”

“No, I’m really fine.” I served him his coffee with a smile.

Doctor Evans took the coffee but stayed there a while longer. “You’re incredible. What? You run this coffee shop by yourself, you’re raising your son, and after a situation like that you don’t fall apart. I wouldn’t have been able to,” he said it with a sincerity that made me blush and I lowered my head.

“Well, you get used to it. I did it for Lucas.”

Dr. Evans nodded with a smile. Since there were no customers, I leaned against the counter and looked out the window. I saw the alley where James had disappeared. Strangely, I didn’t cry. On the contrary, I felt a great relief in my chest. It was as if all the residual feelings that had lingered over the past year had been wiped away at once,.