I looked directly at Claire.
“Is Noah my husband’s son?”
She opened her mouth.
Adrian spoke first.
“No.”
The word struck the room with quiet force.
No one moved.
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Noah is not my son.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“Adrian.”
“He deserves the truth.”
“He deserved it months ago.”
Noah looked up at his mother.
“What truth?”
Claire knelt beside him.
“Sweetheart, could you sit near the window for a moment?”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know.”
He took her hand.
“I want to hear.”
Adrian turned away, pressing his fingers to his forehead.
I had never seen him look so lost.
Claire stood again.
“Noah’s father was Adrian’s younger brother.”
I searched my memory.
Adrian rarely spoke about his family. His parents had died years before we met. I knew there had been a brother named Julian, but Adrian told me they had been estranged and that Julian died in an accident overseas.
