In that instant, the professional mask cracked. His pulse hammered in his ears. The room faded to a blur. He wasn’t just a doctor delivering a child. He was looking into the face of his son.
A Silent Revelation
A nurse stepped forward, arms outstretched to take the infant. Alejandro hesitated, holding the baby for a heartbeat longer before surrendering him. She carried the newborn away to be cleaned and swaddled, leaving Alejandro standing frozen at the bedside.
Valeria lay back, pale and trembling. She avoided his gaze, her tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. Alejandro leaned down, his voice rough and low.
“Why… why didn’t you tell me?”
Her lips quivered, words spilling through sobs.
“I wanted to. God knows I wanted to. But everything fell apart—my parents forced me, you were drowning in your work, and I thought you’d hate me. I thought you’d abandon me.”
Her confession cut deeper than any scalpel. Alejandro had spent years burying the ache of her sudden departure, never understanding why she left. Now the truth lay raw before him—pain, fear, and choices made in silence.
The Awakening of a Father
The nurse returned, gently placing the swaddled newborn into Alejandro’s trembling arms. The weight of the child—his child—settled into his chest with an intensity he had never known.
Next
