Chapter 2 Two

The house was quiet, far too quiet for Nick's restless mind. The kind of silence that pressed in on him, not comforting but oppressive. Outside, Toronto's streets hummed faintly with distant traffic, but in here, only the low tick of the clock in the hallway broke the stillness.

They had gotten back from the reunion late that evening, and the children were tired and already dozing off even before they got out of the car. It was a struggle to get them to take a bath before going to bed.

Then he and Noel, tired as well, had taken their baths and retreated to their bedroom. And now Nick lay on his side in the dark, staring at Noel. She slept soundly beside him, her breathing even, one hand curled lightly beneath her chin as though she were dreaming of something soft and sweet. The moonlight fell across her face through the slats of the blinds, silvering her skin, catching the strands of hair that had escaped her bun.

She was beautiful. Too beautiful, Nick always thought to himself sometimes. He studied the slope of her nose, the delicate curve of her lips, the way her chest rose and fell with each steady breath. He had seen her in every mood; laughing with Mason over a silly joke, humming while she cooked, flushed with anger when she felt wronged. But there was something about her face in sleep, stripped of defence, that always undid him.

Tonight, though, he did not feel undone by love. He felt undone by doubt. His chest tightened as his mind replayed Bella's words: "Doesn't he look just like Joe?"

It had been said in jest, tossed casually like Bella tossed all her barbs, and certainly not to be taken seriously if he had any sense, but still it had clung to him, burrowed into him. He had tried to shake it off at the reunion, tried to drown it in food and chatter and the sound of laughter, but the seed had been planted, and it was growing.

Nick's gaze flicked from Noel's face to the framed photographs on the dresser across the room. Mason's wide grin at his last birthday party, icing smeared across his cheeks. Maire, clutching her favourite doll, eyes sparkling like Noel's.

They were his children, his life. He knew that. He had been there for every moment; Mason's first steps, Maire's first word, the way Noel had leaned on him during both labours... and yet. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, forcing himself to breathe evenly.

"Am I being paranoid, or is something real here?" he thought to himself.

The logical part of him said he was being ridiculous. Mason was his son, how could he not be? Mason had his energy, his same stubborn streak, his charm, everyone said so. And Maire, she was Noel's mirror, but her laugh and mischievous glances, those were his. But then Bella's voice crept back, needling.

"Doesn't he look just like Joe?"

Joe, with his broad shoulders, his easy grin, the son of the estate's butler who had grown up alongside the family. Joe, who was still around, working odd jobs, carrying trays, and fixing things. Nick tried to dismiss the thought, but he remembered the way Noel had looked away when Joe was near, how carefully she'd avoided his eyes. It had been subtle, too subtle for anyone else to notice, but Nick had noticed. He always noticed things like that; he was perceptive, everyone said so.

And now his chest burned with unease. He shifted on the bed, careful not to wake Noel. She stirred anyway, rolling slightly toward him, her hand brushing his arm. It should have soothed him, but it only tightened the coil inside him. Nick studied her again, his mind a battlefield. One part of him whispered that he was a fool, chasing shadows. Another part insisted he was right to wonder.

His firm was thriving, his home immaculate, his marriage admired, but perfection was fragile. Any idealistic person knew this at the back of their minds. They also knew that once a crack appeared, no matter how small, they could not stop seeing it.

"What if Mason isn't mine?" The thought sliced through him.

He bit his lip, hard, as if the pain would chase it away, but it remained, lodged like glass in his chest. He thought back to the early days of their marriage, when Noel's laughter had been his anchor, when her loyalty had felt unquestionable.

He remembered their vows, her steady gaze, the warmth in her voice. He remembered the way she had chosen him against her father's disapproval, how she had stood by him when his firm was just beginning, when money was tight and faith was all they had.

Would that woman betray him? Could she? Nick stared at her now, sleeping peacefully, unknowing of the storm brewing inside him. He wanted to reach out, to smooth the hair from her forehead, to remind himself she was his. But his hand hovered, then fell back against the sheets.

Because what if she wasn't entirely his?

The thought terrified him more than anything else.

He turned onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He thought of Mason's smile, so like his own, and yet, when he really looked, wasn't there something different about the eyes? Something in the shape of the jawline? Maybe he was imagining it. Maybe.

He thought of Noel's avoidance at the reunion and how quickly she had turned her gaze from Joe. Was it guilt? Or just a coincidence? He didn't know.

The clock ticked on. Midnight passed, then one a.m. Nick's body ached with exhaustion, but his mind would not quiet. His thoughts circled tighter and tighter until only one desperate conclusion remained. He needed proof. Proof that could silence the whispers in his head once and for all. Proof that would either confirm his darkest fear or free him from it.

His mind latched onto the idea with frightening clarity; a DNA test. It was drastic, invasive, even cruel, but it would tell him the truth. It would give him something solid to hold onto, instead of drowning in suspicion.

Nick's hand curled into a fist against the sheets. He felt sick, even considering it. What kind of husband secretly tested his own children? What kind of man doubted the woman who had given him everything?

And yet, what kind of man lived a lie?

The questions tore at him until his chest hurt. He closed his eyes, exhaling shakily. The decision had already been made, though he would not admit it aloud.

Tomorrow, he would find a way.

Noel shifted beside him, murmuring something soft in her sleep, her hand brushing his again. Nick froze, guilt tearing through him, but he did not pull away. He let her hand rest there, warm against his skin, even as the weight of his choice pressed heavier and heavier on his heart.

Because love, as perfect as it looked from the outside, could not silence doubt, and doubt, once planted, demanded answers.