Chapter 3

"See? It's right there in black and white! How could there be a mistake?"

Cole beamed, looking happier than if it were his own kid. "Stop overthinking, Jason! The boy looks like your clone, the blood type matched, and now DNA confirms it. What doubt could there possibly be?"

"I told you, he isn't my son. He *can't* be!"

My expression turned deadly serious as I reiterated the facts etched into my mind: "Lily and I met on a blind date. We married two weeks later."

"Days before the wedding, she told me straight to my face that she was three months pregnant."

"The timeline proved it. Seven months after the wedding, Leo was born."

"I told everyone he was premature, but he was full-term!"

Cole's jaw dropped. His eyes glazed over.

His brain was frying faster than mine.

After several minutes of stunned silence, he asked weakly, "Jason... are you sure you didn't know her before?"

"Are you suggesting I hooked up with her before the blind date, knocked her up, and forgot?"

I glared at him. "Would *you* fail to recognize a girl you slept with just three months later?"

I stood up abruptly. "The lab screwed up. I'm getting another test."

"Wait, hold on..."

Cole grabbed my arm. "Jason, hear me out. Don't get mad, okay?"

"Could the issue be somewhere else?"

"Think about it. The boy looks just like you, has your rare Rh-negative blood, and you watched them seal the samples with your own eyes."

"A lab error is practically impossible."

"And since you're positive she was pregnant before you met... is there any chance... could the boy belong to your brother?"

I understood his logic.

Except that was biologically impossible—an uncle's DNA wouldn't show a 99.99% direct paternal match.

More importantly: I didn't have a brother.

I shot him a deadpan look. "I only have an older sister."

"Oh. No brothers, huh?"

Cole paused, then trailed off, "Then... what about your dad?"

He didn't dare finish the sentence because it was too insulting.

I saw right through it and snapped, "My dad passed away eight years ago."

"Sorry, man! I didn't mean it like that!"

Caught red-handed, Cole blushed red and waved his hands frantically.

Then, he scratched his head. "Well, if that's off the table, there's only one explanation left."

"Have you heard of the multiverse theory? Parallel dimensions?"

"If you're sure Leo isn't yours, maybe an alternate version of you from another universe used advanced sci-fi tech to cross dimensions and knock up your wife..."

Was this guy out of his mind?

Or had he read way too much trash web fiction?

I stared at him in utter disbelief.

A group of four customers sitting ten feet away couldn't take it anymore. They grabbed their plates and moved across the room, glancing at us like we belonged in a psych ward...