Dante’s POV

I sat in Marcus’s office with my head in my hands.

"You need to tell her," Marcus said, his voice was calm but firm. "You need to tell Ariana about Alan."

I looked up at him. "You don’t understand."

"I understand perfectly. Your fourteen-year-old son, who is dying, and his twin brother, the only person who can save him, doesn’t even know he exists, nor does his mother." Marcus leaned forward. "You need to tell her Dante before it’s too late."

"Too late for what?" I stood up and began pacing. "Too late for Alan? Too late for Ariana to forgive me? Too late for me to fix any of this?"

"Yes. All of it."

I stopped. Looked at him. "Everything has been good for the past few years, everything has been smooth. Ariana and I are happy. The kids are happy we have a good life, a stable life, and if I suddenly drop this bomb on her... what if she leaves me? What if she never forgives me?"

"So you’d rather let Alan die?" Marcus’s voice was sharp. "You’d rather let your son die because you’re afraid your wife might get angry?"

"No! Of course not!" I ran my hand through my hair. "I’m trying to find another way. There has to be another way. Maybe the doctors can find another donor. Maybe—"

"There is no other way." Marcus stood up. He walked around his desk and stood in front of me. "The doctors have been clear. Alan needs a bone marrow transplant. His only match is his twin, and you know this, I know this. You’ve known this for months."

"I know." My voice was barely a whisper.

"So what are you waiting for? Every day you wait, Alan gets sicker. Every day you wait, his chances get worse. You are literally watching your son die while you worry about your marriage."

I grabbed his arm. "You don’t understand. If I tell Ariana, I lose her, her trust, and the kids’ home. The life we built.... She will never look at me the same way again. She will hate me."

Marcus pulled his arm away.

He looked at me with something that might have been pity or disappointment or even both.

"You’re scared," he said quietly. "I get it, you’re scared of losing Alan. You’re scared of losing Ariana. You’re scared of the consequences of your choices, but Dante, you made this choice fourteen years ago. You took that baby and let Ariana think he was dead. You’ve been lying to her every single day since. The consequences are here, and you can’t run from them anymore."

"I know." I sat back down, putting my head in my hands again. "I know I can’t run, but Marcus... what if she leaves me? What if she takes Asher, Leo, and the girls and never lets me see them again? What if Alan dies anyway, and I lose everyone? What if—"

"What if she doesn’t leave?" Marcus interrupted. "What if she forgives you? What if she wants to help? What if she meets Alan and loves him like? What if you get your family back, all of them together?"

I looked up at him. "You think that could happen?"

"I think you’ll never know unless you try." He sat down across from me. "Dante, listen to me. You’ve been carrying this secret for fourteen years. Don’t you think it’s time to stop? Don’t you think it’s time to tell the truth?"

My chest was tight. "I’m terrified, Marcus. I’m terrified of losing Alan, I’m terrified of losing Ariana, I’m terrified of what happens after I tell her."

"You should be terrified, but you know what’s more terrifying? Letting Alan die without ever knowing his mother. Letting Ariana find out the truth after it’s too late to save him."

I looked at him. "She’ll never forgive me."

"You need to be a father right now," Marcus continued. "Alan needs you to do whatever it takes to save his life. Even if it means losing everything else."

"You don’t know that."

"I know Ariana, I know what she did for her family when everything fell apart. I know how she fought for you, for your kids, for your marriage. She is strong, Dante, stronger than you give her credit for, and when she finds out the truth, she will be angry, hurt, but she will also want to save her son."

I looked at him. "I don’t know, man."

"I do." He squeezed my shoulder. "But you have to tell her as soon as possible....You can’t keep doing this, Dante. You can’t keep pretending."

I took a deep breath. Let it out slowly. "What if she leaves me?"

"Then she leaves you, but at least you’ll know you did the right thing. At least you’ll know you tried to save your son."

"I’ll tell her," I said, my voice steady now.

Marcus nodded. "Good. That’s the right choice."

I nodded. "Okay. Okay."

I pulled out my phone. "And if she hates me?"

"Then she hates you, but at least she’ll know. At least Alan will have a chance. At least you’ll have done the right thing."

I took a deep breath.

I pressed call.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Ariana answered. "Dante? What’s wrong?"

Her voice was soft.

Worried.

She always knew when something was wrong.

She always could tell.

I closed my eyes. "Arianw, we need to talk. Where are you?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Dante, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?"

I looked at Marcus he nodded.

"Just tell me," I said. "I’ll explain everything when I see you."

Another pause. Then, "I’m on my way home."

"Okay, let’s meet at home then."

She hung up.