We Adopted a 3-Year-Old Boy – When My Husband Went to Bathe Him for the First Time, He Shouted, ‘We Must Return Him!’
After years of infertility, we adopted Sam — a sweet 3-year-old with ocean-blue eyes. But when my husband went to bathe him, he ran out yelling, “We must return him!” I didn’t understand until I saw the birthmark on Sam’s foot — identical to Mark’s.
We’d waited so long to become parents. I’d handled most of the adoption process while Mark buried himself in work. When I found Sam’s photo online, something in his eyes called to me. He was perfect. But the night we brought him home, everything changed.
Mark’s panic in the bathroom made no sense until I saw that familiar mark. My heart stopped. Later, when he refused a DNA test, I sent in samples myself. The results shattered me — Mark was Sam’s biological father.
He confessed through tears: a drunken one-night stand years earlier, around the time I was struggling with fertility treatments. His guilt and shame came flooding back the moment he saw Sam in the tub.
I filed for divorce the next day. The law confirmed what mattered most — I was Sam’s legal mother. Mark didn’t contest custody.
Years later, Sam has grown into a kind, bright young man. Mark stays distant, sending the occasional card. People ask if I regret it. I don’t. Sam may have been born from betrayal, but he’s the greatest gift I ever received — proof that love, not blood, makes a family.
