My Brother’s Big Secret

Gasps echoed. A few scattered claps followed, but mostly confusion—none of us had ever met anyone he’d been dating. Not once. My cousin Tara muttered, “Is he serious?” The idea of him marrying someone we didn’t even know existed felt surreal.

The New Additions

He gestured toward the house. “Here she is.”

A woman stepped out wearing a soft yellow dress, holding a toddler who looked about eighteen months old. She stopped beside my brother, who immediately took the child, kissed her cheek, and introduced them. “This is Lila,” he said. “And this little guy is Mason.”

Silence. Total silence.

My mom finally spoke, slow and stunned: “You have a child?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

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