Chapter 189
Two days passed quickly, and today is once again Nathan's annual birthday. This year's birthday is particularly special because it's Nathan's first birthday after recovering from a serious illness, marking a new beginning. In the past, Katniss and I would take Olivia and Simon to the island to celebrate Nathan's birthday, but this year I wanted Nathan and Jennifer to come back to the city to celebrate. The city has better facilities, and Nathan and Jennifer haven't been back since getting sick. Staying at home for a few more days this time will also allow Nathan to adjust his mood, especially since he has been feeling down since his testicular surgery. It would be hard for any man to accept.
Today is a special day and a rare family gathering. As the head of the family, I decided to take the day off. I delegated my work to my subordinates in the morning and planned to go straight home after finishing work at noon. Nathan and Jennifer would arrive later in the evening with the food and ingredients they prepared. Katniss and Jennifer would be in charge of cooking. Katniss couldn't take the day off today due to her busy work schedule, so she had to wait until four o'clock when she finished work to pick up Olivia from kindergarten and then come home.
So, for the afternoon, I was alone at home, which gave me the opportunity to take a nap. I've been feeling stressed lately and haven't been sleeping well, but I finally figured things out and confirmed through video surveillance. This brought me a lot of relief.
Today is also the day when the results of the paternity test will be released. As I sat in the car, I pondered whether it was necessary to pick up the results. Honestly, I felt like there was no need to see the results. I was confident in my feelings and the investigations of the past few days. But upon further thought, I decided to pick them up. After all, I had spent over $2000 on it, and now that the results were out, it wouldn't make sense not to pick them up and leave them in someone else's hands. With a sigh, I drove to LabCorp, put on my hat and mask before entering, and retrieved the sealed test results in a file bag. The bag was tightly sealed, with a label bearing the official seal at the closure. I placed the file bag on the front passenger seat and drove back home. When I arrived home, it was just as I had expected - empty. I held the file bag, looked around at the familiar surroundings, and smelled the familiar scents of home. I placed the file bag on the computer desk next to the bed and then lay down on the bed, drifting off to sleep.
I had been really tired these days, and soon I fell into a deep sleep. In my dream, I saw a scene on a small island surrounded by green grass, with a gentle breeze blowing and the grass and leaves swaying in the wind. I felt like a wandering soul drifting with the wind, slowly appreciating the beauty of the island. After drifting for a while, I saw a familiar sight - a house. But why did everything on the island and this house seem so familiar? In my dream, I tried to recall why this house on the island seemed so familiar. Wasn't this Nathan's house? It took me a while to realize that.
It was already midnight in the dream. I looked through a window into a bedroom and, as if I had X-ray vision, I saw a person lying on the bed. The face looked so familiar - upon closer inspection, I realized it was me lying on the bed. What was this scene? Why was I the only one sleeping in the guest room at Nathan's house? How did I not remember this happening?
My gaze shifted from the guest room back to Nathan's master bedroom. As I looked through the glass, I was shocked by what I saw. A woman wearing only a bra was naked from the waist down, straddling a man lying limp on the bed. He seemed to be deeply asleep, with a flushed face, whether from desire or drunkenness, I couldn't tell. The man was in pajamas, his upper body fully clothed, but his pajama pants and underwear were pulled down to his knees. His erect penis, covered in pubic hair, was thrusting in and out of the woman's vagina, with fluids and water spurting out continuously. The woman clenched her lower lip, her face flushed, moaning with closed eyes. She had tossed her underwear aside, with a coat on top. The woman was actively riding on the man, their bodies making slight collisions at the point of union, in the classic woman-on-top position, and she was the one in control. How could this scene be so familiar? My dream-self was slow to process the identities of the man and the woman. Wait, I saw it clearly now - the naked woman riding on the man was my beloved wife, Katniss, and the man beneath her was my father. What was happening? Can someone tell me what's going on?
On the familiar island, in Nathan's bedroom, Katniss and Nathan were having sex in the woman-on-top position, while I, as the husband, was sound asleep in the guest room, completely unaware of the situation. Why was I unaware of this scene? Was it all just a dream, or did it really happen?
Unable to bear watching any longer, I couldn't help but let out a roar from outside Nathan's window upon witnessing their lovemaking. I was furious to see them engaged in such an act while I was left alone in the guest room. However, my shouts seemed to go unheard, and they continued their passionate encounter as if in a trance, oblivious to my presence.
As my thoughts slowly became clearer and my consciousness returned, I heard myself shouting, "Stop, don't," repeatedly before I opened my eyes. I was shouting and pounding on the bed beneath me, feeling the sweat on my forehead. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up abruptly, drenched in sweat. My fists were clenched tightly, pressing down on the bed, and I realized I had been shouting for a while, or perhaps I had just sweated excessively. My mouth felt dry, and as my consciousness gradually returned, I looked around the familiar bedroom, checking the time on the wall. I took a deep breath, realizing it was all just a dream. I glanced at the clock and saw that I had slept for over two hours since noon, and it was almost three in the afternoon.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand and slowly got out of bed. The dream had been terrifying, leaving me feeling tense and weak. I went to the kitchen, drank two glasses of water, feeling disoriented. I returned to the bedroom in a daze and sat on the computer chair. The vividness of the dream made it hard to calm down, and the sense of unease and suspicion returned, despite my attempts to reassure myself with familiar phrases.
Wait, wasn't this the night of Nathan's birthday over three years ago? The season on the island in the dream, just the three of us, Jennifer was away in her hometown, the clothes I wore in the dream, and Katniss's familiar coat - all from Nathan's birthday when we wore them. If this dream was not real but the opposite, why were the clothes so real, down to every detail? Was it a warning from a higher power?
Shaking my head to stop the intrusive thoughts, I tried to focus on the fact that it was only a short thirteen minutes that day. I was awake and aware of the time, so how could it be possible? If it were Katniss and I making love, those thirteen minutes might barely be enough. But with Nathan? Thirteen minutes? No, it didn't add up. Despite all the evidence, it was impossible. I tried to convince myself that I was just scaring myself, but deep down, I couldn't shake off the unease.
With over an hour left until Katniss returned with Olivia, I decided to distract myself by smoking a cigarette in the master bedroom, taking advantage of Katniss's absence to relax.
The pack of cigarettes was on the computer desk, next to the file bag. As I reached for the cigarette pack, my hand inexplicably turned towards the file bag instead. Before going to bed, I had been relatively calm when facing the file bag. But after the dream, my hand trembled as I opened the file bag, tearing off the label from the testing agency and pulling out the paternity test report and results. The first report was Simon's, and as I glanced at it, I smiled - it confirmed what I already knew, that Simon was my biological son. The tension I had been feeling eased a bit.
Setting aside Simon's report, I moved on to Olivia's report. Initially feeling relaxed from Simon's results, I scanned Olivia's report. However, after a quick glance, I quickly looked back and then stared intently at Olivia's report. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't trust the results on the report, nor could I believe what was happening. The signature of the expert and the LabCorp logo at the end of the report indicated the legal implications and responsibilities associated with the report.
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