After the DNA test results came back, Bear’s world was turned upside down. He had always believed, without question, that Liam Payne was his biological father. But now, the test results proved otherwise. The revelation left him reeling, struggling to come to terms with the fact that his entire life had been built on a lie. The first wave of disbelief washed over him, quickly followed by a cascade of emotions—anger, confusion, and betrayal. How could Cheryl, his mom, have kept this from him all these years?
Bear sat quietly, holding the letter with the test results in his hands. He could feel the weight of the moment pressing on him. He had always been close to Cheryl, and yet, this was something she had kept hidden from him for so long. It wasn’t just the absence of Liam that haunted him; it was the secret, the knowing that something this big had been kept from him his whole life. His mind raced with questions, but the most important one of all stood out: who was his real father?
Unable to process the turmoil alone, Bear turned to Cheryl. He needed answers, and he needed them now. “Mom,” he said, his voice unsteady. “I need you to tell me who my real dad is. The test says Liam isn’t my father. So, who is?” His words hung heavy in the air, a mix of hurt and desperation. Cheryl, looking down at the floor, hesitated. She knew the day would come when she’d have to explain everything, but she had hoped it would never be this soon. She had always intended to tell Bear the truth when the time was right, but now, the truth had come crashing down on them both.
Cheryl sighed deeply, as if the weight of the years had finally caught up with her. She sat next to Bear, her face a mask of sorrow and regret. “Bear, your real father… I’ve been avoiding this conversation because I didn’t know how to explain it to you. It’s complicated.” Her voice cracked, and she reached out to gently take his hand. “I never meant to deceive you, but I never wanted you to feel any less loved, or like you didn’t belong. I wanted you to have a father in Liam, even if the biological part wasn’t true.”
Bear stared at his mother, his eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and hurt. “So, who is it? Who’s my father?” he asked, his voice almost a whisper now, as though he feared the answer. Cheryl looked into his eyes, feeling the weight of the moment. “His name is someone from my past… a man I once loved, but we lost touch years ago. I thought it would be too complicated for you to understand when you were younger, so I kept it from you. But the truth is, you are his son, and always have been.”
The room fell silent as Bear absorbed this new reality. The ground beneath him seemed to shift, and for a moment, he didn’t know who to be angry at—his mom for hiding the truth, or the man who had never been there. His feelings were a jumble of confusion, resentment, and a strange longing to know more about the man who was his biological father. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Bear asked quietly. His voice trembled, but there was a sense of raw honesty in his question. “Why did you let me believe in something that wasn’t real?”
Cheryl wiped away a tear and looked at Bear with a mixture of pain and love. “I thought I was protecting you, Bear. I didn’t want you to feel abandoned or rejected. I didn’t want you to grow up feeling different. And when you and Liam grew so close, I thought it was too late to change anything. But now I see I should’ve told you the truth, and I’m so sorry for keeping this from you.” She paused, her voice trembling as she added, “I understand if you’re angry. I only wanted what was best for you, even if I went about it the wrong way.”
Bear’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions, but one thing was clear: the truth, no matter how painful, was now his to bear. He still loved Cheryl, but he couldn’t help but feel betrayed by the years of silence. Still, a part of him understood why she had kept the secret, even if he couldn’t fully accept it yet. There was one thing that was undeniable: Bear was determined to find out who his biological father was. He had a right to know the truth, and now, that journey had onl
y just begun.
