Widower Gives up Business to Tend to Sick Son, Learns He’s Not His Kid at All – Story of the Day

Brandon gave up his booming business to tend to his sick son, only to find out that he wasn't his kid at all, and was actually the son of his rival in the industry.

Brandon and Peter were best friends and classmates who were fond of programming. Brandon came from a poor family and had to work hard to maintain a scholarship throughout his time at their high school. Meanwhile, Peter came from a rich family and had all the best technology and equipment to pursue his dream to own an IT business one day.

In their junior year, a new student named Julia joined their class as a transferee. Both Brandon and Peter were smitten, and they both tried to win the woman's heart.

Despite Peter's flashy gifts and proposals, Julia chose Brandon because she valued character over riches. Peter could not believe this, and he cut ties with both Julia and Brandon.

Julia was a beautiful woman, and everybody knew it. Everyone was in love with her, all the more when they entered college and she began to bloom not just as a beautiful face, but as a musician as well.

Brandon knew how lucky he was to be with her, as everyone wondered why she choose a geeky man like him despite all her wealthier and more good-looking suitors.

As time passed, Julia complained that Brandon spent little time with her. He was too focused on working on his IT business, hoping it would one day earn him and Julia a lot of money so they could live life as they pleased.

Once, Brandon told Julia that he'd be traveling to Silicon Valley in San Francisco to work on a project. He said he'd be away for three months, and she allowed him.

"Go and follow your dreams. I'll be right here when you return," she told him before he left for the airport. "I love you, Brandon. Keep in touch, okay? I'll miss you a lot," she said, giving him a tight hug.

"I will, I promise," Brandon replied before hailing a cab.

Day turned into weeks, and Brandon barely kept in touch with Julia. He would send her occasional text messages, and would not answer her calls. "What is wrong with him?" Julia would ask herself.

One day, after trying to call him more than five times on his cellphone, Julia had enough. She was frustrated and started to believe that Brandon was cheating on her.

Julia decided to call her friends for a night out in the city so she could get her mind off of things. While at one of the local pubs, she suddenly bumped into Peter.

"Julia?" Peter said, taking a good look at Julia's face to see if it was really her.

"Peter, hey! It's been so long. How have you been?" she asked, giving him a hug.

"I'm in town for a conference. I didn't know you still lived here," Peter replied. "Let's catch up if you're not busy. I'd love to know how things have been for you," he offered.

The night turned into morning, and Peter and Julia were still together. Julia's friends already said their goodbyes, but both of them were still talking.

A part of Julia wondered what it would have been like if she chose Peter over Brandon. Maybe I wouldn't have been this lonely, she thought to herself.

[Julia] was too ashamed to tell Brandon the truth, and she also didn't want to end what they had together. So, she kept her infidelity to herself.

Peter and Julia ended up at a hotel together, and they spent the day locked up in the room. It was only when Julia looked at her phone and saw six missed calls from Brandon did she decide it was finally time to head home.

Brandon was on the way back from Silicon Valley, and he said he wanted to talk. A part of Julia wanted to come clean to him, but a part of her also wanted to know what it was that he'd say.

So, when Brandon got home, she was wearing one of her favorite dresses and she prepared a home-cooked meal for them to enjoy that evening. "Hey, love," Brandon greeted her as soon as they got home. "I missed you so much."

"How was your trip? I was worried you somehow decided to leave me while you were there. You barely kept in touch and I was worried sick," Julia admitted.

"I'm sorry, honey. The company I was interning for gave me this really big project, and I'd work the night shift. I didn't want to wake you just to talk, so I'd just sneak in a message on days when I'd find myself awake in the morning. I missed you a lot," Brandon said, giving Julia another hug.

"I would have stayed up for you," Julia told him. "I wish I knew what you were up to," she sighed.

"But anyway, I'm here now, right?" Brandon smiled. "While we're at it, I wanted to give you the fruits of my hard work these past three months..." he said, getting down on one knee.

"Julia, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you please marry me?" he asked.

Julia gasped. She was too ashamed to tell Brandon the truth, and she also didn't want to end what they had together. So, she kept her infidelity to herself.

"Yes! Of course, I'll marry you," she said, crying. She wasn't crying tears of happiness, but tears of guilt and shame. She wanted to apologize to Brandon, who was crying tears of joy in front of her.

Julia and Brandon got married a couple of months later, choosing to have a simple ceremony at their local church. On their wedding day, Julia suddenly fainted.

A pregnancy test the following day showed that she was pregnant. Julia fell to the floor in tears, knowing for sure that the child was Peter's and not Brandon's.

She decided to give Peter a call, but he refused to take part in the child's life. "I'm an eligible bachelor, and you're married," he told her. "Having a child will ruin both our lives."

"What do you want me to do?" Julia asked helplessly.

"If you don't tell anyone that I'm the father, then I won't tell anyone we had a one-night stand," Peter offered. "It's a win-win for all."

Julia went through her pregnancy with Brandon by her side every step of the way. He was happy to become a father and worked extra hard so he could support his new family.

By the time Julia gave birth, it was discovered that their son, whom they named Steve, had Tourette Syndrome, which causes him to twitch uncontrollably. Julia was heartbroken by the diagnosis, but Brandon promised her that everything would be okay.

"Don't worry about it, honey," he assured her. "We'll do whatever it takes to get him the best treatment, I promise."

As Steve grew older, the more Julia and Brandon saw how intelligent and gifted he really was. He loved science and math, and they wanted him to hone his skills.

So, Steve was enrolled in the best schools and received the best treatment in the city. This became quite expensive for the family, but Brandon was willing to invest in his son's needs.

Unfortunately, Julia fell ill and also needed expensive treatment. Brandon drained his bank accounts to support both his wife and son, but to no avail.

A few months after her diagnosis, Julia passed away. "I'm sorry, Brandon," were her last words before she died.

Brandon wondered why his wife chose to apologize before she succumbed to her illness. Nonetheless, he didn't think much of it and promised to take care of their son.

In order to continue paying for his son's needs, Brandon decided to let go of his company. He offered to sell his business to his competitor, who was none other than his ex-best friend Peter.

When Peter and Brandon met face-to-face to discuss the sale of the company, Peter suddenly smirked. "You're pathetic," he told Brandon. "Are you sure you want to sell your company because of that child?" he asked.

"What do you mean? He's my son. I'd do anything for my son. You wouldn't understand because you have no family," Brandon shot at Peter.

Peter shook his head. "He's not your son. He's MY son," Peter said. "Go ahead and get a DNA test done and it'll prove what I'm saying to you."

Although he didn't want to believe Peter, Brandon's gut was telling him to get a DNA test done anyway. He did, and unfortunately, it revealed that he wasn't Steve's dad.

Brandon cried for an entire day when he saw the results. He was angry at Julia for fooling him, and at Peter for going after his then-girlfriend. However, despite these feelings of anger and betrayal, Brandon knew Steve wasn't at fault.

"You are my son, Steve. Nothing will ever change that," he said, hugging him.

"I love you, dad," Steve replied, giving his dad a kiss on the cheek.

Thanks to Brandon raising Steve, the boy ended up becoming a talented scientist. When he graduated from school, he worked hard to open a school for the gifted and earned a lot of money because of it.

After a couple of years, he was able to buy back his dad's company.

"How did you know?" Brandon asked.

"I came across your old diary and the deed of sale," Steve admitted. "You sacrificed so much for me, dad. Now, it's my turn to take care of you."

Brandon cried upon hearing this. He was glad that he chose not to let the past get in the way of his beautiful relationship with his son, Steve.

What can we learn from this story?

• Children should not pay for their parents' mistakes. Brandon was heartbroken upon learning that his late wife cheated on him with his rival and that his son wasn't actually his. However, he realized that this was not Brandon's fault, and he continued to love Steve with his whole heart.
• Family doesn't always mean blood. Brandon loved Steve dearly and knew that finding out he wasn't his biological child wasn't going to change anything.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a widower who worked three jobs to take his daughter home from a shelter, only to find out that she wasn't his child.

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