I kept eye contact with Jerome as he waited for my response. My face must look shocked right now as I didn’t expect Jerome to just ask me if Monty is his son just like that.
Jerome: “Answer me, Valerie. Is Monty my son?”
Jerome must have figured it out based on his age and how much they look like each other. There’s no point in denying it, so I decided to just come clean and say, “Yes. Monty is your son.”
Jerome turned around and put his arms on his waist. I stopped what I was doing and waited for his reaction. It took a few minutes, and I can tell that Jerome is trying to calm himself before turning around to face me.
When he did, he’s teary-eyed and I could see how hurt he was.
Jerome: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Valerie: “I didn’t know. I was already in the US and married to Manuel
