When Anthony tells Shayla why I think Kai isn't my son.😱

Scene: A quiet park in the late afternoon.

Leaves rustle. Shayla sits on a bench, tense. Anthony stands nearby, avoiding eye contact.

Shayla:
Anthony, you said we needed to talk. So talk. What’s going on?

Anthony:
(quietly)
Yeah. I’ve been holding this in for too long, and honestly… it’s eating me alive.

Shayla:
(raising her eyebrows)
You're scaring me. Just say it.

Anthony:
(looking at her finally)
I don’t think Kai is my son.

Shayla:
(confused)
What? Anthony, what the hell are you talking about?

Anthony:
I’ve done everything I can to push the thought away. To ignore it. To convince myself I was being paranoid. But the signs are there, Shayla. They're everywhere.

Shayla:
(scoffs)
Signs? This isn’t some detective show. He’s your son, Anthony. I was with you.

Anthony:
Were you though? The timeline doesn’t make sense. You and I had that huge fight and didn’t speak for nearly three weeks. You told me you went to stay with your cousin in Atlanta. But suddenly, two months later, you show up pregnant?

Shayla:
(sits up straighter, defensive)
Yes. I told you that already. Why are you bringing this up now?

Anthony:
Because I saw the texts, Shayla. From that guy—Devon. You told me you two were just friends. But those messages? They didn’t sound like friendship.

Shayla:
You went through my phone?

Anthony:
No—I didn’t have to. You left it on the couch. It lit up. I wasn’t even trying to snoop. But I saw enough. And the way Kai looks nothing like me... the questions just kept piling up.

Shayla:
That’s ridiculous. You’re reaching.

Anthony:
Am I? His blood type doesn’t match mine or yours. He’s AB. I’m O. You’re A. That shouldn’t even be possible.

Shayla:
(starts to panic slightly)
That’s... I don’t even know how that works, Anthony, I’m not a scientist.

Anthony:
I looked it up. I went to a lab, Shayla. I even asked them hypothetically. They said it’s biologically impossible unless there’s another father.

Shayla:
(silent)

Anthony:
I gave that boy my name. My home. My love. I’ve raised him like he’s mine because I believed he was. But now? Now I don’t even know who I am to him.

Shayla:
(tears starting to form)
I didn’t mean for it to happen like this...

Anthony:
So it did happen? You were with someone else?

Shayla:
(softly)
That night… during the break. I was drunk. I was hurt. I made a mistake. But I came back to you. I chose you. You stepped up, Anthony. And I knew you’d be an amazing father. I thought… I thought we could just move forward.

Anthony:
You lied to me. For five years. Do you understand what that does to a person?

Shayla:
He knows you as his dad. He loves you. And you love him too—don’t act like you don’t.

Anthony:
Of course I love him! That’s what makes this so hard. But love doesn’t erase betrayal. It doesn’t erase the fact that you robbed me of a choice. I deserved to know the truth from the beginning.

Shayla:
(sobbing now)
I was scared. I didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t want Kai to grow up without you.

Anthony:
Maybe I could’ve forgiven you if you'd just been honest. But now? I don’t know what to believe. About anything.

Shayla:
What are you saying?

Anthony:
(sighs, looking away)
I need time. Away from you. Maybe even from Kai. Not because I don’t love him. But because I don’t even know who I am in this mess anymore.

Shayla:
(pleading)
Please don’t do this. Don’t walk away from him. He needs you.

Anthony:
And I needed the truth.

(He turns and walks away slowly, leaving Shayla on the bench, crying silently as the wind blows through the trees.)