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A DNA test destroyed my marriage

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Me and my wife were both foster kids. We bounced around a lot, and we both struggled to plant our feet firmly on the ground when adulthood started.

I think that may be the reason we were drawn to each other. We understood each other’s struggle.

I met her at a fast food joint I worked at, and it was honestly like a fairy tale. I noticed that she would only come in when she knew I was working, and eventually I worked up the courage to offer more conversation than, “How may I take your order?”

We began flirting, and over the course of a few weeks, I think we sort of just… fell for each other. I saw something in her that I’m pretty sure she saw in me too. We were like matching puzzle pieces.

Her coming into that restaurant was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me.

She worked at a bowling alley across town, but when we began dating, we both kind of accelerated. It was like the thrill of finding each other drove us to strive to do better, not only for one another, but for ourselves.

I started putting money towards online college classes, and she did the same. We weren’t looking for doctorates or anything like that. Just a degree that could maybe springboard us into the next stage of our lives.

I ended up with an associate’s degree in business administration. She ended up with an associate’s degree in accounting.

It definitely wasn’t easy by any means, but we did it. We could take pride in our accomplishments. We could actually dream together.

She went from the bowling alley to a bookkeeper. I went from the fast food joint to a logistics coordinator at a shipping company.

We were building together. We spent a few years at an apartment, but as we grew and expanded, we were finally able to find a little place to call our own. Nothing too fancy. One story, three bedrooms, two baths. But it was ours. And that’s what mattered.

We got married soon after.

We wanted to have kids so badly. We wanted to provide a life that we never really had growing up. But no matter how hard we tried, we just never seemed to get lucky.

I think that’s what led us to the decision that ultimately collapsed the world around us.

We didn’t plan on anything coming out of what we did. We just thought it would be a fun little experiment.

We both sent in DNA samples to one of those websites you always see being advertised on late-night television. We just wanted to know where we came from.

We waited a few weeks.

Finally, the results came back.

I read them. My wife read them. And I don’t think it’s a wound that’s ever gonna heal.

Because what we found out in those test results… is that my wife is my sister.

We thought it was a mistake. Surely we would’ve known. We sent in test after test after test. Each one came back the same.

I guess my dad or mom, or whoever, couldn’t be bothered to keep us together. She’s a few years younger than me, so I guess we just… missed each other.

We didn’t come up together.

We didn’t even meet until our late teens.

I don’t know how to process this.

I don’t know what to do.

I can never stop loving her, no matter what, but I just… I don’t think we can be together anymore.

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