What would have happened if Annie did not make her confession?

When I read the book I wondered whether Annie's confession had more to do with easing her own conscience or if she thought it would be good/important for her husband to know about her "indiscretion." What do you think would have happened if Annie did not make her confession?

She and Jonathan would have gone on the same until Robbie's accident, but Annie's past would have caught up with her then because the fact that Jonathan was not Robbie's father would come to light.

I agree with Nancy H that Annie would have been forced to give some kind of explanation concerning Robbie's blood work after his accident.

I felt that Annie wanted to take her relationship with Jonathan to a new level and to be completely honest with him - and she was willing to lose him if that had been what happened. She had at least subconsciously carried the possibility of someone other than Jonathan being the father from the time they married.

Life might have continued as it was...Jonathan might have been spared at least one major blow, The hurt associated with her affair with Patrick in London. The issue of paternity would have come up eventually necessitating the truth be told about Malcolm. I believe she never entertained the question of Robbie's paternity. It took her a while to realize she might be pregnant. It was Jonathan who thought about pregnancy as a possibility.

If Annie had had a choice, I believe she never would have dealt with Robbie's paternity. Due to the accident she was forced to face the consequences of her actions. And then went to London and made another mistake. It must have at sometime crossed her mind that Jonathan might not be Robbie's father.
Her memories can be very selective. I really don't know that her marriage would have continued "happily ever after", she seemed bound to self-destruct.

I agree with Reene that Annie would not have faced the question of Robbie's paternity if the accident had not happened. Jonathan was a good father.

I don't think the confession about sleeping with Patrick mattered. That was for the reader so that the bigger issue of the parentage didn't come up until later. After the accident, the issue of Jonathan not being the father would have still come out. That was the real issue, not the indiscretion with Patrick.