strange, almost too emotional. Later that night, I overheard Carly and Mark talking, and finally, the truth came out: Bella wasn’t Mark’s daughter. She was Carly’s. At 18, Carly wasn’t ready to raise a child, so Mark stepped in to raise Bella as his own.

I was stunned — not because of Bella’s parentage, but because Mark had kept this secret for 12 years. I had carried guilt, wondering if I’d been the other woman, while all along, I’d been the only mother Bella truly knew.