I met Mark when I was 24. He was older, kind, and already a father to a baby girl, Bella. Mark said his past relationship ended badly, and I never questioned it. I fell in love with him and with Bella, raising her as if she were my own. When our son, Jake, was born a year later, I promised to love both children equally. And I did. But I noticed that Mark treated Jake with a warmth he never gave Bella.
He wasn’t cruel — just distant, like he didn’t fully know how to be her father. Years later, Mark’s sister, Carly, returned after a long absence. The moment she saw Bella, her reaction felt…
