A Secret Revealed on My Wedding Day: My Wife Had a Daughter!
“James, I didnt want to tell you this on your wedding day… but did you know your new wife has a child?” My colleagues words pinned me to my seat.
“What are you talking about?” I refused to believe it.
“My wife saw your Emily at the ceremony and whispered to me, ‘Isnt it odd? Does the groom know his bride has a daughter growing up in an orphanage?'”
“Can you imagine, James? I nearly choked on my salad. My wife swears she personally treated the girls abandonment. Shes a midwife at St. Marys. She recognised Emily by the birthmark on her neck. Said she named the girl Charlotte and gave her own surname. Mustve been five years ago.” He watched my reaction keenly.
I froze behind the wheel. What a bombshell!
I decided to uncover the truth myself. I couldnt accept such a tale. I knew Emily wasnt some young girlshe was thirty-two when we married. Shed had a life before me. But why abandon her own child? How could she live with that?
Thanks to my connections, I soon found the orphanage where Charlotte lived.
The headmaster introduced me to a bright-eyed girl with a radiant smile.
“This is our Charlotte Whitmore,” he said gently. “Tell the gentleman how old you are, love.”
Her pronounced squint was impossible to miss. My heart ached. I felt an instant bond. After all, this little girl was my beloved wifes daughter! My grandmother used to say,
“A child, though flawed, is a treasure to their parents.”
Charlotte bravely stepped forward.
“Im four. Are you my daddy?”
I faltered. How could I answer a child who saw a father in every man?
“Charlotte, lets talk for a moment. Would you like to have a mummy and daddy?” A foolish question, but I already longed to sweep her into my arms.
“Yes! Will you take me?” She studied me intently.
“Ill come for you soon. Will you wait, darling?” My eyes stung.
“Ill wait. Promise you wont lie?”
“I promise.” I kissed her cheek.
At home, I confronted Emily.
“Whatever happened before me doesnt matter, but we must take Charlotte. Ill adopt her.”
“And you ask my opinion? Do I want this child? And she squints!” Emily snapped.
“Shes your own daughter! Well fix her eyes. Shes wonderfulyoull adore her!” Her reaction stunned me.
Convincing Emily to adopt Charlotte took months.
We waited a year before bringing her home. I visited often. Charlotte and I grew close. Emily, however, resisted fiercely. Halfway through, she tried stopping the adoption. I pressed on.
Finally, Charlotte crossed我们的门槛. Simple things filled her with wonder. Soon, specialists corrected her squintno surgery needed.
She became Emilys mirror image. My heart swelled. Two beautiful women lit my life: my wife and daughter.
Yet, even a year later, Charlotte clung to a biscuit tin day and night. Fear of hunger lingered. It vexed Emily; it broke my heart.
I fought to unite us, but Emily never warmed to her. She loved only herself.
Rows and bitterness filled our daysall over Charlotte.
“Why did you bring this stray home? Shell never be normal!” Emily shrieked.
I loved her deeply, but my mother warned me:
“Son, its your choice, but I saw Emily with another man. Shes clever and slipperyshell trick you blind.”
Love blinds. But when Charlotte joined us, cracks appeared. Emilys indifference baffled me.
A friend once joked:
“Measure her with a tailors tape. Bust, waist, hips. Youll fall out of love.”
I tried it. Still loved her. Laughed at the absurdity.
Then Charlotte fell illfeverish, sniffling. She trailed Emily, clutching her doll, Lily. I was glad shed swapped biscuits for toys.
But today, Lily lay nakedCharlotte too weak to dress her. Emily yelled:
“Stop whining! Go to bed!”
When Charlotte kept crying, Emily snatched Lily, flung her out the window.
“Mummy, thats my Lily! Shell freeze!” Charlotte sobbed, running to the door.
I raced down eight flights (lift broken). Lily dangled from a branch. Snow “tears” melted on her rubber face. Climbing back, I aged ten years.
Emily sat reading, indifferent. In that moment, my love vanished. She was just a pretty shell.
We divorced. Charlotte stayed with me; Emily didnt object.
Later, she sneered:
“You were just a stepping stone, James.”
“Ah, Emily. Emeralds for eyes, but your souls soot-black.”
She remarried a wealthy businessman.
“Poor bloke. That woman should never be a mother,” Mum said.
Charlotte grieved at first. But my new wife, Eleanor, won her heart with boundless patience.
Twice her mother had抛弃 her. Unthinkable.
Now Eleanor dotes on Charlotte and our son, Oliver.
