“MOMMY… HE HIT ME AGAIN.” MY EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER CALLED ME SOBBING FROM MY EX-HUSBAND’S HOUSE
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Chapter 10 / 15
Chapter 10 - The Girl Who Once Called Adrian “Daddy” Became the Daughter He Chose to Raise as His OwnAdrian legally adopted Emma.
The court process took months.
Mark agreed.
Emma chose.
She wanted Adrian as her father.
She still loved Mark.
There was no competition.
There didn't need to be.
Adrian became her legal parent.
The day the papers were finalized, Emma hugged him.
“Now you're really Daddy.”
Adrian cried.
I did too.
He told her:
“I chose you before you chose me.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
He looked at me.
“I chose your mother too.”
I laughed.
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Gross.”
We laughed together.
It was ordinary.
May you like
Beautifully ordinary.
The kind of moment none of us thought we'd ever have.
Related Stories
Chapter 11 - Adrian Sold the Last Piece of His Criminal Empire So Our Children Would Never Grow Up Knowing Him as a KingAdrian sold the clubs.
Chapter 12 - The Foundation Built From the Black Ledger Helped the Same Kind of Children My Family Had Once UsedWe created a foundation.
Chapter 13 - I Returned to the House Where My Daughter Was Hurt and Realized I Was No Longer AfraidWe returned to Mark's old house.
Chapter 14 - The Man Who Had Once Asked Me to Choose Him Did Something I Never Expected—He Let Me Walk AwayAdrian proposed.
Chapter 15 - My Daughter Called the Mafia King “Daddy,” and I Finally Understood That the Man I Had Run From Was the One Who Had Been Waiting for Us to Come HomeOur wedding took place beside the lake.
