"Don't call her Auntie Sarah," my husband interrupted. "She’s your mother and I’m your father. You're ours. Just call her, Mom."
His eyes were also in tears as he lovingly grabbed Cassie's hand and mine, then held our hands together. He said, "Cassie, from now on, you’re the true daughter of the Barnes Family. Our most cherished child!”
Simon's declaration brimmed with fervor, as though he couldn’t wait to bestow everything the Barnes Family had upon Cassie.
As I watched my husband and biological daughter before me, a pang of dissatisfaction twisted in my chest. I kept my mouth shut until the housekeeper had guided Cassie upstairs. At that moment, I pulled Simon aside and berated him with a hushed voice, “What do you mean by saying Cassie is our ‘real’ daughter and the one we’ll love the most? What about Ella? Even if she’s not our biological child, we’ve raised her for eighteen years. Are you just going to cast her aside?”