I understand that the situation is very complicated. Yes, perhaps I made a mistake. But right now I don’t want to hear condemnation, I want sound advice. I was married for nine years. Then my husband died and I was left alone with my 8 year old son. It was hard, because we had to learn how to live together.
A year later I met Michael. He seemed like a reliable man, so I let him into my house. He moved in with me. He treated my son well – I thought everything would work out in the best way for us.
A year into the relationship, my husband’s ex-wife showed up on my doorstep. We were already married, and they had been civilly married before that. She brought her daughter.
Michael was confused, because he didn’t even know he had a child. But when we saw the 3-year-old baby girl, we had no doubt in Melissa’s words – she was a copy of her father. Hair, eyes, expressive smile.
The ex said that she wanted to leave the baby with us until she settled the financial issues and found a new job. She had been promised a prestigious job in another country, but she could not leave everything and risk the child’s well-being. So she brought her daughter to us. Michael and I were confused, but we did not refuse.
The deal was for Melissa to come back for her daughter in a year. At first she wrote and called, and then she disappeared completely. It took a very long time for the girl to adapt. Also she strongly underdeveloped, so we had to work hard on the child and take her to doctors. However, soon everything went back to normal, and Alice got used to us.
I fell in love with this girl, too. I really replaced her mother. Alisa happens to be a capable and wise little girl. She quickly caught up with her peers in development and became a socialized person. We bought her a dog, because that’s what she dreamed of. In general, everything was going in the best way for us.
Alice is my ponytail. Where I go, she goes. She sings great and also does professional choreography. We never missed a single one of her concerts. The girl’s birth mother never remembered her. It was only five years later she showed up. Crumpled, tired, somehow unhealthy. She demanded that her daughter be returned to her. Only Alice didn’t want to come out to her mother. What could I do? Make the child?
My heart is tearing apart right now. I never thought I could love someone else’s child so much. My husband wants my daughter to live with us, but his ex is adamantly against it.
I am very worried that she will treat the child badly. What to do?
