Simon and Claire finally have the family they always dreamed of… until Claire demands they give back their newly adopted daughter. As Claire’s love turns into resentment, Simon is faced with an impossible choice. But for him, there’s no question at all. Sophie is his daughter now. And he will fight for her, no matter the cost.
The first time I saw Sophie, she ran straight into my arms.
She was small, with big brown eyes and messy curls, smelling of baby shampoo and fresh grass. She clung to me as if she already knew, as if she had already decided she was mine.
Claire and I had fought for this moment. Years of failed pregnancies. Years of heartbreak. When we turned to adoption, the wait felt unbearable—months of paperwork, home visits, and interviews.
And now, we were finally here.
“Are you sure about this?” asked Karen, the social worker.
She watched us carefully from across the table, a thick file in front of her. Sophie, sitting on my lap, played with my wedding ring, humming softly to herself.
“Of course,” Claire said firmly. “She’s ours.”
Karen nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. I tried not to take it too seriously. Karen was probably used to families making big promises to these children, only to let them down later.
“I believe you mean well,” she said. “But adoption isn’t just about love. It’s about commitment. It’s forever. You’re bringing a child into your home who has had a rough start in life. Sophie will test you. She will push boundaries. She might even break things—not on purpose, of course, but she’s just a child. You need to be prepared for that.”
Claire reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
“We know,” Claire said.
Then she smiled at Sophie, who smiled back at her.
“She’s our perfect little angel.”
“Alright,” Karen hesitated. “Then congratulations, Claire and Simon! You are officially parents.”
Something shifted in my heart. This was the beginning of forever.
I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped through the front door.
It was quiet—too quiet—as if the house itself was holding its breath. Then, out of nowhere, Sophie threw herself at me, wrapping her tiny arms around my legs.
Her small voice trembled.
“I don’t want to go, Daddy,” she whispered.
I frowned, kneeling to meet her gaze.
“Go where, sweetheart?” I asked.
Her lower lip wobbled. Tears welled up in her big brown eyes.
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with you and Mommy.”
A chill ran down my spine. Where had she heard that? And why?
Sophie was too young for school—she spent her days at home with Claire. When Claire worked, Sophie played. When Claire had meetings to attend, my mother or hers would watch her.
Who had said what to my child?
“That won’t happen,” I promised her. “You’re home now, my love.”
That’s when Claire stepped into the hallway.
She wouldn’t look at me, her gaze fixed somewhere past my shoulder, arms crossed so tightly they looked painful. Her face was pale—almost blank. But her eyes? They weren’t blank. They were distant.
As if something had already shattered inside her.
“Simon, we need to talk,” she said.
“Why is Sophie saying she has to leave?” I shot back.
Claire’s jaw clenched.
“Send her to her room. Now, Simon.”
Sophie’s little fingers clung to my shirt, as if anchoring herself to me. I ran a hand over her back.
“Sweetheart, go play for a bit, okay? Go to your room. I’ll come get you soon, and we’ll have dinner together!”
She hesitated. I could feel her heart racing against mine.
Then, reluctantly, she nodded and walked down the hallway, glancing nervously between us before disappearing into her room.
The moment her door closed, Claire spoke.
“We need to give her back.”
“What?” I recoiled. “What did you just say?”
Claire’s arms tightened across her chest.
“I can’t do this anymore, Simon,” she whispered. “She… she’s ruining everything! My books, my files… my clothes… she even ruined my wedding dress!”
“What do you mean?” I frowned.
Claire exhaled sharply, running a hand over her face as if struggling to contain herself.
“I took it out earlier. I was feeling nostalgic, I guess… Sophie walked in while I was holding it, and she lit up, Simon. She said it was a princess dress and asked if she could touch it!”
My chest tightened at the thought of a little girl, full of wonder, staring at something so beautiful.
“That’s—”
“That’s not the problem,” Claire interrupted. “The problem is that she had paint all over her hands. I don’t even know how I didn’t see it. But the second she touched the fabric…”
Her voice broke into a sharp, humorless laugh.
“Bright blue handprints. All over the dress!”
“Claire, she didn’t do it to hurt you,” I sighed.
“You don’t know that, Simon!” Claire’s voice cracked. “You don’t see it! She’s manipulative. She wants me gone so she can have you all to herself.”
I stared at her.
“Do you even hear yourself right now?”
“You always wanted her more than I did.”
The words hit me like a slap.
I wanted this? Only me?
As if she hadn’t been the one pushing for adoption, swearing this was what she wanted too? As if she hadn’t cried tears of joy the day we met Sophie, promising her a forever home?
I stepped closer, searching her face for the woman I knew. The woman who had once held Sophie in her arms.
“You’re safe now. We love you so much,” she had said.
But now? Now all I saw was someone else. Someone who didn’t love our …daughter anymore. Someone who saw her as a mistake.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “Claire, listen to yourself. She’s a child. Our child. You can’t just return her like an unwanted gift.”
Claire’s eyes flashed with something raw—anger, desperation, maybe even guilt. “I can’t do this, Simon. I thought I could, but I can’t. She’s taking over everything. I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
I stared at her, my chest tightening. “Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re talking about abandoning a little girl who calls you ‘Mom.’”
Claire exhaled sharply, pressing her hands against her temples. “I never wanted this. Not like you did.”
Those words cut deeper than I could have imagined.
“Then why did you fight for her? Why did you promise her a home?” I demanded.
Tears filled Claire’s eyes. “Because I thought it would make me happy. I thought it would fix things.”
Fix things.
I took a step back, as if physically recoiling from the weight of her confession. Sophie wasn’t a solution to be tested and discarded. She was a little girl who had already been through too much.
And I had to protect her.
Claire must have seen the shift in my expression because she shook her head, her voice trembling. “Simon… I can’t be her mother. I’m sorry.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Then leave.”
She blinked, stunned. “What?”
I took a deep, steadying breath. “If you can’t love her, if you can’t be what she needs, then leave. But Sophie stays.”
Claire looked at me as if she didn’t recognize me anymore. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe I didn’t, either. But there was no hesitation in my heart.
Sophie was my daughter. And no matter what it cost me, I wasn’t going to let her go.
