The Comments Said She’d Replace My Daughter? Not on My Watch Chapter 02

The Comments Said She’d Replace My Daughter? Not on My Watch Chapter 02

In the living room, my daughter and I sat on one side. Tessa sat across from us.

I held my daughter’s hand tightly. “Nina, I want to change your name. You were never Sonny. Your name is Nina Hart, the name your late father chose for you. Do you like it?”

Her fingers curled slightly, but she pretended not to care. “Whatever. Up to you.”

Just then, Tessa sighed enviously. “I’m so happy to see Sonny finally find happiness.”

“Too bad I’ve never known what a family feels like.”

Marcus felt sorry seeing her so downcast.

“Mom, Tessa is Nina’s best friend and she looks pitiful. Why don’t we adopt her too?”

Tessa lifted her face and hurriedly pulled a college acceptance letter and two SAT score reports from her bag.

“Ma’am, I’ve already been admitted to Northbridge University. If the Hart family takes me in, I’ll

work hard and never embarrass the family.”

As she spread the papers across the table, two SAT scores caught my eye.

One was 1490.

The other was 810.

Tessa suddenly reached for one of them.

“Oh, that’s not mine. I grabbed the wrong one. Don’t look, Marcus.”

Too late.

Marcus had already seen it.

“An 810?”

He turned toward Nina in disbelief.

“Nina! Our family has always taken education seriously. Tessa got into Northbridge, and you scored an 810? You can’t even compare to her.”

Nina immediately bristled.

“So getting a high SAT score automatically makes her better than me?”

Tessa quickly stepped between them.

“Marcus, please don’t fight because of me. This is all my fault.”

Then she looked at me with watery eyes, only to realize I wasn’t paying attention to her at all.

I was studying Nina’s score report.

“Hey, look at this. You got a 440 in Math. That’s your best section!”

Nina shrugged.

“Probably got lucky on the multiple-choice questions.”

I smiled.

“Then you’re lucky. That’s a perfectly good talent to have. And you’re a Hart. One test score doesn’t decide your future.”

My daughter wasn’t used to being praised. Beneath the thick makeup, I caught a flicker of unease.

Tessa’s breathing grew heavy.

I shot Marcus a stern look. “Tessa has parents. Do you think she’s a stray cat you can just take in?”

Marcus awkwardly withdrew his hand.

“Tessa, thank you for coming with Nina. I’ll have a driver take you home later.”

Imagining returning to that shabby alley after leaving the Hart villa, Tessa’s eyes reddened and she dropped to her knees.

“Ma’am, my father drinks every day, and when he’s drunk he beats me. I really can’t go back.”

Marcus felt sorry for her, but he clenched his fists and held himself back from helping her up.

She wept so hard she knelt and bent all the way to the floor, begging me. “Ma’am, I just want a real family. A mother who loves her child the way you do. Please.”