"Ella, you know your father didn’t mean that. He’s just feeling resentful right now,” I pleaded, desperately trying to comfort her. “Cassie had suffered all those years she was out there and he’s struggling to adjust. However, he… he’ll come around! He ... he ....”
My words faltered, I was not sure how to comfort Ella. The room fell silent, except for the sound of Ella's quiet broken sobs,
"Ella, don’t get so upset. I’ll talk to your father again. He doesn’t truly want to abandon you. You’re still our beloved daughter, no matter what! Even with Cassie back, we’ll treat you both equally.”
I reached out and gently patted the mound of blankets that was hiding Ella. Tears slipped from my eyes and I tried to blink them away.
"Do you mean it, Mom?" came her muffled, trembling voice. She slowly stretched a hand from beneath the covers, tentatively reaching for me.
“Yes, I do!” I couldn’t hold back anymore. My tears burst forth, flowing like a river as I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a fierce embrace. We clung to each other, sobbing together, our pain and love entangled.
No matter what, feelings that had been forged over eighteen years did not disappear just like that. I couldn’t let her go and I knew she couldn’t let me go, either.
I believed deep inside his heart, that Simon could not sever ties with Ella so easily.
When I finally left the hospital, I did my best to calm myself before returning home.
There was no one in the mansion, so I climbed up the stairs alone. As I passed Cassie's room, I stopped, then slowly turned and gently pushed the door open.
Simon had taken Cassie out to play early in the morning. Looked like he was trying a great lengths to make up for the eighteen years he had missed with his lost daughter.
I gazed around the room, taking in the endless display of expensive clothes, jewelry, rare designer bags and the fairytale-like décor fit for a princess. A strange feeling flickered inside me.
It seemed I, as her mother, still fell short. I often talked about treating both of our daughters equally, but everything in Cassie’s room had been personally arranged by her father. It made me look like an inattentive parent.
I silently reflected on this, then gently closed the door and turned to head a short distance down the hall to Ella's room.