But none of that mattered.
All I could think about was those girls. I wanted to protect them—for Charlotte, and for the love I still carried for her.
I had never married or had children before, so their concerns weren’t entirely wrong. And honestly, raising nine girls was far from easy.
In the beginning, the girls were distant and afraid. They didn’t trust me. Even the social workers had their doubts.
But day by day, I proved I was worthy of being their father.
I sold anything I could to get by. Thankfully, I already had a home and some savings. I worked double shifts until my hands were raw. At night, I stayed up learning how to braid hair from YouTube videos.
Slowly, things began to change. They started opening up. Eventually, the adoption became official.
Over time, I stopped thinking of them as anything other than my daughters. I loved them more than anything, and I did everything I could to give them a happy life.
Years passed. They grew up. But we remained close.
