She brought it up gently at dinner. “Amira, how would you feel about Dad adopting you?”
Amira blinked, like the question confused her.
She said yes immediately.
Then came paperwork, interviews, background checks — all these forms trying to turn ten years of love into bureaucratic boxes.
The problem? Jamal fought it. Hard. He claimed we were “taking” his daughter, even though he’d barely been present for half her life.
The case dragged on for months. I had to sit in a courtroom explaining our relationship while Amira had to talk to a child advocate like she was narrating her life story to strangers.
Eventually the judge asked to speak with her.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” she asked.
Amira didn’t pause. “I want Josh to be my real dad. He already is. He’s the one who stayed.”
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