When Grace Moseley, 35, discovered her husband had a teenage daughter, she supported their relationship. But she never imagined who her stepdaughter would turn out to be…
Staring at the sparkling diamond on my finger, I smiled. I was so happy to be engaged to Oktay, 44. We’d met five years earlier when I drunkenly stumbled out of my flat one night and with some Dutch courage, invited him in for a drink. It went really well, and now I was excited to be his wife.
Then one day, two years into married life, Oktay sat me down. He looked serious. “I’ve just found out that I have a daughter,” he revealed. I was stunned as Oktay explained that he’d had a one-night stand years ago and had never heard from the woman ever again, but their daughter, now 18, had just got in touch with him. Although it was a lot to take in, I reassured Oktay that I was OK with the news and if he wanted to have a relationship with his daughter, I’d support him.
A few days later, he went to meet his daughter, and when he returned home with a smile like a Cheshire cat, I knew it had gone well. “Sabrina’s beautiful, Grace,” he said. “I really can’t believe I’m her dad.” I was so happy for him and vowed to do whatever I could to support their relationship. A few months later, he arranged for the three of us to meet up at a coffee shop. Waiting in the café, I was a bag of nerves, when suddenly, a stunning young woman came bounding over to our table. “Hi, Dad,” she said, wrapping her arms around Oktay. As she sat down opposite me,
I took her in. I couldn’t see much family resemblance, but reasoned she must have looked like her mum. Sabrina and Oktay chatted away and she struggled to look me in the eye, but I put it down to nerves. I felt a bit of a spare part and I didn’t want to get in their way, so decided to head off. But first, I invited her over for Sunday lunch the following week. She looked at Oktay before reluctantly agreeing.
Over the next few days, I busied myself buying all the ingredients, but when it came to Sunday, Sabrina cancelled last minute. After that, any time I made plans with her, she cancelled. But her and Oktay continued to spend lots of time together and anytime she asked to see him, he’d jump off the sofa and rush to her. I thought he was just excited that his relationship with his daughter was blossoming.
He showered her with gifts and told me he wanted to arrange a holiday to Turkey to visit his family. I thought going abroad with Sabrina would give us time to really bond, but then Oktay dropped a bombshell. “I was just planning on taking Sabrina,” he said, awkwardly. He said he wanted to spend some quality w
