He Made His Own Daughter Call Him Uncle

Charles Wilson and I had been secretly married for 5 years, but he never allowed our biological daughter to call him Dad in public. Every time Aria slipped up, he would crouch down in front of her and patiently correct her. "When the cameras are around, you have to call me Uncle Charles. Remember?" Then his widowed sister-in-law came back from overseas with her son, Liam. Charles took the two of them onto a family reality show and personally fastened the matching wristband, the one meant to represent the "Best Actor's Family," around Liam's wrist. "On the show, you can call me Dad." The day they filmed on the island, Liam shoved Aria, who couldn't swim, into the deep end of a pool right in front of Charles. Terrified, Aria thrashed in the water, screaming for her dad. But after Aria was finally pulled out, Charles stepped in front of Liam, shielding the boy who had pushed her. "Liam is the only child my brother left behind. Aria's fine now. Let's not make this into something bigger than it needs to be." I covered my daughter's eyes before she could look at him again, then dialed a number I hadn't called in 5 years. "Dad, I'll take the position as heir to the Stanford Group." If Charles wanted so badly to be someone else's father, then I would take Aria back to the home that had always truly belonged to us. ***** By the time the lifeguard pulled Aria out of the pool, her lips had already turned blue. I dropped to my knees beside her, patting her back again and again. She coughed up several mouthfuls of water before finally opening her eyes. The first word out of her mouth was still, "Daddy." Charles was standing barely a few feet away. Liam had both arms wrapped around his waist, sobbing so hard his entire face was wet with tears. "Uncle Charles, I didn't mean to do it. I just wanted her to play with me." Before filming started, the host had asked all the kids to run toward their dads. Aria forgot the rule we'd drilled into her and ran straight into Charles's arms with a huge smile. "Daddy!" The entire set fell silent for a second. Charles caught her by the shoulders, then gently pushed her back toward me. "Aria, you can't call people Daddy when you are filming." But from the other side, Liam came running over with the matching parent-child wristband the production team had made for him. "Dad, did we win?" Charles didn't correct him. Instead, he scooped Liam into his arms and smiled at the cameras. Aria stared down at her bare wrist. She didn't say another word for a long time. Just half an hour earlier, she had been sitting by the pool, waiting for him. Charles had promised that once they finished filming this episode, he would teach her how to swim. She had even brought a brand-new pair of pink goggles. The moment she saw her dad, she'd lifted them high over her head to show him. But then Liam said he was scared of the water. Charles immediately handed Aria off to me and crouched in the shallow end to teach Liam how to hold his breath underwater. Clutching her goggles, Aria asked, "Daddy, what about me?" Charles looked back at her with a smile. "Aria's my brave girl. Give Daddy 10 minutes, okay?" 10 minutes turned into half an hour. Aria sat alone by the pool, picking up the toys Liam had tossed aside. Then, in the next second, she fell into the deep end. I looked up. "You're lying. Right before you pushed her, you looked over your shoulder." Liam's crying stopped for a split second. Charles immediately stepped in front of him. "Fiona, take care of Aria first." "I am taking care of her," I said, staring straight at him. "You're the one protecting the kid who pushed her." Charles's expression darkened. He had seen everything. Liam had waited until Aria bent down to pick up a toy, then put both hands against her back and shoved her as hard as he could. The camera beside the pool was still recording, its red light glowing. I pointed at the cameraman. "Give me the footage. I'm calling the police." Once Aria could finally breathe properly again, the first thing she did was reach for Charles's hand. "Daddy, Liam pushed me." The second the words left her mouth, panic flashed across her face. She quickly corrected herself. "Uncle Charles, I wasn't running around. I promise." Something flickered in Charles's eyes. He had watched the whole thing happen. And yet he still said, "Don't talk about this in front of the cameras." Aria slowly let go of his hand. Charles followed my gaze toward the camera. For the first time, hesitation appeared on his face. Then Liam suddenly threw himself at Charles and wrapped his arms around him, wailing that the police were going to take him away. "Uncle Charles, I'll be good from now on. I swear. I'll never touch Aria again." Charles crouched down and wiped the tears from his face. "No one's going to take you away." The answer came far too quickly. As if he had completely forgotten that only moments ago, Aria had been crying for him from the bottom of the pool. Doris Halls suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me. "Fiona, this is my fault. I didn't raise Liam right. Blame me if you have to, but please don't call the police." Crying, she reached for my hand. "He's only 7. If everyone finds out he pushed Aria into the pool, what is he supposed to do with the rest of his life?" Aria lay trembling in my arms, coughing against my chest. Charles bent down, trying to pick her up. But Aria flinched away. Her tiny fingers tightened around the collar of my shirt. Charles's hands froze in midair. A moment later, he took off his jacket and draped it over her. "Turn the cameras off." The crew immediately obeyed. My head snapped toward him. Charles avoided my eyes and spoke only to his assistant. "Get the doctor." Then he lowered his voice. "Fiona, don't corner a kid in front of all these people. I'll make Liam apologize to Aria. We'll handle this privately." When the doctor arrived, Charles picked Aria up himself. Her little head rested against his chest, while her soaked fingers still clutched those pink swimming goggles. He softly called her name several times. Aria didn't answer. When we reached the entrance of the hotel, Liam came running after us, shouting, "Uncle Charles!" Charles's steps faltered. In the end, he didn't turn around. But he did tell his assistant to stay behind with Doris and Liam. And in that moment, I actually thought he still knew what mattered most.