Parents Throw B-Day Bash for Newly Adopted Girl, Suddenly Her Bio Mom Shows up – Story of the Day

Keith and Laura's adopted daughter Bella was a ray of hope in their dark world of failed fertility treatments. They threw her a B-Day bash to help her feel at home. But to everyone's shock, in walked Bella's birth mother.

Bella's lips danced with a big, happy smile as she looked at Keith, then Laura, and then into the camera. Their faces were stupidly protruding from an "I FOUND MY FOREVER FAMILY" photo stand-in at the shelter, where Bella's adoption had just been finalized.

The shelter had a tradition of photographing new families, and Bella was overjoyed to finally find her forever home. Several couples had visited her in the past, promising to take her home, but none of them had followed through, except Keith and Laura.

While driving home from the shelter, Laura noticed a happy Bella hugging their first family photo in the rear-view mirror, and her heart filled with joy. "So Bella..." she exclaimed brightly. "Would you like to finally call us Mom and Dad?"

Bella looked into the mirror but did not smile. Instead, her cheerful expression darkened, and she shook her head. Then she slid the family photo onto the car seat, turned away from Laura, and started looking out the window...

"You think she's OK?" Laura asked Keith worriedly after showing Bella her new room. They had decorated it to Bella's taste, with princess-themed curtains, bed sheets, and duvet, and she loved it, but she didn't hug them and say, 'Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!'

In fact, Bella had never called Laura 'Mom' or Keith 'Dad,' and they were worried about it. The couple was very devastated in the past when Laura wasn't getting pregnant. They had tried all sorts of fertility treatments and met the best doctors, but nothing worked.

Just as they thought they were getting close to Bella, Kayla arrived unexpectedly to ruin their happy lives.

Then one day, Laura broke down and started cursing herself for ruining Keith's life, saying she was to blame for not being able to give them a child. Keith loved Laura so much that he could happily spend the rest of his life with her, even if they didn't have children.

But he knew Laura always wanted kids. She would talk about being a great mother to their children someday, about doing everything she could for them. Unfortunately, God did not send them that blessing, so Keith suggested they adopt.

"Look, Laura, all I want is for us to be happy together. We can always adopt!" he suggested.

That decision changed the course of the couple's life. They talked to a few friends with adopted children, and everyone agreed it was a great option. One of their friends even suggested they visit Bella's shelter, where they met their future daughter.

Keith and Laura fell in love with Bella at first sight. In their eyes, the little girl was just...perfect! Her golden curls and lovely blue eyes bore a striking resemblance to Laura. After meeting Bella for the first time, Laura pressed Keith's shoulder gently and said, "That girl is lovely, honey...Bella. She looks like she was always meant to be our daughter!"

After all the exhausting paperwork, the couple was excited to bring their daughter home, and even Bella was thrilled to have parents who adored her. Adopting Bella had been a critical decision in Keith and Laura's life, and they knew they would give their daughter the best of everything.

However, Bella was struggling to adjust to her new surroundings, which is why she couldn't bring herself to call her new parents, Mom and Dad.

"It happens, honey. Do you remember what your friend said about their adopted son? He couldn't accept his parents for a long time even though he loved them," Keith told Laura, hoping to console her worried heart.

"You're right," she said. "But I want Bella to know that we love her and that we will do anything to make her happy. We should help her get adjusted to her new life. You know, we need to show her that she can trust and love us!"

"We should," Keith agreed. "But let's not take it too fast. She is, after all, only five years old. All this new parents and home…this new phase in her life must be difficult for her."

"How about we do something special for her, like throw her a birthday party?" Laura chirped. "She must've never had one! I mean, shelters don't usually celebrate the kids' birthdays, do they? We can invite kids with their parents, and maybe if Bella sees how close the children are to their parents, she will warm up to us and call us Mom and Dad?"

Keith smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a great idea to me!" he exclaimed. "So…when should we keep it? Let's decide beforehand, so I can ask my secretary not to schedule any appointments that day."

"A week later," Laura told him. "We'll celebrate Bella's first birthday and her homecoming! I hope this will help us… and her."

Keith and Laura were willing to do anything so that Bella would hold their hands and step into her new life with them fearlessly, and they began by planning a surprise birthday party for her.

The excited young parents spent three days deciding on a theme and inviting guests. When the big day arrived, they completed all the decorations and arrangements while Bella was at school so that everything remained a surprise for her.

When Bella returned home to a princess-themed party, a huge Frozen-themed birthday cake, and her parents dressed as characters from the movie, her eyes welled up.

Everyone was singing happy birthday to her, and Keith and Laura scooped her up in their arms and kissed her. "Happy Birthday, our baby girl," Laura said as she stroked her hair. "We know Frozen is your favorite movie, and we have a special surprise for you. There's an outfit waiting for you in your room! Let's get you ready for the party!"

When Laura and Keith took Bella to her room and showed her her favorite character Elsa's outfit, the little girl burst into tears. Bella had never felt more loved, but she still couldn't call Keith and Laura as Mom and Dad or tell them, "I love you."

"It's OK," Laura consoled her. "We love you, Bella. Mommy and Daddy love their little girl, and they will do anything to make you happy."

"Mmm...hmm," Bella nodded and wiped her tears. "Hmm."

"I'll wait outside for you two," Keith said and left Laura to dress Bella.

When the new parents joined everyone at the party with Bella, nobody could get enough of admiring how lovely they looked together.

Bella happily sliced the cake as everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' for her, and she eventually said a small 'thank you' to her adoptive parents.

That meant the world to Keith and Laura. Although Bella didn't yet address them as Mom and Dad, she did say thanks, which was a big step. The new parents thought Bella had agreed to let them hold her hand and guide her through the transition to a new life, but the unexpected ringing of the doorbell changed everything...

"I'll check it," Laura said. She proceeded to open the door and was greeted by a frail woman in her 30s who, Laura couldn't help but notice, resembled Bella.

Laura's heart sank, and her mouth turned dry as she asked, "Yes? How can I help you?"

The frail woman nervously looked above Laura's shoulder into the house at Bella and Keith, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"My daughter…" she whispered. "She looks so happy. Can I meet her? I'm Kayla, her mother…birth mother."

Laura's eyes widened, and her heart pounded in her chest. Just as she and Keith thought they were getting close to Bella, Kayla arrived unexpectedly to ruin their happy lives. "Mother?" she asked, looking at Kayla and then at her husband and adopted daughter. "What exactly do you want?"

"Please," Kayla begged. "I know this isn't the right time, but a few minutes is all I need. May I please speak with my daughter?"

"You can't be serious!" Laura fumed. "You abandoned her as a baby in a shelter and never cared for her! We adopted her, and she's now legally our daughter. You have no rights whatsoever to infringe on our privacy. GET OFF OF MY PROPERTY!"

"I know...I know," Kayla cried. "But…I'll never be able to forgive myself for what I've done! If only I could—"

Before she would finish her sentence, Keith joined them at the door. "What's going on, honey?" he asked. "Everyone's waiting for you. And who is she? Why is she crying?" he wondered as he looked at Kayla.

"Kayla, she's Bella's birth mother—well, at least that's who she claims to be!" Laura sighed and rolled her eyes. "She wants to talk to her. I'm sure she has no regrets about leaving her, and she's making the whole thing up. Who knows, she might not even be Bella's mother!"

"No, no, I'm not lying!" Kayla said, holding out a crumpled certificate to the couple from her overcoat. "This is her birth certificate. I'm not lying, please!"

Keith's heart melted as he read the certificate, and he told her they would give her only five minutes to explain herself. But he didn't invite her inside. He and Laura instead took her to the garage to talk because they weren't comfortable introducing her to Bella.

"What brought you back after all these years?" Keith asked bluntly. "We understand your pain, but it's hard for us, too, especially since Bella is still adjusting to her new life."

Laura nudged Keith. "She doesn't need to know any of that," she said. "What brings her here now? And was she stalking our family or something? How did you find out we live here?"

A family is so much more than just biology.

Kayla burst into tears again, admitting she'd been watching them from afar. She assured them that she didn't want to take Bella back; all she wanted was for her daughter to know that her mother was alive and well and had abandoned her.

"I lost my chance to raise her and be with her when I gave her to the shelter," she said in tears. "I'd asked the caretakers to tell her that her mother had died so she wouldn't think about me. But something... I'm not sure what... didn't make me feel good about lying to my daughter.

"I would watch her at the shelter from afar, and then I saw you two one day. You'd come to take her home, and I was so happy my baby girl would get a loving home. And I was right. You two love her more than anything. I'm afraid she'll grow up to hate me, but I've decided to tell her the bitter truth that I'm alive and well. A painful truth is better than a sweet lie.

"But again, you two don't look convinced, so here," she added, extending them a small note and a small parcel. "This is my gift to her, and this note contains my phone number. Please contact me when you think she's ready to hear the truth."

Kayla then disappeared down the driveway, out of Keith and Laura's sight. The young parents were baffled as they returned to the party. They feared losing Bella if they told her the truth, so they decided not to tell her about Kayla and didn't give her Kayla's gift either.

And a few days later, Laura called Kayla and lied that Bella had refused to meet her. The phone was on speaker mode, and Keith and Laura heard Kayla burst into tears before she hung up.

Weeks passed. Bella had made significant progress, and she had begun to express herself more openly to Laura and Keith. "You see, that day is not far when she'll call us Mommy and Daddy!" Laura told Keith one day before he left for work.

Keith worked as a surgeon at the city hospital, and neither he nor Laura could have predicted that the day they'd been waiting for would come sooner than expected.

That day, Keith was called to the OR for emergency surgery. When he joined his fellow doctors in the OR, he was shocked to see the patient was none other than Kayla! Keith calmed himself down and focused on the surgery.

Fortunately, everything went well, and the surgery was successful. Kayla was transferred to the regular ward, and Keith waited for her to regain consciousness before paying her a visit to find out what had happened and how she ended up in the hospital.

Kayla couldn't stop crying as she revealed she'd had a heart attack for the second time. "I was such a lousy mother. I succumbed to my addictions and was unable to care for my child. I don't even know who her father is. When I had the first attack, it made me reconsider my life choices…it made me think about things that were important to me... my daughter, as well as my health.

"I decided to quit all bad habits and started spending time in the church. However, it was too late. The damage had already been done. My health isn't in the best shape, and all I want to do is see my daughter once. Please!" She clutched Keith's hands and begged him to let her meet Bella. "Please. Please. Talk to your wife, and please allow me to see my daughter!"

Keith sighed. "I can't give you an assurance, Kayla," he said. "But I'll try. I promise that."

Keith knew he would have a difficult time persuading Laura, but he couldn't give up without trying because he had made a promise to Kayla. "Please, honey," he told Laura. "A bitter truth is better than a sweet lie. We're Bella's parents, and we don't want our daughter to later think she was denied the right to make her own decisions. Let us put ourselves in Kayla's shoes for a moment and consider her plight. Please?"

While Laura wasn't entirely convinced, she and Keith took Bella to the hospital the next day to meet Kayla. They were surprised when the young girl hugged them, said thank you, and called them Mommy and Daddy for the first time!

"Thank—thank you, Mommy and Daddy!" she cried. "I—I love you!"

Laura and Keith couldn't believe their eyes. Their young daughter not only embraced them but also planted a kiss on Kayla's forehead and said, "It's OK, Mommy two! Daddy and Mommy one love me, and I love you too! We are one big happy family!"

Days after Kayla's discharge, Laura and Keith would remember the moment Bella called them Mommy and Daddy and shed happy tears. Kayla returned to a normal life after being treated for her addictions, and she found a new love at the cafe where she started waitressing.

Jonathan proposed to Kayla six months after dating, and she happily said yes! Then a year later, Kayla got pregnant and welcomed a baby boy, Joe. She and Jonathan have decided to introduce Joe to his sister's family when he's old enough to comprehend everything. Meanwhile, they have remained great friends to Keith and Laura and visit them on weekends to meet and spend time with Bella.

What can we learn from this story?

• A family is so much more than just biology. Keith and Laura adopted Bella and decided to raise her as their daughter, while Kayla abandoned her.
• Sometimes, bitter truths are better than white lies. Keith and Laura's decision to introduce Bella to her birth mother changed all of their lives forever. It enabled Kayla to leave her unhappy life behind and start over, while Bella grew closer to and embraced her adoptive parents.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a homeless girl who couldn't keep her tears at bay when she realized what her adoptive parents had done for her.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.