“He’s a beautiful boy, but don’t you think he has your family’s eyes, Emily?” she would say, or, “You know, Mark looked very different when he was that age.”
At first, Emily brushed off these comments. She didn’t want to start trouble, and she genuinely believed that Susan’s doubts would fade with time.
But as Daniel grew older, the comments became more frequent, and the tension began to build. Susan’s remarks, once offhanded and subtle, grew bolder.
During family gatherings, Susan would compare old baby photos of Mark to Daniel, looking for differences as if she were a detective solving a mystery.
“His hair is much lighter than Mark’s was,” she’d note, or, “I don’t remember Mark ever having that nose.”
Emily could see how much it bothered Mark. He tried to laugh it off, but Susan’s doubts were beginning to wear on him too.
