I replaced my first bjd because she was a recast. I just wanted people to like me. She was my favorite doll and we were inseparable. I bought the same sculpt legitimately through the company and when I opened her she felt so different. We never bonded. I miss my doll… it’s stupid because it’s the same doll but feels so different.
Bonding can happen with one doll and not with other, even if it’s the same sculpt. A legit doesn’t guarantee you’ll have a better bonding.
A bond is born from memories and moments we share with one particular doll, I completely understand that if the doll was the same sculpt but “not the same doll”, that connection or bond might not be there at all. You made your memories with a recast, not the doll you have today. Your hearth can’t change that.
If you have the chance, I recommend you to keep or get back your first doll… most provably you won’t be able to have the same connection with this new one (at least until some time passes) and you’ll still miss the first one.