“You are not my father.” He still hears those words in his head as he thinks about all the years he spent trying to make things right with his stepdaughter. He has always been there for her, even if he hasn’t been in her life. He finally says, “No more,” with a bill in front of him. What do you think of the hard choice he had to make?
My wife passed away when my sons were four and eight years old.
After that, I got married again. I’ve been married to my second wife for eleven years. She was married before and has a daughter from that marriage. It’s a long story concerning her ex-husband, but let’s just say that he is still alive and not in their lives anymore.
My stepdaughter was twelve when we were married, and my biological children were nine and thirteen. I worked on building certain bridges for eleven years. I would buy her things and make sure she always received what she wanted. I did everything I could to make her smile.
I found the best private schools for her and paid for them. I also took her to school and to her other activities. My wife also chose to stay at home with the kids when she quit her job in marketing, so I worked day and night to provide her the life she deserved. Even though I tried my best to treat her like my own sons, she still hated me.
My stepdaughter graduated roughly five years ago, and that’s when our relationship hit rock bottom.
My stepdaughter didn’t want me to go to my oldest son’s graduation, but he did want my wife, his stepmother, to go. She only requested her mother to come since her grandparents, who live in my wife’s home country, had said no to the invitation, even though she had two tickets.
“Why?” I asked. She told him, “You’re not my dad; you didn’t raise me, and I don’t want you in my life.” I was very sad. I worked hard to win her over, but she still disliked me. I still paid for her college and my son’s college.
But she told my wife a few months ago that she was going to get married. My wife told me about it. I had made a cake, balloons, and a lot of other stuff since she said she would come home to celebrate, which made it worse. Then she changed her mind at the last minute. She told my wife to go to her apartment without me and my sons. I was hurt.
When I finally called to congratulate her, she tried to cut me off right away.
She said no to my last request, which would have been the possibility for a father and daughter to dance together.
When the bill came and my wife said she needed money for her wedding, I didn’t say anything. I thought about it a lot, but in the end I told her I wouldn’t help pay for her wedding because she didn’t see me as her father. I informed my wife that I wouldn’t pay for her wedding, but she could use the money she had saved if she wanted to. She was angry with me and said I was a nasty person and that she didn’t have a lot of money saved up.
My wife’s relatives, especially her immediate family, like my father-in-law and brother-in-law, have all contacted to ask for money. Even though it has ruined our family and turned into a major mess, I still stand by what I said. Is this the best decision for me?