A sad teenage girl at the breakfast table | Source: Pexels
I learned quickly that my stepmother had a talent for cruelty disguised as “concern.”
When Dad announced their engagement, I smiled even though my stomach turned. I told myself I wanted him to be happy, and if Cheryl brought him laughter again, then I’d find a way to live with it, even if I didn’t trust the woman making him happy.
Over time, I moved out, started college, and only came home for holidays. Dad and I grew distant as the years passed. His wife, although tolerable as long as I didn’t live under her roof, always had a way of inserting herself between Dad and me.
A woman smiling | Source: Pexels
There was always a reason he couldn’t talk long on the phone or spend time alone with me. But Dad was still happy, and I wasn’t going to be the one to rain on his parade.
Then I met Luke.
My boyfriend was everything Cheryl wasn’t. He was calm in a chaotic world, wasn’t loud or flashy, and he made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t felt in years. He had a patient, humble kind of strength that drew me in.
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