My Stepmom Wanted Me to Stop Wearing the Pendant My Late Mother Gave Me Because It Was Cheap – But Karma Had Other Plans

Everyone went silent, and I could feel their eyes on me. The weight of their stares pressed down like heavy stones.

At that point, Helen’s plastic smile twitched dangerously. Then she spoke again.

“Well, technically, I’m your mother now, Lily,” she said.

“I’ve done more for you in these past four years than she managed in ten whole years.”

“Exactly right!” Karen sneered. “You need to stop disrespecting my daughter with all this sentimental garbage about your ‘precious mommy.’ Helen is your real mother now! She’s the one who actually takes care of you every day.

And here you sit, completely ungrateful and selfish as always.”

Ungrateful and selfish? I thought as my cheeks burned with shame and my hands shook with nervousness. The words echoed in my chest, threatening to take root.

The guests all looked deeply uncomfortable, some staring down at their plates.

Suddenly, a low, dangerous voice cut through the silence. It was the kind of voice that made the air itself tremble.

“Enough.”

Dad stood in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room.

He still had the birthday cake balanced in his hands, but his face was like thunder. His eyes blazed with a fury I’d never seen before.

He had heard absolutely everything. And for the first time, Helen’s mask shattered.

Helen and Karen looked at Dad with wide eyes, like he wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Paul,” Helen stammered, forcing out a nervous laugh, “we were just having a little discussion—”

“Discussion?” Dad repeated.

“Insulting my daughter and mocking my wife’s memory is your idea of discussion?”

Karen straightened in her chair. “Oh, Paul, don’t be so dramatic. We’re simply trying to give this girl some proper guidance.

Obviously, her mother didn’t manage to—”

“Don’t you dare.” His voice was pure thunder now. The veins in his temples stood out like ropes. “Don’t you ever speak Nora’s name in this house again.

Not like that. Not ever.”Continue reading…