My aunt let out a cold laugh. “So you’re cutting ties, but still taking his house? Impressive.”
My father’s face darkened. “That’s between me and my daughter. Stay out of it.”
I gave a short, humorless laugh, still holding the keys in my hand.
My aunt had long since cast herself in the role of my future stepmother, imagining she’d give my father a son one day. In her mind, every cent I spent now was money stolen from that imaginary child.
As my “stepmother-in-waiting,” she nitpicked everything I did, every single day.
Grandma had always favored my aunt, and after my mom died, it only got worse. She worried I was “just” an adopted daughter and that my bond with my father wasn’t strong enough. She’d love nothing more than for my aunt to get pregnant by him right now.
My dad disliked them both, but he felt obliged to care for them out of loyalty to my mother.
Now that he saw how determined I was to sever our relationship, my aunt’s eyes practically gleamed, thinking this was her chance to finally “move up.”
Meanwhile, my dad didn’t stop me. Like always, he supported my decision.
“If you want to go, then go.”
Grateful, I nodded.