“Tomorrow, we’re going through every account together,” I said. “And until I decide what happens next, there are no more private loans, favors, or promises involving our money.”
“You’re punishing me.”
“No. I’m removing the part where I don’t know what I’m agreeing to.”
“You’re punishing me.”
Later that afternoon, Helena called.
“Sophie told one friend why Emma wasn’t invited. It’s getting around.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I was thinking about canceling the party.”
I heard Sophie in the background.
“Mom, no. You already made me lose Emma over this. Please don’t take the party too.”
“What are you going to do?”
Helena went quiet.
Then she said, “I think I’ve made everything worse.”
“You have.”
“I know.”
“But you can stop making decisions for Sophie because you’re scared of Mark.”
“I think I’ve made everything worse.”
Helena exhaled.
“What if Emma doesn’t want to come?”
“Then Sophie needs to hear that from Emma.”
Minutes Before Our Wedding, My Flower-Girl Stepdaughter Said, ‘Now That You’re My Mommy, I Can Show You Daddy’s Secret’ – What She Pulled from Under the Petals Made Me Go Pale
I Spent Weeks Making Everything for My 10-Year-Old’s Birthday Party – What Another Mom Typed in the Group Chat Left Me Speechless
Everyone Said I Should Be Grateful My Daughter Loved Her Stepmom – Until My 10-Year-Old’s One Question Made My Heart Stop
There was a pause.
“You’re right.”
“I know.”
“You’re right.”
That evening, Emma came downstairs wearing the pale-pink dress.
She held the scrapbook against her chest.
“I’m still angry,” she said.
“You can be angry and still go.”
She nodded once.
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“I’m still angry.”
At the party, Sophie came outside before we’d reached the doors.
She looked at Emma and immediately started crying.
“I’m sorry.”
Emma stayed where she was.
“You let me think you hated me.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you hated me.”
“Why?”
Sophie wiped her cheeks.
“Because everything got ugly, and I didn’t know how to explain it without telling you things that weren’t mine to tell.”
Emma’s voice shook. “You could’ve told me it wasn’t me.”
“Because everything got ugly.”
“I should have.”
Sophie looked down.
“After my parents separated, Mom was scared all the time. Bills, the car, everything. Your dad helped us, and for a while… I stopped feeling like everything could fall apart.”
Emma’s face softened.
“I should have.”
“He made me think I had someone in my corner,” Sophie added. “Then Mom stopped taking his advice, and suddenly the help disappeared too.”
She looked at Emma.
“I hated what he did. And I hated that I still felt grateful for what he’d done before.”
Emma’s eyes filled.
“You should’ve told me.”
“I hated what he did.”
“I know.”
“No, Sophie, I mean really told me. I would’ve been mad. I would’ve cried. But I wouldn’t have blamed you for needing help.”
Sophie covered her mouth.
Emma stepped closer.
“And I’m sorry too.”
“I would’ve been mad. I would’ve cried.”
Sophie blinked.
“For what?”
“For almost deciding your mom used my dad. For making this about who owed who before I knew how scared you both were.”
Sophie shook her head.
“You didn’t know.”
“For almost deciding your mom used my dad.”
“I still thought it.”
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Emma handed her the scrapbook.
Sophie opened to the first page, where they were five years old and missing front teeth.
“I missed you,” Sophie whispered.
“I missed you too.”
“I missed you.”
“Can we fix this?”
Emma looked at her.
“Not tonight.”
Sophie’s face fell.
Emma took her hand.
“Tonight we just start.”
They walked inside together.
“Can we fix this?”
Helena came out a minute later.
“I’m sorry, Nina.”
“I know.”
“Are you going home?”
I looked toward my car.
For seventeen years, I’d confused keeping peace with protecting my family.
“I’m sorry, Nina.”
I wasn’t doing that anymore.
“No,” I said.
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere I can think without anyone telling me what I should forgive.”
For once, I didn’t need Mark’s explanation, Helena’s guilt, or anybody else’s answer.
I got into my car.
Whatever happened next, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask the questions anymore.
I wasn’t doing that anymore.
