My husband, my two kids from my previous marriage, and I are going on an expensive vacation overseas.

I invited my 16-year-old stepson to join us under one condition: he must babysit our 3-year-old daughter. He stormed out and refused. “You’re not coming with us then!” I said. The morning before our flight, I went to my daughter’s room and froze in sh0ck: I found her clothes scattered all over the floor, and the suitcases were completely unpacked.

I immediately confronted my stepson, who lashed out in anger, yelling that we didn’t care about him and only prioritized his stepsiblings. Despite my attempts to reason with him, the tension only escalated. In the rush to repack everything before our flight, we ran out of time and ended up missing it entirely.

Buying new tickets was not only incredibly expensive but also added to the overwhelming stress that had already overshadowed the trip.

What should have been a joyful experience turned into a complete disaster before it even began.

Since then, my husband and I have been locked in a cycle of arguments, with neither of us fully sure how to move forward. I feel torn between my love for my stepson and my disappointment in how he handled the situation. I can’t stop replaying everything in my head – did I push him too far by setting conditions for him to join the trip, or was his behavior completely unjustified?

I want to repair our relationship, but I’m not sure how to address the hurt feelings and the growing divide. I really need advice on how to restore peace in our family and move past this.