Initially, Jane tried to be a good stepmother and even tried to include me in her and Amy\u2019s nail appointments. But the older we got, the closer they became \u2014 shutting me out completely. \u201cMaybe Amy\u2019s just going through something,\u201d my father said when we went for ice cream, and I confessed. \u201cMaybe she just needs extra time with her mom.\u201d I learned to live with it, getting used to the fact that even though Jane called me her daughter, I wasn\u2019t going to be. Then, we entered our final year at school, and prom quickly became the highlight of the social calendar. I didn\u2019t want to admit it to my father, but I was excited for prom \u2014<\/p>\n
Mason and I were finally dating, and I knew that the day was going to be magical. I also knew that while my father would pay for my dream dress, I wanted to work for it myself. If Dad buys yours, he will have to buy Amy\u2019s too, I thought to myself. So, I took extra shifts at the diner I worked at \u2014 anything to add to my dress fund. A few weeks leading up to prom, I added babysitting to my schedule. Finally, I had enough for my dream dress. Dad drove me to the store and waited patiently while I tried it on. When I stepped out, he beamed at me. \u201cOh, Elsa,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look beautiful, darling.\u201d That was all I needed from him. \u201cAre you sure you want to pay for it yourself?\u201d Dad asked when we were at the till. \u201cBecause I\u2019ll do it in a heartbeat.\u201d I refused and paid for the dress.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you can buy me a waffle,\u201d I grinned. Then, my picture-perfect dream shattered. A few hours later, I walked into the house after my shift at the diner. Amy and Jane were sitting in the living room, wiping my grandmother\u2019s silver teapot. With pieces from my dress. I shrieked. \u201cHoney,\u201d Jane asked, the picture of concern. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s my dress!\u201d I said, picking up a piece. Oh!\u201d Jane exclaimed. \u201cIt was your prom dress?\u201d \u201cYou did this?\u201d I asked, unable to breathe properly. \u201cWell, yes,\u201d Jane said smugly. \u201cBut I thought that I was cutting up some secondhand dress. It didn\u2019t look prom-worthy. So, I thought I\u2019d use it to polish the silver and the windows.\u201d I couldn\u2019t take it any longer. I burst out crying \u2014 the tears dropping fast onto my clothes. i heard Dad\u2019s heavy footsteps from somewhere in the house, but it was clear that Jane didn\u2019t. Because she stood up, walking closer to me. \u201cNow, now, Elsa,\u201d she said. \u201cYou should have known better; you cannot be more beautiful than Amy. Amy is taking prom queen title. You cannot outshine her.\u201d I looked up at her, trying to understand how she could be so horrible to me. I wasn\u2019t a stranger to Jane, but she treated me as though she didn\u2019t care about me at all. Maybe she didn\u2019t. But then her face went pale. \u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d Dad demanded from behind me. The room went silent, my father\u2019s anger thick and heavy. \u201cDid you do this, Jane?\u201d he asked. He didn\u2019t wait for an answer. \u201cI can fix it,\u201d Jane stuttered. Dad stormed to his and Jane\u2019s bedroom, bringing a dress with him \u2014 it was the same color as her custom wedding dress, but I knew it wasn\u2019t the exact dress. He ripped the dress with his hands, the sound of the tear taking over the silence. Jane screamed, clearly mistaking the dress for her wedding dress.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad,\u201d I said, trying to calm him down. But my father just shook his head. He threw the pieces of the dress at her. \u201cFix this,\u201d he said. My dad wasn\u2019t insane \u2014 although he was livid, there was no way he would actually rip up Jane\u2019s wedding dress. \u201cI\u2019m done,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t keep hurting my child.\u201d After the confrontation, my prom dreams dwindled. But I took a moment to reflect on what it meant to me. The thought of missing out on it, of being denied that experience because of a senseless act of jealousy, was more painful than I could express. On the day of prom, my father fetched me from school, a box in the car. \u201cIt\u2019s your dress, darling,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go and have fun tonight. Now, let\u2019s get your hair done.\u201d On the way home, my father told me that he wanted to divorce Jane. \u201cI\u2019ve been blind to her treatment of you for too long, Elsa. It\u2019s done now. The future is for you and I, and the fights we\u2019ll have about college,\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Initially, Jane tried to be a good stepmother and even tried to include me in her and Amy\u2019s nail appointments. But the older we got, the closer… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n