Richard believed he was fulfilling his duty as a good parent by welcoming his pregnant stepdaughter into his home, where he lived with his biological daughter, another stepchild, and his wife. However, he was unaware that this decision would compel him to defend his daughter in ways he’d never anticipated. To provide some background, I, Richard, became a widower and was already the father of a teenage daughter, Amy, now 14. I remarried five years ago to Beth, who entered our relationship with two daughters, my stepdaughters: Chelsea and Jess,

Chelsea, who is an adult, while her younger sister is also a teenager, recently ended her engagement with her fiancé, Tom, while heavily pregnant, and she’s moving in with me, Amy, Jess, and her mother, for a short time. Little did I know that having my two stepdaughters living with us would turn into a nightmare. Now, I am very protective of my daughter because I feel like, as the last biological parent she has, I have to do the best I can to give her a good start in life. However,

her stepsisters are causing havoc for her. At times, the pair have even used my daughter’s personal items without asking and left them damaged, or they’d lose the items. I’ve often spoken up, protecting my daughter, but Beth would step in, claiming I was playing favorites, and she and her daughters end up ganging up on me and Amy. Chelsea has been mentioning wanting more space due to her pregnancy and desire to have more room for her upcoming child, saying to Beth and me:

“I need a bigger space for your grandchild. We can’t both be cramped up with Jess in her tiny room. Amy’s is much larger and will do perfectly as my room and a nursery.”Of course, my need to protect Amy, and knowing how her life had already changed so drastically by losing her mother and now having stepsiblings, I wanted to give her something she could hold on to. So, I put my foot down about the room and refused to budge. I had a business trip I had to attend, something I couldn’t put off despite the anxious knot I felt deep in the pit of my stomach. I would be gone for a whole month for the trip. But, being the decent human being I was, I kissed my wife goodbye and hugged both Amy and her stepsisters before being driven by an Uber to the airport. While I was gone, on top of how Jess and Chelsea constantly crossed Amy’s boundaries, the pregnant stepsister decided to ignore my decision by taking over my daughter’s room! She and her sister moved Amy into the basement behind my back! When I finally returned home, I felt foreboding, and it all made sense when I arrived. Stepping into the house, the air felt charged, heavy with tension that had no place in what was supposed to be our sanctuary. I quickly found my precious baby girl crying in the basement. I was exhausted from my trip but set all that aside to be there for my child. Concerned, I asked what was wrong, and that’s when I discovered the shocking and appalling truth! “The bullying has gotten worse, Dad!” my baby said between sobs.”They forced me out of my bedroom, and when I tried complaining or calling you, Chelsea claimed she had seniority and a greater need for the space due to her pregnancy.” I was livid, listening to my child pour her heart out, once again receiving the short end of the stick.