When I married James, I knew he had a daughter from a previous marriage. Emily, his ex-wife, had left the child six years earliershe packed her bags and moved to Belgium with a new lover, starting over completely. Since then, shes had two more children, calls her eldest twice a month on video, and only sends gifts on holidays. I watched that little girl pine for her mother, staring at her phone screen, hoping shed say, Come live with me. But she never invited her, never visited. She simply erased her from her life.
At first, the girl lived with my mother-in-law, Jamess mum. But she soon grew exhaustedoverwhelmed by homework, tantrums, and meltdowns. She handed her granddaughter back to her father. James brought her home, looked me straight in the eye, and murmured, Sophies going to live with us. For good.
I genuinely tried to be a good stepmum. I bought her clothes, cooked her favourite meals, took her to school, had heart-to-hearts. I wanted to be her friend. But she shut me out. As if a wall had gone up between us, with no effort to bridge the gap. She didnt ignore meshe made it clear that, in her world, I didnt matter.
Three years passed. Now, that girl is twelve. And she still lives with us, bossing everyone around as if this were her flat and not ours. Every evening, she whinges to her dad: Auntie Lucy made me tidy up, Auntie Lucy didnt buy what I wanted. Then my mother-in-law calls to scold me for not looking after the child properly and that since Im about to have my own baby, its time I learned to be a mother. Yet she wont take her granddaughter for even an hour when I have a doctors appointment or work emergency.
Im worn out. I work, keep the house running, cook, and now Im pregnant. James, though he doesnt side with his daughter, still asks me to be softer, more patient. But Ive had enough. That girl has become nothing but a nuisance. Shes messy, cheeky, never says thank you, never listens, and is never satisfied. Shes not mine, and I dont even pretend anymore.
Sometimes, late at night in the kitchen, I think, If only Id refused to let her move in If Id stood my ground But its too late. I cant leave Jameswere having a child together. And, selfish as it sounds, I catch myself wishing more and more that his daughter would choose to go back to her grandmother. That shed say, Im better off with Nana. I wouldnt beg her to stay. I wouldnt even cry.
I just want to live in peace. Without constant nagging, without fighting for my place in this house. I want my baby to grow up with love and harmony, not tension and rows. Maybe this is my only chance to save this family without losing myself.
