My stepmother thought she had it all figured out when she locked me inside to stop me from reaching the altar. But one small thing she overlooked turned her perfect day into a total disaster. Buckle up. This still doesn’t feel real. I’m 30. My dad is 61. And about three months ago, he told me he was getting married again. “To Dana!” he said, all bright-eyed like a teenager. “We’re doing a small wedding. Just close friends and family.” Dana. Fifty-something. Wears heels like they’re glued to her feet. Talks like she’s always in a sales pitch. And I swear she’s made of 70% Botox and 30% bad vibes. Now, I never hated Dana. I tried. Really, really tried. I laughed at her jokes. Even the ones that made no sense. I ate every dry, overcooked casserole with a smile. I bought her a nice scarf one Christmas. She never wore it. From the beginning, she made it clear I wasn’t welcome. Not outright, of course. That would’ve been too honest. But in a thousand little ways. Every time Dad and I were getting close again—like, sharing old memories or laughing at stupid movies—Dana would get weird. She’d start coughing. Or say she had a migraine. Once, she actually claimed she had food poisoning twice in the same week. My dad would say, “She’s just sensitive, honey. You know how her stomach is.” Yeah, sensitive to not being the center of attention. She treated me like I was a ghost, not a daughter. Not even a person. Just something left over from a life she didn’t want to deal with. Still, I showed up. Every holiday. Every birthday. Every Sunday call. Then came the big call from Dad. “We’ve got a date!” he said. “Next month! Dana and I are tying the knot!” “That’s great, Dad,” I said, fake-smiling through the phone. “I’m happy for you.” “She wants to keep it small. You know how she is. Just close people.” “Of course,” I said. “Whatever makes you both happy.” I never got an invite. No text. No card. Nothing from Dana. But I didn’t make a thing of it. I figured she was just being… her. I still wanted to support my dad. I bought a simple powder blue dress. Matched it with some low heels. Took Friday off work so I could drive down early and help out. Maybe set up chairs or something. Two weeks before the wedding, Dad called. “Dana says you should stay with us,” he told me. “No need to waste money on a hotel.” That gave me pause. “She said that?” I asked. “Yeah, she insisted. Said she wanted to make it easy for you.” Huh. That didn’t sound like Dana. But I didn’t argue. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll be there Friday night.” And I was. I got there a little after seven. Dana opened the door and smiled, sort of. “Long drive?” she asked. “Not too bad,” I said, dragging my bag inside. She handed me a mug of lukewarm tea and pointed toward the guest room. “Bathroom’s down the hall. Don’t wake us—we’ve got a big day tomorrow.” She disappeared into her room. Dad came out a few minutes later in sweatpants and slippers. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “Glad you made it.” We stayed up chatting. Just the two of us on the couch, reminiscing about road trips and the time our old car broke down in Kentucky. Around midnight, I went to bed feeling good. Hopeful, even. I had no idea what was waiting for me. I woke up the next morning feeling a little nervous, sure, but mostly excited to see my dad get married. Whatever I thought of Dana, this day was still important to him. I rolled over and grabbed for my phone. Gone. Weird. Mayve I left it on the kitchen counter? I veguely remembered plugging it in before going to bed. No big deal. I got up, put on my dress and make up, and padded into the kitchen. Nothing. No phone. No coffee. No breakfast smells. No sounds. The whole place felt… dead. I checked the key hook. Empty. My stomach dropped a little. I walked to the front door and turned the handle. It didn’t budge. The deadbolt was locked. I tried the back door. Same thing. Then the windows. Every single one was locked tight. I called out, “Dana?” Nothing. I knocked on her bedroom door. Silence. Louder knock. “Dana? Hello?” Still nothing. That’s when I saw it. A bright yellow Post-it sitting neatly on the kitchen counter. Written in Dana’s handwriting with curly, try-too-hard letters. “Don’t take it personally. It’s just not your day.” I stood there, frozen. She locked me in. She took my phone. My keys. My voice. Like I was some kind of problem she could shut behind a door. For a minute, I didn’t know what to do. My hands were shaking. My chest was tight. Then came the rage. I yelled her name. Pounded on the walls. Paced like a lunatic. All dressed up in powder blue, with nowhere to go. Mascara already smudging under my eyes, I stared at the door like I could will it open. And then—thank God—I remembered something. She took my phone. She took my keys. But she didn’t take my Apple Watch. I tapped the screen like my life depended on it. The tiny keyboard felt impossible, but I made it work,…. (continue reading in the 1st comment) When my stepmother kept me inside to prevent me from getting to the altar, she believed she had everything
I Took A DNA Test For Fun—And my heart instantly knew life wouldn’t be the same anymore. === I’m Billy, and up until a few days ago, I thought I was living the dream. I’m an only child, and my parents have always showered me with love and attention. They’ve given me everything I could ever want or need. Just last week, my dad surprised me with the latest gaming console for no reason at all. “What’s this for?” I asked, my eyes wide with excitement. He just shrugged and smiled. “Do I need a reason to spoil my favorite son?” “Your only son, you mean,” Mom grinned. “All the more reason to spoil him!” Dad laughed, ruffling my hair. That’s how it’s always been. Just the three of us living a perfect life. Perfect until I stumbled across a life-changing fact. It all started the day I turned 18. I had decided to treat myself to one of those ancestry DNA tests. You know, the ones that tell you if you’re 2% Viking or whatever. I was just curious, nothing more. I never expected it to change my life. I was literally jumping up and down the day the results came in. I kept refreshing my email every few minutes, waiting for that notification. “Billy, honey, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep jumping like that,” Mom called from the kitchen. “Sorry, Mom! I’m just really excited about my DNA results!” Finally, the email arrived. I could feel my heart pounding as I clicked on it. I was so excited, unaware that what I’d see next would change my life forever. There, in black and white, was a notification of a close match. A brother. Daniel. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. It had to be a mistake! Right? I’m an only child. I’ve always been an only child. In a daze, I picked up my phone and dialed the company’s helpline. Maybe there was some mix-up. “Hello, how can I assist you today?” a cheerful voice answered. “Hi, um, I just got my results and, uh, I think there might be a mistake?” I said, unsure if I was doing the right thing. “I can assure you, sir, our tests are 100% accurate. We double-check all results before sending them out.” “Oh, alright,” I said. “Th-thank you.” I hung up and looked at the results again. This couldn’t be happening. How could I have a brother I didn’t know about? I needed answers, and I knew just who to ask. That night, I waited up for Dad to get home from work. I rushed downstairs immediately I heard his car pull into the driveway. I allowed him to enter the living room before I followed him inside. “Hey, Dad? Can we talk for a sec?” He looked up with a smile on his face. “Sure, kiddo. What’s on your mind?” “So, uh, remember that DNA test I took?” I said, fidgeting with my shirt. He nodded. “Well, I got the results today and…” I paused, not sure how to continue. “Dad, do you know someone named Daniel?” That was the point I knew something was not right. The look on Dad’s face changed in an instant. His eyes widened, and all the color drained from his cheeks. “Where did you hear that name?” he asked, looking around to ensure Mom wasn’t around. I told him about the test results. As I spoke, I watched his expressions change. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then said something I wasn’t expecting. “Listen,” he said in a low voice, “don’t tell your mom about this, alright? She doesn’t know. I had an affair years ago. If she finds out, she’ll leave.” I nodded, promising not to say anything. But as I returned to my room, something didn’t sit right. Dad’s reaction seemed off. It was like there was more to the story than he was letting on. I couldn’t sleep that night. I kept staring at the test results, wondering what to do next. Should I… should I text him? I thought. Texting him meant I’d be going against my dad. But I couldn’t think of another way to find out the truth. So, I immediately clicked on his profile and reached out to him. To my surprise, he responded within half an hour. Billy? Is it really you? I can’t believe it! We exchanged a few messages, and before I knew it, we’d agreed to meet at a café the next day. Was I doing the right thing by going behind my dad’s back? The next morning, I told Mom I was going out with my best friend and walked to the café. I didn’t have to do much to recognize Daniel. I immediately spotted him, and it felt like I was looking in a mirror. He looked SO MUCH like me. “Billy?” he asked, standing up. I nodded, unable to speak. We sat down, and neither of us knew what to say. Finally, Daniel broke the silence. “You remember the lake by our old house?” he asked, smiling. “We’d swing on that old, rusty swing set and throw rocks into the water.” “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shook my head. “We never lived together.” Daniel’s smile faded. “What do you mean? We lived together until we were five or six. Don’t you remember? And Scruffy, the dog, he’d follow us everywhere.” I felt defensive. This guy was talking nonsense. “My dad says you’re the affair child. I only found out about you days ago.” “Wait… you think I’m the affair child?” He asked. “So, you don’t remember that day?… (continue reading in the 1st comment) It started as a joke—a fun birthday gift to myself. I took a DNA test, expecting to find out I had a
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