My Stepdaughter Locked Me out of the House – Then I Found Out Why

“Lily.”

She waved. “Come here.”

I crossed the parking lot, and she wrapped her arms around me, holding on the way she used to when she was small and scared of thunderstorms.

“I’m sorry,” I said into her hair.

“I’m so sorry if I hurt you. If I did something wrong…”

She pulled back, wiping her eyes. “You didn’t.

You never did.”

“Then why..?”

She reached into her bag, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to me with shaking hands.

Inside were two boarding passes and a handwritten note:

I looked up at her, speechless.

“I used part of Dad’s inheritance,” she said quickly, words tumbling out. “And my savings from the bookstore. And the freelance graphic design work I’ve been doing on weekends for the past year.”

“Lily, baby…”

“Before you panic, it’s not all of it.

I planned this for months. Budgeted everything. I’m not being reckless.”

Tears streamed down my face.

“I watched you after Dad died,” she added.

Continue reading…