And I’d never seen him look like that before.
“She didn’t embarrass anyone,” he said. “She honored her mother.”
Stephanie laughed.
“You call that honoring? That dress looks cheap.”
And that’s when my dad stepped forward.
“That dress belonged to my wife,” he said. “And you had no right to touch it.”
She hesitated.
“You destroyed something that mattered to my daughter,” he continued.
“And I won’t let you hurt her again.”
“You’re choosing her over me?”
“Yes,” he said. “Every time.”
Silence.
Then she grabbed her bag and left.
Slamming the door behind her.
The house felt different after that.
Quieter.
But not empty.
That night, I hung the dress back in my closet.
Carefully.
Continued on the next page
