Chapter 4The Stepsister's Stepmother

After graduating college and landing a job, I moved out of Dad’s place. A few years later, I'd saved enough to buy my own small condo. I rarely stayed over at Dad's—partly because I couldn't stand being around Linda and Ashley, and partly because I didn't want to make things awkward for Dad.

Dad had told me once that Ashley had a rough childhood. Her biological father was a gambling addict. When he lost, he’d drink and take it out on Linda, hitting and yelling. He’d always be incredibly apologetic the next day, and Linda, being soft-hearted, could never bring herself to leave him.

That might have gone on forever, but one night, he came home drunk after losing big. Ashley was just coming out of the bathroom, and he slapped her, hard, right out of the blue. She started screaming. Linda heard the commotion, saw Ashley crying, and was overwhelmed with guilt and pain. That was the final straw. She finally filed for divorce.

After Linda married Dad, he learned about Ashley’s past and treated her really well, just like he treated me, his own daughter. Ashley seemed to adore Dad's calm, gentle nature, always calling him 'Dad' affectionately.

If it hadn't been for that one incident, maybe we could have actually been a happy, blended family. But hey, at least Ashley and Linda were decent to Dad, even if Ashley and I didn't get along. So, I mostly kept my mouth shut.