Source: Reddit
My mom married Jeff when I was 6 years old. My dad died two months earlier but my parents were divorced at the time. Jeff and his daughter Emma lived in another state, and all four of us moved to a new place to “start over”. I met Jeff and Emma 2 weeks after my dad died. Mom made a fast move. Right from the get go Emma has been clingy, possessive and kinda a little creepy too.
I didn’t like her from the first day we met because she told me Jeff was my dad now and that I needed to learn how to be a family with them because she wanted a sister and a mom. It upset me so bad because I was missing my dad, he wasn’t gone that long, and I had this strange girl tell me to replace him already. I told her that her dad wasn’t my dad, and I missed my dad. She told me she didn’t care and things were different. I went to my mom who told me to give Emma and Jeff a chance and said Emma likely got overexcited.
Emma has continuously made life so awkward for me. She insisted we share a bedroom, which my mom and Jeff said yes to despite having a spare bedroom. She started wearing my clothes and telling me I could wear hers. All fine with mom and Jeff. She hated how I kept in touch with my best friend from back home. Hated it even more when a year later my best friend’s family moved nearby and we got to see each other again vs just talking over the phone. She was rude to her, told her to leave me alone, told me I had to spend time with her instead of my best friend.
Emma tore up photos of my dad and told me that he was “the past” and her and Jeff were “the future”. She did get into trouble for that but then I got into trouble for not letting it go. I was 9 at the time I think. Emma tells everyone I’m her sister and we’re so close. Whereas I am more honest with the people I am close to and don’t hold back on how unhappy I am at home.
Over the years nothing has changed much. Only she’s far more obsessive now. Jeff doesn’t like me because he really doesn’t like that I don’t consider him my dad, and I will be honest, I don’t think of him as a parental figure even though I know he is. I don’t love him and I hate Emma. Which he also knows. My mom has talked to me before about being nicer to Emma and to stop pushing her away so much.
She got on my case again about it because I wouldn’t go to camp with Emma (we’re both 16 now btw) that she wanted to go to, that allowed almost like a sibling experience. Emma went solo and I stayed. So mom was at me and at me and I eventually kinda snapped and told mom that she needed to fix how possessive Emma is and do better by me, because I’m her daughter, I lost my dad, and she threw me into such a f**ked up dynamic and never cared about what it did to me. I told her at the very least she needs to keep Emma away from me.
Mom was mad and said I portrayed Emma like some sort of bad person. She’s still mad. Am I wrong for not forgetting my real dad?
Would you be mad in her position? Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
