Stephen wasn’t just my stepfather—he was the man who held my life together after my mom died when I was ten. Those first years without her were heavy with silence, grief, and resentment. I was angry at the world, and Stephen, stepping into a role he didn’t ask for, bore the brunt of it. He tried every day, never forcing himself into my heart but slowly stitching it back together through homework help, school plays, awkward dinners,
and late-night talks. Even when I screamed, “You’re not my dad!” he stayed. Over time, my walls began to crumble, and I finally saw him for who he truly was—the man who never gave up on me. By the time I packed for college, he wasn’t my stepdad anymore. He was just… my dad. Then, on the morning of my eighteenth birthday, everything I thought I knew was about to change forever.