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<\/p>\nMy dad remarried last year, and I hate his new wife. She doesn\u2019t see me as her own daughter, and I get that because I\u2019m really not. But what I don\u2019t understand is why she sees me as some sort of competition. To make things worse, she keeps calling me the wrong name even after correcting her. When the opportunity came, I decided to teach her a lesson that caused her embarrassment.<\/p>\n
This past year has certainly put my patience to the test. Ever since my dad remarried Carla, she has been annoying me with her snide comments and calling me the wrong name.<\/p>\n
My name is Jessica, but she calls me by my second name, Eunice, which I hate. There\u2019s a peculiar dynamic at play, mainly because Carla has a daughter named Jessica. But unlike what you might expect, we get along incredibly well. We\u2019ve become like real sisters, sharing everything from clothes to secrets, which seems to confuse Carla.<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s not subtle about her favoritism. She\u2019s always arranging little outings for my stepsister and Dad, almost as if she\u2019s trying to craft her perfect little family tableau with me as the outsider. But what really grates on me is how she insists on calling me by my second name.<\/p>\n
My father laughed, and we walked to the football field with the baked goods. We set up everything, waiting for Bake Day to begin so that we could sell our cupcakes and head out.<\/p>\n
And then, Tanya and her twin girls, Allie and Avery, showed up, setting their containers of brownies next to mine.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no!\u201d Tanya shrieked, almost dropping a container as she tripped on a tablecloth, causing my father to rush to her rescue.<\/p>\n
He caught the container, set it right, and helped unhook the piece of tablecloth that had caught on Tanya\u2019s shoe.<\/p>\n
That was the beginning of the end.<\/p>\n
My father and Tanya exchanged numbers, and by the end of the fundraiser, they had made plans to meet for dinner the following week.<\/p>\n
Two years later, they were married\u2014with Allie, Avery, and I as bridesmaids.<\/p>\n
And for once, I learned what it was like to have a mother.<\/p>\n
At first, things were fine\u2014Tanya did the necessary things for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust be careful,\u201d my grandmother told me. \u201cShe\u2019s just being nice because your father married her. Wait until the dust settles. But for your sake, my darling, I hope she\u2019s everything you need her to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was as if Gran\u2019s words had conjured the nasty side of Tanya. She went from being caring to losing the plot with me. I began to see the difference in how she treated me compared to the way she treated the twins.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d my father said when we went for a run together\u2014recently, his cholesterol had been absolutely high, and as per doctor\u2019s orders, he had to start living a healthy life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the fact that the twins are getting new things,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s the fact that she doesn\u2019t even try to make me feel like I deserve them, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been Tanya and the girls for a long time, love,\u201d my father said, stopping to catch his breath. \u201cThey only know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
We walked back home, and my father told me that despite the way I felt, he would always be there for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"