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When I arrived, I paused on the front porch, nerves fluttering like they used to on the first day of school. The screen door was ajar, and I could hear Gary’s voice from the kitchen, laughing into a phone call.
I wasn’t eavesdropping. I hadn’t intended to listen. But then I heard him say:
“I never loved her. Stayed for the house. Free rent, no mortgage. That’s the whole reason.”
The air left my lungs.
He laughed again. “And the kid? Just part of the deal. Made pancakes, went to school plays—it was all for show.”
I stood frozen. The man I was about to thank—the man I believed had filled the space my father left behind—had been performing. For ten years. Every birthday, every meal, every quiet moment of kindness. Manufactured.
Then came the worst of it.
“Her real dad? He wrote letters for years. Wanted to come back, reconnect. I trashed every single one.”
I felt the world tilt. I didn’t even know he’d written. Letters from my father—thrown away, unread, hidden from me forever.
The Confrontation
I rang the doorbell, hands trembling.
Gary opened the door. His face lit up for a moment—then fell when he saw my expression. He knew.
“You meant what you said?” I asked, holding back the crack in my voice.
He stammered. “It was just talk. You know how guys are…”
“No,” I said. “Don’t you dare. You made me believe you cared. You let me grieve beside you. You made me think I had something real.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out the card—the one written with love, hope, and hard-earned trust. I dropped it on the floor between us.
“Add it to your collection of lies.”
I turned and walked away.
The Final Blow — and the Beginning of the Truth
Weeks passed. I told no one. I barely slept. I couldn’t eat the lemon bars I had brought home. They tasted like betrayal.
Eventually, I contacted my mother’s attorney and requested a copy of her will. Something in me needed answers—needed control, maybe justice.
When I opened the envelope, I felt the breath leave me again—but for a different reason.
“The house is yours, Jenna. Sole beneficiary. Your mother left everything to you.”
Gary wasn’t mentioned. Not once.
The man who “stayed for the house” had no legal claim to it. It had never been his.
The Return
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