Then she froze.
Her smug smile crumbled into something pale and horrified.
I stepped closer to try and see what she was seeing inside the box.
Inside was a single black velvet ring box and a folded envelope. Her name was written on the front in Dad’s unmistakable handwriting.
Her hands shook as she picked up the envelope. She fumbled with the flap, pulling out the letter. I watched as she read, her lips trembling.
“Melanie,” she read aloud, her voice wavering. “If you’re reading this, it means you’ve done exactly what I suspected. I overheard your conversation with your sister last week. About taking Anna’s gift for yourself. I thought about confronting you then, but I wanted to give you a chance to prove me wrong. Instead, you proved everything I feared.”
She glanced up at me, her face ghost-white.
“Is that it? Is there more?” I asked, the words escaping my lips before I could stop them.
Her eyes darted back to the page, and she nodded.
“You’ve disrespected my daughter, and now you’ve crossed the line. Consider this my official goodbye. Merry Christmas.”
She dropped the letter like it had burned her. With shaking hands, she opened the velvet box. Inside was her engagement ring. The same ring Dad had used to propose.
But the ring wasn’t really Melanie’s. It had belonged to my grandmother, and it was something that I always wanted. But since my dad had proposed to Melanie with it, I didn’t think that it would have been mine.
Ever.
The room was silent except for her shaky breaths; the usual Christmas carols were forgotten. I stood rooted to the spot, torn between shock and a strange, quiet satisfaction.
Then the front door opened.
Melanie spun around.
“Greg?”
“Dad!”
Dad stood in the doorway, duffel bag in hand. He looked calm, too calm. Like someone who had expected what was coming, or what he was walking into.
Like it had been planned. Well, of course it had. He had written an entire letter. But when had he started to notice how Melanie treated me? I tried so hard to make sure that he hadn’t seen our issues.
“I thought you were on a work trip,” she stammered.
“I wasn’t,” he said simply.
He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.
“I stayed close. I needed to see for myself. I knew you were making Anna feel less than herself. For a while now, Melanie, I’ve been watching and I’ve been listening. I thought that you’d get better, and that maybe things were just difficult for you. That you were still transitioning into being a parent.”
“Greg, it’s not what it looks like…” she said.
“Oh, it’s exactly what it looks like, Melanie,” Dad interrupted, his voice sharp. “I gave you a chance, Melanie. I wanted to believe that you’d do the right thing. But you proved me wrong.”
“Please,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean… Greg, I love that ring…”
“I know, but Anna loves it, too. I spoke to my mother, and she told me that Anna had always hoped for it. Now, please stop. I trusted you to be my partner. To be a stepmother to Anna. But instead, you’ve shown nothing but greed and cruelty. This was the final test, and you failed.”
Melanie looked at me like this was somehow my fault. Her face crumpled as she tried to speak, but Dad had already turned away from her.
“Pack your things,” he said, his voice calm again. “You’re leaving today.”
Melanie left that afternoon, dragging her suitcase out the door with all the grace of a storm cloud. She muttered something about misunderstandings and how Dad was making a huge mistake.
“This will be your undoing, Greg. Nobody is capable of loving you and tolerating your child at the same time.”
“Just leave,” he said.
I didn’t bother to respond. I needed this decision to be solely his.
The house was quiet again, and for the first time in months, it felt peaceful.
Dad and I spent the rest of Christmas together. Just the two of us. We made a huge stack of pancakes with extra crispy bacon, drank hot chocolate, watched old Christmas movies, and laughed about the times when I’d sneak peeks at my presents as a kid.
Later that night, when the fire had burned low and the house felt warm and homey again, my dad gave me another wrapped present.
It was another gold box. Inside was the ring box again and another letter, this one with my name on it.
I opened it carefully.
Anna, you’re the best thing in my life. I hope this Christmas marks a new beginning for both of us. I love you more than anything. – Dad.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I said.
“Whatever for?” he asked, glancing from his spot on the couch.
“For everything with Melanie. I hoped that I’d be off to college soon and you wouldn’t have to navigate life between us. I just wanted you to be happy.”
“I am happy, darling,” he said. “And this ring is yours. One day there will be some worthy man who will slide it onto your finger, and your forever will begin. Melanie wasn’t that for me.”
