Goodstorie

I have never really been a vindictive woman, but I just love it when karma is served piping hot on a platter, and that is what has happened. I could not be happier or more smug about the entire situation, and I don’t care if that makes me a bad person or a bad daughter. I am just so happy that I have finally been able to see justice after years and years of trauma and emotional neglect. I have grown up feeling horrible because of my father, and now that he has no one else to fall back to, he suddenly remembers this daughter of his that he never really liked in the first place.

I am a female and the middle of three siblings. I have an elder brother, **Finley (Finn), male, 37**, and a younger sister, **Sarah, female, 29**. For most of my childhood, we were a happy family. My parents had their favorites, but at least my mom (**female, 59**) tried her best to be an equal parent. The same cannot be said for my father (**male, 65**). He made his favoritism blatantly obvious. Sarah was the apple of his eye, and he had a natural affinity for Finn because he was the son and they could bond over “man things.” So naturally, I was excluded from this dynamic.

It started very young. I always remember feeling that Dad didn’t really like me. I tried to voice it a few times, I guess through tantrums; I was a difficult child in general. But nothing I ever did made him pay much attention towards me. So as I grew up, I accepted it. I think Mom saw through his favoritism and tried to compensate. I have always loved her for “seeing me” in a sense, because if it had not been for my father, I would have stayed invisible all my life. Like I said, Mom was and still is the equal parent. She loved us equally and treated us the same. She tried her best to not make me feel left out, and I think Finn saw it too. He saw my neglect, he saw that I was kind of always aloof, and he tried to fill in. He used to ask Dad to let me come when Dad taught him how to change car tires. He made sure I was there when Dad taught him how to drive a car. I know it was him because Dad never included me in the conversations.

I wasn’t abused or something like that; if they got us gifts, we were given similar things. I got as many new dresses as Sarah or Finn. I was just never taken care of emotionally by Dad, and all that time, Mom and Finn tried to fill that hole in my life. On the other hand, Sarah just loved being the little princess. She was a snobby young kid, and her school raised several alarms over her attitude, but somehow all those concerns were brushed under the carpet. She grew up to be quite an exhausting and entitled young woman, and as such, I’m not very close to her. Finn and I are very thick, and Finn just cannot stand Sarah. The only person who does not see a problem with her behavior is Dad, and Mom also just about tolerates her. This is how things are as of now.

Family Dynamics and New Beginnings

Around 10 years ago, Mom and Dad got divorced. The split was amicable, and all of us have been kept in the dark about what the actual reason was. Mom and Dad just say that they “weren’t compatible anymore,” but all of us know that that’s a lie and the real reason is something else. I’m almost certain that it wasn’t infidelity because neither of them started dating anyone for a long time after the divorce. But to this day, none of us know what really happened, and Mom and Dad have always preferred to keep it this way. We were all adults when this happened, so there was no custody drama to deal with, and they have mostly been on good terms since then.

I have personally preferred not to visit Dad all that much because, let’s be honest, there is no love lost there. He hasn’t complained about my absence, so I guess it suits both of us. I generally go to Mom’s place when I have the time, but Finn and Sarah divide their time equally between the two places. Finn and I sometimes coordinate when we go to Mom’s place, but we never go with Sarah unless it’s for Christmas. Finn genuinely just cannot stand her. All in all, we seem pretty functional and normal to anyone who looks at us from the outside. Things, however, have changed for the worse, and I, for one, am happy about it.

Five years ago, Mom started dating **Arthur, male, 60**. They met at a yoga retreat and hit it off instantly. He’s a cool guy, and I like spending time with him. He’s good to Finn and me and never tries to push boundaries. I don’t think there is any reason for him to be bad to Sarah, and no one has ever said anything about it, so I assume that things are okay between them as well. Mom is happy, and that’s all that matters. He is cordial with Dad as well, even though Dad is the one who gives him a lot of attitude. I think it’s because Dad’s dating life has not been very successful, and he doesn’t have a stable partner. Moreover, Arthur earns much more than Dad, and Mom’s life is luxurious as of today when compared to what she had when she was with Dad. All of us are happy for Mom, but I think Dad just feels quite bitter about the entire situation. He also doesn’t like the fact that we have a good relationship with Arthur, even though Finn has tried to explain to Dad that none of us are replacing him, but are just being sensible adults about the entire situation. He still acts jealous. It’s all quite childish and extremely off-putting. I thankfully don’t have to deal with much of it because I don’t interact with Dad that much. This is how the current dynamics of the family are.

Wedding Plans and a Father’s Choice

The background is important for what has happened in the last couple of days. A few months ago, my fiancé, **Kieran, male, 34**, proposed to me. We have been together for a long while now. I didn’t announce the engagement immediately because I quite enjoy my privacy, but Kieran and I wanted to keep the engagement period short and get married as soon as possible, so we let our families know after we had decided on the date. The wedding is scheduled a week from now.

When I told my family, the reaction was mixed. Finn and Mom were overjoyed, and Arthur was happy too. Dad had a very normal reaction, but Sarah seemed quite upset. It all happened over video call, and I could see that she just forced a smile and disconnected the call soon after. I was expecting some kind of a tantrum from her because she hates not being the center of attention, but I couldn’t be bothered with her drama at that point in time.

I called Finn separately to gossip and also told him that I wanted him and not Dad to walk me down the aisle. He was quiet for a while, and he said that while he was very touched by my request, he felt it was inappropriate to do it and that Dad would create a huge fuss about it. He said that he would absolutely love to do it, but he couldn’t because he didn’t want to upset Dad. I was hurt by what he said. I told him that I had come to him because I had been failed by Dad repeatedly, and he knew that I wanted him to be the one standing there with me because he has been my male protective figure much more than Dad. It was an emotional conversation, and I hate to admit it, but I also thought that he was making sense, so I didn’t fight him on it.

He gently told me that whether or not he walked me down the aisle was not important. What was important was that I have a day that has the least possible drama so that I can think back on it happily and not have any bad feelings on that day. He said that if he did end up taking Dad’s role, Dad would stay pissy during the entire ceremony and just ruin the day and the memories for me. He was right. Dad was quite capable of pulling off this stunt, and I know what Finn said was ultimately going to make the day easier for me, if not ideal. He told me to talk to Dad about it, and I said I was quite reluctant about having him walk me down the aisle and that I would think about it.

Thankfully for me, two weeks later, Sarah too announced her engagement with her boyfriend, **Zach**. Kieran and I exchanged looks, and I knew that she would now try to upstage my wedding or pull off some other stunt, but I couldn’t really help it. Finn wasn’t that happy either. Both of us understood why the timing was off, but well, we couldn’t control it, so we had to stay quiet. One good thing that came out of this was that Sarah’s wedding date is a month after mine, so around 5 weeks from now. She had really wanted to somehow manage to get married before me, but the stars never aligned in her favor, and she had to make do with being the second bride of the family. She was quite salty about it and tried to guilt me into postponing my wedding, but I stayed firm. I was not one to pander to her whims, and that was something that she needed to outgrow. So things stayed as they were.

However, apparently Dad and she had a pact that he would walk her down the aisle first, before walking me down the aisle. I really don’t know how they came up with something as twisted as that. I guess they assumed that I wouldn’t be getting married or would get married late because I never had much luck with boys in school and college anyway. So, when I asked Dad to walk me down the aisle—this was after Sarah had announced her engagement—he regretfully (yay!) told me that he had promised his “baby” that he would walk her down the aisle first, and he had made that promise years ago when “she was on her deathbed.” This never happened, and now he couldn’t go back on his word and break her heart, so he wouldn’t be able to walk me down the aisle. I won’t lie, I was ecstatic because I didn’t want him walking me down the aisle anyway. I pretended to be so sad and hurt, but I was dancing internally. I told him that I respected his promise to Sarah, and while it hurt me a lot (it didn’t), I would accept it.

I immediately called Finn up and told him what had happened, and he was furious at Dad. He told me that if he had known Dad would behave like this, he would have jumped at the first moment of me asking him to walk me down the aisle. He said that if Dad could choose which daughter to give this privilege to, so could I. He was mad at Dad, but I was too happy to even care. It had ultimately become exactly what I had wanted, and I could not be happier. Things were going well despite all the stress of planning a wedding. I had been jittery and nervous, but things seemed well in place till yesterday when unprecedented drama made its way into my life, for which I have no stamina.

Sarah’s Betrayal and Dad’s Desperation

In short, last evening Sarah informed Dad that he wouldn’t be walking her down the aisle. She asked Arthur to be the one to do it. It came as a surprise to all of us. She did it over video call, no less. It was brutal, and she could have been more sensitive about it. All of us knew that Dad was looking forward to her wedding. He even paid for all of it because her fiancé and her want to save the money for the honeymoon. Mom and Dad had a lot on their plate with helping plan for two weddings, and Dad had almost mentally checked out of mine. He had no input or suggestions to give, and he would just stay disinterested in anything related to my wedding because all his focus was on Sarah. Moreover, he hadn’t contributed a dime towards my wedding; Kieran and I are funding it ourselves.

It had become so bad that I was relying more on Mom and Arthur’s approval for suggestions more than Dad’s. Arthur was actually involved in my wedding, which was not the case with Sarah. This is exactly why even Arthur looked taken aback by Sarah’s request, or rather demand, and didn’t know how to respond. He kept on looking at Mom. We were all at a loss for words, and Mom said that Arthur would love to do it. It had to be one of the worst calls I’ve ever attended, and I work in corporate, so bad calls are kind of my staple. By then, Dad was in tears. Instead of talking to Sarah about it, he started cussing out Arthur and disconnected the call, and that was that.

I’m sure the others must have asked him how he was feeling, but I didn’t. I had many other things to worry about, so I promptly exited the call. Plus, this wasn’t my issue anyway. It was a promise between Sarah and him, one that he did not want to break, and if she did, that was between them. I had no intention or desire of wanting to intervene. They could sort this out amongst themselves. I had no role to play in this, and this was not the time to involve me in petty family issues that did not concern me. Little did I know that it would end up concerning me soon enough.

To my utter annoyance, Dad called me last night in tears. This was a few hours after the devastating blow his little princess had inflicted on him. He was sobbing on the phone, telling me that he was a fool for rejecting my offer of letting him walk me down the aisle and that he would love to do it for me. I couldn’t believe my ears. The entitlement was shocking. I told him very gently that while I felt very sad for what had happened, it was something between Sarah and him, and it in no way changed what I had planned for my wedding. I told him that Finn was walking me down the aisle, and that had been decided months ago and that I could not change it at the last minute.

He said that he would talk to Finn and that Finn was a placeholder for him anyway and that I didn’t have to worry about Finn not agreeing. I told him that it wasn’t about Finn not agreeing; I didn’t want to hurt Finn. I also didn’t want him to walk me down the aisle in the first place, but he did not need to know that. He insisted that he would talk to Finn and set things straight like they should be, but I told him that a swap was not happening. Finn would be walking me down the aisle, and that was final. He was in complete denial, and he thought I was resisting because Finn wouldn’t step down, and he was confident that he could talk him out of it. I disconnected the call and called Finn right after I spoke to Dad and told him what was up.

To say that Finn was livid would be an understatement. He asked me what I wanted, and I told him that I had always wanted him to be the one to give me away. He was the first person I had asked, and it was only at his insistence that I had asked Dad in the first place. He asked me if I was sure I wanted him to walk me down the aisle. I said yes. He then told me that I needn’t worry about anything and that he would set Dad straight for me if Dad did call him. I told him I didn’t want any drama at the wedding and that Dad needed to be informed that he couldn’t just breeze in whenever he likes and use me as a replacement daughter just because his favorite kicked him to the boot. Finn told me not to worry about it and that he would see to it that Dad knows that there is no change in the wedding plans. This was last night, and I have had no communication with either of them since then, and it is driving me sick. Everything was going well, and I really don’t have it in me to deal with this drama right now. I don’t know if I should talk to them, and I don’t know what has happened between Finn and Dad and if he has spoken to him at all. I’m nauseous with anxiety, and I don’t know what to do.

Finn’s Stand and Dad’s Reality Check

I finally spoke to Finn, and things are a mess. They’re even worse than I thought, but thankfully he has most of it handled, so it’s not going to come and create problems for me. Finn said that he was waiting for Dad to call him up and talk to him about the supposed change in plans, but the call never came. That was when he realized that Dad wasn’t even going to discuss any of this and that just because he had decided he would be walking me down the aisle automatically meant that everyone had to be okay with it. Finn waited for a day for Dad to reach out, but when he didn’t, he called him up himself. He asked Dad if there was a change of plans because I had been saying something. Dad tried to act all nonchalant and said that I had asked him to walk me down the aisle since Sarah won’t be doing that anymore.

Now, the thing with Finn is that he is very diplomatic. He is the sensible and level-headed one amongst the three of us. So when he told me that he went full-on ballistic on Dad, I was very surprised. Finn said that he asked Dad to cut the crap and that both of them knew that I hadn’t asked him to walk me down the aisle, but rather he was the one who had begged to have the role of the father in my wedding because his favorite daughter had kicked him out. When Dad heard this, he was obviously furious. He has that typical habit of reacting viciously when confronted with the truth or anything that he does not want to hear. But before he could cut in and say anything, Finn told him to shut the hell up for once and listen to what others had to say.

He said that Dad should be grateful that he was even getting an invite to my wedding given the way that he had treated me all these years. And then Finn tore a new one into him. He apologized to me and said that he knew it wasn’t his place to lash out at Dad like this, especially a few days before my wedding, but he said he couldn’t control himself, but he wanted Dad to know what he really was and come out of the facade that he was living in. He said everything. He said that he had always favored Sarah the most and would at least try and make an effort with Finn, but that I was always an afterthought for him. He also said that I had actually asked Finn to walk me down the aisle, and he was the first option for me anyway, but it was his insistence that had made me talk to Dad in the first place. Finn said that he had hoped Dad would take up the offer and then at least start to mend the relationship that I had with him, but he blew his chance.

Finn said that he was a failure of a dad because out of his three kids, none of them loved or respected him. He didn’t respect Dad because Dad couldn’t be a fair parent to all his children. I didn’t respect him because he never bothered to love me and treat me like his daughter. And funnily enough, even Sarah didn’t respect him because if she did, she wouldn’t have pulled the stunt that she did. He said that Sarah growing up to be entitled was on Dad because he was the one who had pampered her and raised her all these years. He said that Sarah’s personality, and a horrible one at that, was Dad’s creation and that it served him right that he was discarded by his favorite child because he had been discarding his children since they had been born.

Finn said that there was quite a lot more that he had said, but he didn’t remember most of it since it was said in blinding rage. He assured me that after the stern reality check that Dad had gotten, I didn’t have to worry about him pulling any stunts, and if he did, Finn would set him straight right there. He also said that there was absolutely no change in plans, that he would be the one walking me down the aisle, and that he would not change it for the world. He apologized for the ruckus, that too right before the wedding, but I was more thankful than anything else. In all my life, I have never had the strength to take this kind of a stand for myself, and I had assumed that this was how my life was supposed to be like. I always thought that maybe Dad didn’t love me because of some fault of mine. I tried to outgrow that feeling over the years, but I never could. And here I had my brother taking a fierce stand for me, something that I had never expected anyone to do.

My mother should have when we were kids, but she didn’t. She tried to make up for the lack of affection in her own way, but she never stood up for me. I don’t blame her for it, but it was her diffidence and deference towards Dad that made me feel that maybe there would never be a situation where I could tell him how horrible he was being to me. But that had changed, and it had changed only because my brother loved me so much that he couldn’t bear the thought of me going through this anymore. I had tears in my eyes by the time he had narrated the entire incident and was choking when I told him that this was the most beautiful thing that anyone had ever done for me. I don’t think Finn realizes the magnitude of what he has done, but it has to be the best thing that I could ever ask for.

A Smooth Wedding and Lingering Tensions

I’m now a married woman! I actually got married a few days ago, and I’m currently enjoying my honeymoon with Kieran in Thailand. The wedding went without a hitch, though there was still some drama before it with Finn not backing down and Dad not being able to walk even one daughter down the aisle. Things had gotten quite serious. The main thing Dad was concerned with was how the extended family would view him if he was missing from both the kids’ weddings. This was the point he kept circling back to when Finn and he had a chat again.

Finn told him point-blank that at least for my wedding, he was missing the role of the father because he was emotionally checked out with me anyway, and Finn said that he should be grateful that he was even getting an invite in the first place. And as for Sarah, nobody really knows why she did what she did, and he could only ask himself what went wrong with her since she was his favorite. Word got around to Sarah, and she had the audacity to call me and say that I needed to have Dad walk me down the aisle since she couldn’t and that it was “just unfair to him.” I told her to eat dirt because she was the one who was funding her wedding on Dad’s money and had then kicked him out. I told her that I had gone to Dad, and he had chosen to only walk her down the aisle because of some stupid promise that she couldn’t honor. And if she was so hurt that her dear old daddy was miserable, she was more than welcome to switch things back up at her wedding. I told her that I was sure Arthur would understand and that I could even talk to him for her since she was feeling so bad about that. She didn’t have much to say to that and cut the call.

I called Finn up and told him that I didn’t want to be part of any more Dad drama before the wedding, and it was his responsibility to ensure that none of it came to me. I was done with this, and I had a hundred other things to worry or feel excited about, and I couldn’t let Dad ruin my day. He had already made me miserable for the majority portion of my life, and I couldn’t have him take away from the most special day of my life as well. Finn told me not to worry, that it wasn’t easy, and that he would take care of everything.

To say that I was white with nerves on my wedding day would be an understatement, but thankfully everything was under control. Dad looked quite sullen, but he didn’t try to start crap, so I am thankful for that. And I was too busy enjoying myself after a point to even worry about his pouty face. Sarah tried to stay as far away from Dad as possible, and it was quite awkward between them, but I didn’t care. The wedding went without a hitch, and I’m glad nobody could dampen the day. When Finn walked me down the aisle, I could feel Dad glaring daggers at my back, but that was all that he could do. I have been told that a couple of people have been asking why Finn was up there and not Dad, and now he has been left to do some damage control, but well, that’s his cross to bear. I just want to be done with Sarah’s wedding as well so that there is no scope for any drama and I can live life in peace. Once her wedding is done, I’m going to go low contact with Dad for the foreseeable future. I don’t see the point of staying in touch with him anyway.

Sarah’s Wedding and Dad’s Isolation

Sarah got married yesterday. I wouldn’t know how it went because she uninvited both Kieran and me from the wedding. I don’t know what she wanted to achieve by this, but I was more than happy to sit it out. To her dismay, even Finn did not go, so it was only Mom, Arthur, and Dad there. Dad was apparently hopeful that she would change her mind at the last minute and have him walk her down the aisle, but that never happened. It was uncomfortable as hell, and from what photos she has posted, it is evident that Arthur would rather be anywhere but there. Dad is sullen, Arthur is uncomfortable, and Mom is just done. Other than that, she’s fine. Her wedding went well too, not that I care. Mom called me up to give these details.

Dad is miserable, naturally, because he had been holding out hope that at least one of us would succumb and let him do what he wants to. But now all of his kids are practically estranged from him, and his personal life is a mess as well. He is not taking it well, but I couldn’t care less. I honestly feel it serves him right for being such a shitty father to me and for letting me have a horrible childhood, and not just that, even contributing to it.