I FOUND MY DAUGHTER’S WEDDING DRESS CUT TO PIECES WITH MY STEPDAUGHTER STANDING OVER IT
I THOUGHT SHE DID IT, BUT I WAS WRONG.
I’m a mother of two—my daughter Sarina, 22, and my stepdaughter Lani, 23. Lani is competitive and often compares herself to Sarina, who’s calm and non-confrontational. I usually step in to stop Lani from turning everything into a rivalry.
Tensions peaked when Sarina announced her wedding after just two months of engagement, while Lani, engaged for eight months, couldn’t get an earlier date. Lani asked Sarina to delay, but the wedding was set, and Sarina had already spent $1,500 on her dress.
Days before the wedding, Lani visited us and suddenly excused herself during dinner. I followed her and found Sarina’s dress shredded on the bed. Lani insisted she didn’t touch it.
At first, I didn’t know who to believe, but then I remembered hearing Sarina arguing quietly earlier. It turned out her fiancé’s younger sister, Jessa, had destroyed the dress out of jealousy. She confessed after a FaceTime call with Sarina, Lani, and me.
In the end, Sarina got a replacement dress, and surprisingly, Lani stepped up to help with last-minute wedding preparations. At the reception, Sarina toasted Lani for standing by her.
Since then, the girls’ relationship has improved. I learned not to jump to conclusions—family isn’t just about blood or history; it’s about who shows up when it counts.
