My Daughter Erased Me From The Wedding I Paid For—Then Chose The Man My Cheating Ex Left With… So I

My daughter erased me from the wedding I paid for, then chose the man my cheating ex left with. So, I canceled all and let the chaos speak for me. I'm a 57year-old male and never thought I'd be posting something like this, but I really need to get this off my chest because it's been eating me up inside for weeks now.

I'm not really sure where else to turn, to be honest. This is about my daughter Kay, a 27-year-old female, and how she basically ripped my heart out, which led to me doing something pretty extreme that I'm still kind of conflicted about. Here's some quick background because this stuff matters.

Kay is my only child from my first marriage. Her mom split when Kay was seven, running off to Europe with some guy named Tom. I raised Kay by myself for 5 years before I met my current wife, Jenna, a 45-year-old female.

Not going to lie, those 5 years were rough. Single dad trying to run a business and raise a kid who was seriously struggling with her mom abandoning her. So anyway, about 2 months ago, Kay tells me she's getting married to this guy, Ben.

Now, Kay and I have had a ton of problems over the years. Like, seriously, you wouldn't believe the stuff I've had to deal with. But when she told me about the wedding, I was genuinely happy for her.

Like, finally something good. You know, she seemed really into this Ben guy, and I thought maybe she was finally getting her life together. The thing is, Kay and Ben were basically broke.

She only got a decent job last year, and they'd been living off my money before that. Yeah, I know. I probably enabled her too much.

They couldn't afford anything more than a courthouse wedding. So, I did what any dad would do. Offered to pay for the whole thing as a wedding gift.

Venue, catering, flowers, music, the works. We're talking about a $50,000 wedding here. Not trying to brag, but I run this export business that's been in my family for two generations, so I can afford it.

I remember the day we sat down to talk about the wedding plans. Kay actually seemed happy, like genuinely excited. The first time I'd seen her like that in years.

She was showing me all these Pinterest boards and Instagram posts of wedding stuff she liked. For a minute there, it felt like maybe we were finally going to have that father-daughter relationship I always wanted. The wedding planner she picked was this guy who' done a bunch of fancy weddings in our area.

Real professional, had a whole team and everything. Kay went to all these meetings with him, picking out decorations and stuff. I just paid the deposits and let her handle it all, figuring it was her day, you know.

Plus, I was crazy busy with work. And honestly, what do I know about wedding planning? I remember texting her one night after she sent me some pictures of the venue she picked.

This gorgeous place by the lake, real fancy. I told her I was proud of her and couldn't wait to walk her down the aisle. She just sent back a thumbs up emoji.

I should have known something was off right there, but I guess I was too caught up in the whole thing to notice. Everything seemed fine for about a month and a half. Kay was doing all the wedding prep stuff and I was paying all the bills, which kept getting bigger, by the way.

Like, who needs a chocolate fountain and an ice sculpture? I figured we were good. I even started working with my tailor to get a nice suit made.

Jenna was helping me pick out colors and everything. She's always been really supportive of Kay, even though Kay has been nothing but nasty to her for years. But then little things started feeling off.

Jenna's cousin ran into one of Kay's friends at a cafe and mentioned how excited we were for the wedding. Apparently, Kay's friend looked confused and said, "Oh, I thought she wasn't inviting them. " She said she had to cut out toxic family members for her mental health.

Jenna's cousin asked what she meant, and the friend just awkwardly mumbled something about a really traumatic childhood before changing the subject. At the time, I brushed it off, thinking maybe she misunderstood, but man, I should have paid attention right then. Everything started falling apart when my brother Joe called me around this time asking about the wedding date because he needed to book flights.

I figured I'd just call the wedding planner real quick to add him to the guest list. It should have been simple, but the guy starts acting all weird on the phone, saying stuff like, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir, but the guest list is already full, and I'll need to check with the bride about any changes. " Now, I'm thinking, "What the hell?

I'm literally paying for everything, and this guy's acting like he needs permission to add one person. " So, I push back a little, asking him to just send me the full guest list so I can see what we're working with. This dude starts stammering, saying he's not authorized to share that information with anyone.

That's when I lost it a bit. Not going to lie. I probably could have handled this better.

I told him straight up that I'm the one signing his checks and either he sends me that list or I'm calling his boss. Yeah, I know that was kind of Karen behavior, but something felt really off. He finally caves and emails me the list.

My name wasn't on it. My wife Jenna's name wasn't on it. But you want to know what the real knife in the gut was?

Right there in black and white, father of the bride, Tom, to walk bride down aisle. Tom. The same guy who helped my ex-wife abandon our seven-year-old daughter.

The same guy who told my ex he wasn't ready to be a father when they moved to Europe. The guy who literally looked me in the face and said, "Kay's your problem now before they left. " That's when it clicked.

This wasn't just about me not being invited. This was about replacing me, about erasing me completely. And the worst part, Kay had already been spreading lies to justify it.

I called my sister, my parents, hell, even some of our extended family. Every single one of them had heard some version of the same story. How I was emotionally abusive.

How I never supported her. How I was controlling and manipulative. She had been laying the groundwork for this for months.

Probably telling Ben's family the same thing. Spinning some soba story about how I was a neglectful father so they wouldn't question why she cut me off. I must have stared at that email for about an hour.

Kept thinking maybe I was reading it wrong. But nope. The wedding planner even forwarded me Kay's original emails.

She had specifically instructed them not to let me or Jenna into the venue with a whole section about security protocols and everything. So, here I was $50,000 deep into my daughter's wedding. And I find out I'm not even allowed to attend.

Not only that, but she's having the guy who abandoned her walk her down the aisle instead of me. The guy who hasn't sent her so much as a birthday card in 20 years. I'm not going to pretend I handled it well.

I went on a pretty bad bender for about a week. Like taking shots for breakfast kind of bender. Jenna was really worried.

Kept trying to get me to eat something, but I just couldn't. I just sat in my home office staring at that email and drinking myself stupid. I called Kay probably 50 times during that week.

All straight to voicemail. I left a bunch of messages. Started out calm, got progressively more angry and emotional.

Real embarrassing stuff looking back. But like, what do you even say to your kid when they do something like this? The worst part was watching Jenna try to process it all.

She's been in Kay's life for 14 years. helped me get her through high school, college, two rehab stays. Yeah, that's a whole other story.

She always defended Kay when other people talked about her behavior, and this is how Kay repays her. The wedding planner kept sending me bills during all this, like regular updates about payments due for flowers, catering, deposits, all that crap. Each one was like a fresh slap.

Kay was still running around planning her perfect wedding, like everything was fine. Using my money to throw a party I wasn't even allowed to attend. I found out later she was at her bachelorette party that week.

I saw pictures on my niece's Instagram. She looked so happy partying with her friends, not a care in the world. Meanwhile, I'm sitting at home having a complete breakdown, trying to figure out where I went so wrong as a father that my kid would do this to me.

Yeah, I know I probably sound pathetic. A 57-year-old man crying over his daughter being mean to him. But man, nothing prepares you for this kind of betrayal.

Like, I've had business partners screw me over, gone through a nasty divorce, dealt with all kinds of crap, but this this hit different. I kept thinking about all the times I'd imagined walking her down the aisle. How I'd managed to stay in her life despite all the drama, the fights, the midnight calls from police stations and hospitals.

How I'd never given up on her, even when everyone told me I should. And now she was choosing Tom. Tom.

After a week of feeling miserable and leaving probably the most embarrassing voicemails ever, seriously, listening back to them makes me cringe. I finally sobered up enough to realize I needed to confront Kay face to face. Jenna tried to talk me out of it.

Said I should wait until I calm down more, but I couldn't just sit there anymore, you know. So, I drive over to Kay's apartment. It's this fancy place that surprise.

I helped them afford until she finally got a job last year. The whole drive over, I'm rehearsing what I'm going to say, trying to stay calm, but man, my hands were shaking so bad I could barely steer. I get to her place around 6:00 p.

m. , ring the bell like five times before she finally answers through the intercom. Dad, I'm really busy with wedding prep right now.

That's all she says. Won't even buzz me up like I'm some door-to-door salesman or something. I'm not proud of what I did next, but I kind of lost it.

I started pushing all the other buzzers until someone let me in, took the elevator up to her floor, and I can hear her and Ben arguing through the door. Then Ben opens up looking super uncomfortable. Kay's standing there in their living room that I furnish, by the way, surrounded by all these wedding magazines and sample centerpieces.

She looks at me like I'm something stuck to her shoe. What do you want? She says.

I try to keep it together. Really do. I ask her calmly why she didn't tell me about Tom walking her down the aisle.

Her response, she smirks, actually smirks, and says, "At least he never replaced mom. " I'm like, "What? This dude literally abandoned her.

Hasn't contacted her in 20 years, and I'm the bad guy for remarrying after 5 years of being a single dad. " Then she hits me with this gem. Well, now you know.

Good for you. Saves you the travel time and expense. I'll send you photos if I get around to it.

She said it so casually, like she was talking about cancelling lunch plans or something. Ben's just standing there looking like he wants to disappear. Then she hits me with, "I had to set boundaries, Dad.

You've always been controlling. This is my wedding, and I won't let you ruin it like you ruined everything else in my life. " At first, I thought she was just being dramatic.

Then Ben speaks up. Kay told me you had some anger issues when she was younger. She told me you used to yell at her all the time.

threatened to send her away if she misbehaved. Ben keeps going, saying that I never really supported her, just tried to control everything she did. I just stood there stunned.

Kay had convinced her own fianceé that I was some kind of abusive monster. I started asking Kay how she could do this to me, to Jenna. She cuts me off.

Oh, here we go with the Jenna drama again. Poor dad and his precious Jenna. Did you ever think maybe I didn't want your replacement wife at my wedding?

That's when I noticed something. There's a framed photo of her and Tom on her coffee table. A recent photo.

Turns out they've been in contact for months. She'd been planning this whole thing behind my back, using my money to fund a wedding where she could play happy family with the guy who threw her away. I asked her what I did that was so horrible she'd rather have Tom walk her down the aisle.

Her response, "You're being dramatic. This is exactly why I didn't tell you. You always make everything about your feelings.

This is my wedding. My choice. You're just the checkbook.

Just the checkbook. 20 years of being there for every crisis, every meltdown, every rehab stay, every midnight emergency, and that's all I am to her, a checkbook. I looked at Ben and said, "Good luck, man.

You're going to need it. " Then I left. The whole confrontation probably lasted 15 minutes, but it felt like hours.

I drove home in a days. I had to pull over at one point because I was hyperventilating. I called Jenna to come get me because I couldn't drive anymore.

When Jenna picked me up, she took one look at my face and knew, just knew, she drove us to get ice cream like we used to do when Kay was little and having a bad day. She didn't say anything, just let me sit there and eat my Sunday and try not to completely fall apart in public. After that confrontation at her apartment, I couldn't let it go.

I called her the next day and she actually picked up this time, probably by accident. I started asking her what I'd done that was so terrible. I don't know why I acted like that, but I really needed to know the answer.

She went off like 20 years of built-up resentment just came pouring out. According to Kay, I'm the worst father in history because I rubbed a stepmom in her face. Never mind that I waited 5 years after her mom left before even thinking about dating.

5 years of being a single dad, running a business, and dealing with a kid who is acting out more and more. And Jenna, she's been nothing but good to Kay. Like above and beyond good.

When Kay was caught with pills in high school. Yeah, that happened. Jenna's the one who found her a counselor.

When Kay was flunking out, Jenna spent hours tutoring her. But according to Kay, Jenna's just some gold digger who stole her dad. Then she brought up this incident from when she was living with my sister.

See, after some really rough patches, I thought maybe Kay needed a change of scene. My sister has a daughter the same age, so I figured maybe being around a cousin would help. Nope.

Kay started bullying my niece bad, like making this poor kid's life hell. When I confronted Kay about it, she expected me to take her side. got super pissed when I wouldn't defend her behavior.

According to her yesterday, that was me choosing other people over my own daughter. She conveniently forgets all the times I did choose her, like when she got caught with those pills at school. I fought like hell to keep her from getting expelled.

Called in every favor I had. When her grades were too bad for any decent college, I pulled strings with some business contacts to get her in somewhere good. Then there's the money stuff.

God, the money stuff. Do you guys know how expensive rehab is? Because I do.

twice. The first time was right after college when she got heavy into pills again. The second time was a year later.

Each time I dropped everything to help her, maxed out credit cards, took out loans, whatever it took, she lived with us until last year, never paying a dime in rent. I paid for her car, her phone, her credit cards, everything. Even after all the screaming matches, the time she called Jenna, horrible names, the 3:00 a.

m. crisis calls, I kept supporting her because that's what dads do, right? But yesterday, she had the nerve, the absolute nerve, to tell me I owed her this wedding, that paying for it was the least I could do after ruining her life by remarrying.

When I reminded her that I was doing her a favor by paying $50,000 for this wedding, she got all defensive. Said any decent father would want to give their daughter her dream wedding. I lost it.

Then, told her she was acting entitled and ungrateful. Bad move. She started bringing up every single thing I've ever done wrong in her eyes.

How I abandoned her by going on business trips when she was little. You know, the trips that paid for everything she had. How I chose Jenna over her by defending Jenna when Kay called her racist names.

Yeah, that happened too. Jenna's Middle Eastern and Kay said some really nasty stuff about that. The final straw.

She said she wished her mom had taken her to Europe instead of leaving her with me. That's when I knew 20 years of trying to be a good dad and she'd rather have been with the people who abandoned her. After that call, I was just broke.

Jenna found me crying in my office. the first time she's ever seen me like that. Jenna, saint that she is, just sat with me.

Didn't say anything. That's when Jenna finally snapped, not at me, at the situation. In 14 years of marriage, I've never seen her actually angry.

Frustrated, sure, but not angry. She kept saying stuff like, "We need to protect ourselves. " And Kay needs to learn she can't treat people like this.

Jenna's a teacher, right? Works with troubled kids. She said Kay's behavior was classic narcissistic entitlement or something like that.

I sat there looking at all these wedding bills piling up on my desk. Venue deposit $15,000. Catering advance $8,000.

Flowers $5,000. DJ $3,000. All this money for a wedding I wasn't even allowed to attend where my own kid was going to parade around with Tom pretending to be one big happy family.

Something in me just snapped. I called my bank first thing in the morning, tried to stop payments on everything, but most of the deposits were non-refundable. Whatever.

I didn't care about the money at that point. Just wanted to stop this whole thing from happening. I started with the venue, called them up, explained I was the one who paid the deposit and wanted to cancel.

They were actually pretty understanding once I explained the situation. The manager even shared a story about his own kid cutting him off. Misery loves company, I guess.

I canceled the catering next, then the flowers, the DJ, the photographer, everything except the wedding planner. I didn't want Kay finding out and making new arrangements. Petty?

Yeah, probably. But I was so hurt and angry, I couldn't think straight. I had this moment while I was cancelling everything where I almost backed out.

I saw a picture of Kay on my desk from her high school graduation. She was actually smiling in it. One of the last times I remember her being genuinely happy.

I almost called everything off right there, but then I remembered how she smirked when she told me about Tom, how she called Jenna those horrible names. How she said I was just the checkbook. I kept going after that.

The dress was already paid for and she had it at her place, so I left that alone. I'm not completely heartless. Plus, it was like the one thing she'd actually been excited about picking out with her friends.

You know what's really messed up? While I was canceling everything, I kept getting these automated emails from the wedding planner about upcoming deadlines, final menu selection due, time to choose your fatheraughter dance song. Each one was like a knife in the gut.

Jenna sat with me through all the cancellation calls. I think she was worried I'd back out if she left me alone. She even handled some of the calls when I got too choked up to talk.

I remember her telling the florist, "No, we don't want to reschedu. We want to cancel completely. " The whole time, I kept thinking about how Kay would react when she found out.

Part of me wanted her to hurt like I was hurting. A bigger part of me just felt tired. So damn tired of always being the bad guy in her story, no matter what I did.

Funny thing is, this wasn't even the most expensive thing I'd ever paid for with Kay. Both her rehab stays cost more, but this felt different. This wasn't me helping her through a crisis.

This was her using me while actively trying to hurt me. After it was all done, I just sat in my office, staring at the wall. We didn't talk much.

What was there to say? I just sat there thinking about how it had come to this. Me sabotaging my own daughter's wedding.

The wedding planner kept calling about final arrangements. I let it all go to voicemail. Figured he'd find out soon enough when everyone showed up to a canceled venue.

Is it bad that part of me was actually looking forward to the chaos that would happen on the wedding day? Probably. But at that point, I was past caring.

The wedding day starts normal enough. I'm at home with Jenna. Both of us just sitting there trying to act like it's a regular Saturday, but we both keep checking our phones every 5 minutes.

It's like watching a timer countdown to an explosion. Around 10:00 a. m.

, my niece starts blowing up my phone. Apparently, the wedding planner and his team showed up at the venue to start setting up, but security wouldn't let them in. showed them the cancellation paperwork and everything.

The wedding planner was freaking out, calling Kay, calling me, didn't answer, obviously. Calling everyone. Kay shows up at the venue around 11:00.

She's already in her wedding dress, full hair and makeup, ready for photos. My niece said she looked really pretty, which just made everything worse somehow. When security told her the venue was cancelled, she completely lost it.

Started screaming at the security guards that there must be some mistake. Tried to force her way in. The guards had to physically stop her from rushing past them.

My niece said Kay was screaming, "Do you know who my father is, which is ironic considering, you know, she didn't even want me at the wedding. " The best part, Tom never showed up like at all. Mister, I'll walk you down the aisle.

Didn't even bother to come. My niece said Kay kept calling him, but it went straight to voicemail. Guess some people never change, huh?

Then Ben, the fiance, shows up, and things get even more intense. Kay's trying to climb over a decorative fence to get into the venue. Her dress is getting all muddy.

Ben's trying to stop her before she gets arrested for trespassing. The wedding planner's on the phone with his boss having a complete meltdown. All the guests start showing up around this time.

Like 200 people, all dressed up with nowhere to go. Cars are backed up down the street. Everyone's confused, calling Kay, calling each other.

Total chaos. The catering trucks arrive. Guess nobody told them about the cancellation.

And they can't get in either. So now there's like three huge catering vans blocking traffic. Kay's still screaming at security.

Guests are standing around confused and the wedding planner looks like he's about to have a stroke. That's when Kay finally figures out what happened. My niece said she just went quiet all of a sudden, like scary quiet.

Then she starts laughing like a crazy person. Tells everyone, "My father did this. He ruined everything.

" She tried calling me probably 50 times. Left voicemails that got progressively more unhinged. I didn't listen to them until way later, but holy cow, she threatened to kill me, to kill Jenna, to burn our house down.

real psycho stuff. Around 100 p. m.

, she shows up at our house, still in her wedding dress, which is completely ruined by this point. Makeup running down her face, but she can't get past the gate because I deactivated her access code. She starts leaning on the horn of her car, just holding it down for like 10 straight minutes.

Our neighbors called the cops. By the time they showed up, she was out of her car, throwing rocks at our security cameras and screaming about how I ruined her life. The cops had to basically drag her away.

Ben looked like he wanted to die from embarrassment. I watched the whole thing on our security cameras. Jenna kept telling me to stop watching, but I couldn't.

Like this was my daughter out there. Having a complete mental breakdown in a muddy wedding dress. Worst day of my life.

Honestly, the whole time I kept thinking about how this wasn't what I wanted. Like yeah, I wanted to teach her a lesson, but watching her fall apart like that, that was rough. Really rough.

The wedding planner called me later about final payments. Told him to take it up with Kay. He started saying something about his reputation being ruined, but I hung up.

Way past caring at that point. Found out later that some of the guests went to Kay and Ben's apartment for an impromptu reception with grocery store cake. Real depressing stuff, apparently.

The days after the wedding were intense, like nuclear fallout. Intense. First, my parents showed up at our house the next morning.

They're in their 70s and had to drive 3 hours to get here. My mom was pissed. Started going off about how we never turn our backs on family and what kind of father ruins his daughter's wedding.

Dad just sat there looking disappointed, which honestly felt worse than mom's yelling. I tried explaining about Tom, about Kay blocking us from the wedding, everything. Mom wasn't having it.

Kept saying stuff like, "She's just confused and you're the parent. You need to be the bigger person. " Easy for her to say.

Kay's always been an angel around them. Then they dropped the bomb. They offered to pay for a new wedding.

Like completely taking over all the cost so Kay could reschedule everything. My own parents going behind my back like that. That hurt.

Really hurt. But K, she managed to make it even worse. When my parents went to her place to tell her about paying for a new wedding, she completely lost it on them.

Started screaming about how they were taking my side and betraying her just like everyone else. Get this. She actually blamed them for her drug problems.

Said they exposed her in high school and ruined her life, which is total nonsense because it was her teacher who told me about the pills. My parents had no idea. She told them, and I'm quoting my mom here to get the hell out and never come back, screamed at my 75-year-old mother, who has a heart condition, who used to watch Kay every summer and spoil her rotten.

That's when my parents finally saw what I've been dealing with. Mom called me crying later that night, apologizing for not believing me. Said she couldn't recognize the angry woman who'd screamed at her.

"That's not okay," she kept saying. "Yeah, mom, I know. " The family started taking sides after that.

My sister, the one Kay lived with during high school, backed me up completely. She'd seen firsthand how Kay could be. But my brother Joe, thought I went too far.

Started this whole family civil war thing. Thanksgiving is going to be real fun this year, let me tell you. Then there's Jenna's family.

They've never really liked Kay. Wonder why. But they tried to stay neutral over the years.

After all this, though, they're done. Jenna's mom called Kay some words in Arabic that I probably shouldn't repeat. My friends are split, too.

Business partners are looking at me sideways like they're wondering if I'm stable. I got quietly removed from the country club board. Guess ruining your daughter's wedding isn't a good look, even if she deserved it.

The worst part, I found out K's been telling everyone I did this because I'm racist against Ben's family, which is ridiculous because Jenna is literally Middle Eastern and Ben's family is just regular white people from Ohio. But the story is spreading. I lost some contracts over it.

My secretary quit. Reading all these fake stories about myself online, watching my reputation tank. It's surreal.

And through all this, there's this voice in the back of my head saying, "You did this. You're the adult. You should have been better.

I can't sleep most nights. Just lay there wondering if I went too far. If I should have just sucked it up and paid for the wedding like a good dad.

" Then I remember how she treated my parents. These sweet old people who've done nothing but love her. How she made my mom cry.

And suddenly, I don't feel so guilty anymore. Jenna's been my rock through all this. She caught me looking at old baby pictures of Kay the other night.

Just sat with me. Didn't say anything. I think she's hurting too, but trying to stay strong for me.

Then I found out through my niece's Instagram that Kay and Ben had a small wedding about a month after the disaster I caused. Just like 20 friends at some backyard BBCQ thing. Tom didn't show up for that one either.

Shocker. At least they got married, I guess. Life went back to normalish.

Jenna and I tried to move on. I threw myself into work. was actually starting to feel okay about everything.

Then last week, I get this call from an unknown number. It's Ben. My heart basically stopped.

Thought something had happened to Kay, but nope. Turns out things are way more messed up than I imagined. Ben wanted to meet for dinner.

Wouldn't tell me why over the phone. Just said he needed to talk. I probably should have told him to get lost, but curiosity got the better of me.

I told Jenna I was meeting him. She wasn't happy about it. I went to this bar downtown.

Guys, holy cow. Turns out Kay and Ben separated three months ago. Why?

Because she's been absolutely terrorizing him, like throwing plates during arguments, breaking his stuff, screaming at him for hours. Sound familiar? According to Ben, she completely lost it after they moved to a new city for his job, even though she got a similar paying job there.

She blamed him for isolating her from her friends, started acting paranoid, saying everyone was against her. But I didn't expect that Ben apologized to me. He said he saw how Kay treated me and Jenna before the wedding, but didn't say anything because she had manipulated him into thinking we deserved it.

His words, not mine. He admitted he should have seen the red flags. Said Kay lovebombed him at first, was super sweet and fun, then slowly started showing her real self after they moved in together.

By the time the wedding drama happened, he was already walking on eggshells around her. Get this, she even threw a fit because he wanted to invite his sister to their small backyard wedding. said she was trying to take over everything just like Jenna did.

His sister at his own wedding, Ben asked if I'd help get Kay into therapy, said she's been spiraling since their separation, calling him 50 times a day showing up at his work. He still cares about her, but can't handle the abuse anymore. I didn't know what to say.

Part of me wanted to tell him, "Welcome to my last 20 years. " But he looked so broken, so genuinely worried about Kay. Reminded me of myself at his age.

So yeah, I went to see Kay. Jenna begged me not to go alone, but I didn't want her to have to deal with Kay's crazy bad decision. Kay's apartment was a mess, like concerning level mess.

She started screaming the moment she saw me, called me every name in the book, blamed me for Ben leaving, for her mom leaving, for literally everything wrong in her life. I tried to stay calm, told her she needed help, that she could say whatever she wanted about me, but she needed to see a therapist first. She just laughed.

Then she said something that chilled me to the bone. She said she hated Jenna so much she wanted to kill her. Not like casual hate.

She had this look in her eyes that scared the hell out of me. I left pretty quick after that. Called Ben from my car, told him I tried, but there's nothing I can do.

She's too far gone. But I couldn't just give up completely. I reached out to Kay's old best friend from high school.

Her family was our neighbor back then. She lives in South Africa now, but they kept in touch. I asked her to try talking to Kay about getting help.

Surprisingly, it worked. Kay agreed to therapy, even apologized to my parents last week, though she still says she'll never forgive me or Jenna. I don't know what happens next.

The daughter I raised is still in there somewhere, buried under all that anger and hate, but I can't be the one to save her anymore. I had to learn that the hard way. Just wanted to update you all.

Thanks for the support over the past year. Special thanks to the other parents who shared similar stories. It helped me feel less alone in all this.

I guess the moral is sometimes you can love someone with all your heart and still need to let them go. It hurts though.