My father gave all his property to his stepmother and her stepchildren. I knelt down and cried when he read the will.

I read each line of the letter and then knelt down on the ground, sobbing. All the trust I had built up over the years collapsed.

I used to think I was lucky. As the only daughter in a well-off family, I grew up in the love of my parents. My mother was a teacher, gentle and delicate. My father worked in a state agency, strict but warm. My childhood passed peacefully and was full of laughter. It was a childhood that I was always proud of.

However, the first incident happened when I was in high school. My mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. After a long surgery, she almost lost her eyesight and the doctor warned that the disease was very likely to relapse. Less than a year later, my mother passed away. The great loss made me feel disoriented, my studies declined, I failed the university entrance exam, and had to repeat a year to get into my dream school.

When I received my university acceptance letter, my father took me to meet a woman and told me he wanted to remarry. I silently accepted.

I thought, as long as my father was happy, it wouldn’t matter to me if I wasn’t home. And so, that woman brought her daughter, who was 3 years younger than me, to live in the house that used to be my mother and my home.

Since I started college, I have been home less and less. My relationship with my stepmother is almost entirely civil. I am old enough to not need her care, and she does not interfere in my life. What bothers me most is the special attention my father gives to my younger sister and stepmother. He often takes them out, shopping, doing things that used to be reserved for me and my mother.

I was jealous and felt sorry for myself. But I consoled myself that I was still my father’s biological son, and that he was just trying to fulfill his responsibility to his new family. I believed that, until the day my father suddenly passed away.

When I was in high school, my mother passed away, leaving me and my father. (Illustration photo)

He was seriously ill, but I had no warning. When I heard the news, he was no more. I knelt before my father’s portrait and cried like I had never cried before. This second loss was even more painful, because it brought with it the regret of not being able to say goodbye.

But, it doesn’t stop there.

After my father’s funeral, my stepmother gave me a will. It clearly stated that my father left all his assets to his sister, my stepmother’s stepdaughter. I had no part. I was stunned, then angry. I shouted that she was lying, that she was trying to take over my family’s assets.

At that time, she gave me a DNA test file and a handwritten letter, which my father left for me. In the letter, he said that I was adopted. Many years ago, my mother was unable to have children. They adopted me and treated me as their own flesh and blood. Later, my father had an affair with my stepmother and gave birth to my younger sister. But because of his love for my adoptive mother, he did not divorce her. After my mother passed away, he returned to his ex, who is now my stepmother.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. You’re not blood related, but you’ve always been my most beloved child. You’re strong and independent, I believe you can live well without relying on material things. As for the assets, I want to make up for your sister, she’s been deprived of my love for too long.”

I read each line of the letter and then knelt down on the ground, sobbing. All the trust I had built up over the years collapsed. I no longer knew who I was. Who were my biological parents? Were they still alive? The whole world seemed to have abandoned me.

Reading the will and the letter my father left, I knelt down and cried. (Illustration photo)

But a few days later, my stepmother called me and handed me a stack of papers. She said that she had redone the division of property, dividing it equally between the two sisters. I was surprised and couldn’t believe it. She just smiled gently:

– I know your father had his reasons for doing so. But I cannot let you suffer like that. Even though I did not give birth to you, I still consider you my daughter. From the day I came to this house, I have felt responsible for you.

I was speechless. My sister, whom I had been wary of, also came and hugged me:

– You are my sister. I never thought of you as an outsider. If you had nothing, I could not live peacefully in that house.

It was then that I realized, I never really lost my family. I just closed my heart for so long, that I didn’t realize that love was always there, in different forms.

Now, I live independently, have a stable job. I still go home on weekends, cook with my stepmother, and go for walks with my sister. We have become a real family, no more barriers, no more misunderstandings.

I used to think I was abandoned, but it turns out love doesn’t need to be related by blood, just by being related by heart. I didn’t have a perfect beginning, but I had an ending warm enough to forgive everything. In this life, if we are open-minded enough, any loss can become the beginning of happiness.