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The Stolen Money and the Ultimatum

My entitled stepdaughter stole money from me, so I issued an ultimatum to my husband: kick her out or divorce. From the day I moved into my husband’s house, my stepdaughter has despised me for no reason.

A prime example being when I wouldn’t give her $120 for the hair salon; she literally went through my wallet and stole the money. A week after that happened, I told my husband I was done with him enabling her.

I explained she is 22, doesn’t pay rent, doesn’t work, or go to college. He interrupted to defend her, and I brought up the hair salon incident and especially how when he found out about it, he didn’t even say anything to her.

He went silent, and that’s when I gave him an ultimatum: either she leaves the house or we are getting a divorce.

“I can’t kick my daughter out. I’m sorry.” was his response.

He walked out, and I genuinely could not believe it. I loved my husband so much, and truthfully, the ultimatum was not something I was ready to commit to just yet; I wanted to at least talk to him first about it.

A Lifetime of Spoiling

And so that’s what I did; Benjamin and I had many arguments about it. He would say she was young and needed time to figure things out, but it was clear she wasn’t even trying to figure it out.

Lisa had always been a bit spoiled. When I first met her, she was just 15 living with her mother. Benjamin and I had just started dating, and I really wanted to make a good impression on our first meeting.

She demanded a new iPhone from him because hers was so last year and all of her friends had the newest iPhone. Benjamin laughed it off, but I could see the pattern then; she always got what she wanted.

Her mother spoiled her, giving her everything without question. As the years went by, Lisa’s demands only grew; she expected everything to be handed to her on a silver platter.

In high school, she refused to work a part-time job, insisting that studying was her job, but her grades didn’t reflect that. She spent more time shopping and hanging out with friends than studying.

Her mother and Benjamin always made excuses for her, saying she was finding herself. Fast forward to now, it seems like she is comfortably settled in to live off the back of her father and I.

Tensions at Home

The next few days after I gave the ultimatum were unbearable to say the least. Lisa found out about what I said and the ultimatum I gave her dad.

She slammed doors, made snide comments, and went out of her way to make life miserable for me. Benjamin tried to mediate, but it was clear he was struggling to keep the peace.

After a hard day at work, I was greeted by loud music blaring from the living room; it was Lisa’s. I asked her politely if she could turn it down and she didn’t respond.

She kept the volume obnoxiously high. I walked into the living room to find Lisa sitting on the couch surrounded by snacks and empty soda cans.

She was scrolling on her phone. I asked her again if she could turn it down and she apologized with a smirk and said she didn’t hear me.

She took her sweet time grabbing the remote and turning down the volume by a notch. The music was still piercing loud.

The Final Straw

I let it go and went to the kitchen to make dinner, and I found dirty dishes piled high in the sink and crumbs all over the countertops. I called Lisa in there and asked her why she didn’t clean up after herself.

“She said she was going to do it later.” she replied.

My patience was running thin. I asked her before I left that morning to clean up before I got home.

“If I weren’t so uptight all the time things would be easier around here.” she told me.

I blew up on her. I told her that it wasn’t about just doing the dishes; I wanted a clean home and respect.

I said she doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She screamed at me and told me that I thought that I was perfect and was controlling.

“Maybe that’s why Dad doesn’t really love you.” she ended with.

“She said that if he really did he would have chosen me over her in the beginning when I gave him the ultimatum.” she continued.

She said that she truly had his love. That evening when Benjamin got home, I immediately went up to him and handed him divorce papers.

A Hard Choice

He looked shocked and his eyes filled with tears. He begged me not to follow through with the divorce.

I told him that I’d given him and Lisa chance after chance and the disrespect that I faced that day was my final straw. I told him that the only thing that could make me stay was him choosing me to stay over Lisa.

Once he realized I was serious and that he would lose me forever, he told Lisa to leave. The conversation was tense; it looked like it hurt him to tell her.

And just as I thought the nightmare was over, Lisa refused to leave. She claimed she had nowhere to go, but I stood my ground and gave Benjamin a week to decide.

The week was painful, and just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. Benjamin was caught in the middle, torn between his love for me and his responsibility to his daughter.

It hurt to see Benjamin struggle with the decision to kick out his daughter, but I knew what needed to be done. Finally, Benjamin made his choice; he told Lisa she had to leave.