“Stay out of this,” Dad barked.
Tyler leaned back, hands up.
“Just saying.”
Mom stood now, her voice rising again.
“You’re twisting everything. We were trying to help Melissa because she’s struggling.”
“Struggling?” I said, incredulous. “They just went to Disney last month.”
Dad glared.
“That’s enough.”
And that’s when he said it.
The sentence that changed everything.
“You were never supposed to have that kid anyway.”
The room went still.
I felt every word like a physical hit.
“What did you just say?” I asked.
He didn’t back down.
“You heard me. You weren’t ready. You didn’t plan for him. You didn’t have the stability. We all said it was a mistake, but you wouldn’t listen. And now you want to punish us for being right.”
I could feel my pulse in my ears.
“That kid is your grandson,” I said, my voice shaking. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and you just called him a mistake.”
