As Lila was ready to celebrate her 17th birthday, she received an unexpected and creepy gift from her stepmother: a pink funerary urn. Like the type you keep ashes in? Yes, that’s the one. But that’s not all! Lila learns that her college fund was given to Monica to open her salon. What will Lila do?
Let me tell you, I’ve been sitting on this one for a few days, just trying to make sense of what went down.
I always thought my stepmom, Monica, was the worst, though not Disney villain evil. She was the kind of person who talks over you, forgets your birthday, and calls you “kiddo” when you’re practically an adult.
A smiling teenage girl | Source: Midjourney
But, what she pulled on my 17th birthday? It shattered whatever shaky truce we had.
At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, things weren’t exactly what they seemed.
Here’s how it all went down.
My mom, Sarah, died when I was ten, and after that, it was just Dad and me. We were a solid team. The type of team that has pizza for dinner half the week, late-night movies, and this unspoken agreement that we’d always have each other’s backs.
Two boxes of pizza on a coffee table | Source: Midjourney
Then came Monica, about three years ago.
At first, she wasn’t horrible; she was just… there. Like a stray cat that never leaves, so you have no choice but to adopt it. Monica moved into our house, took over the bathroom with her fifty bottles of face serums and creams, and slowly pushed her way into my dad’s world.
Monica had big dreams of opening a hair salon, which was fine. I wasn’t against people having dreams. I had my own dreams waiting for me, but she treated me like I was just this annoying piece of furniture that came with the house.
A woman’s vanity | Source: Midjourney
Honestly, I was counting down the days until I could escape to college.
Dad had promised me since middle school that there was a college fund waiting for me.
“Don’t worry, sweet girl,” he told me. “Your mom and I put together the fund when you were five. There’s more than enough, and every year on your birthday and Christmas, I add more.”
A smiling little girl | Source: Midjourney
“Thank you, Dad,” I said. “I just want to study and make something of myself, like Mom said.”
“You only have to worry about your grades, Lila,” he said. “I’ll handle the rest.”
Naturally, I worked my butt off in school, knowing that in a few years, I’d be out of here.
A smiling man | Source: Midjourney
College was my golden ticket, and no one — not even Monica — would stand in my way.
At least, that’s what I thought.
On the morning of my 17th birthday, I came downstairs expecting the usual lukewarm effort. By lukewarm, I mean a sad card, some pancakes, and Monica forgetting my favorite syrup. Dad was at work, so it was just Mon and I.
A plate of pancakes and a card on a table | Source: Midjourney
She handed me a gift bag, which was already weird because Monica wasn’t exactly the thoughtful or sentimental type.
“Happy Birthday, kiddo,” she said, flashing one of her tight-lipped smiles.
I wasn’t expecting much, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting this.
I reached inside the bag and pulled out… an urn.
A shocked teenage girl | Source: Midjourney
A funerary urn.
You know, the kind that people store ashes in. Cold, heavy, and, well, pink. It was pink.
I just stared at it, my brain short-circuiting.
“What the hell is this?” I asked, holding the urn like it was cursed.
A pink funerary urn | Source: Midjourney
Monica leaned against the kitchen counter, smug as ever.
“It’s symbolic,” she said as if that explained anything.
“Symbolic of what?”
Monica’s grin widened.
A smiling woman in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“It’s time to bury your dreams of college, kiddo. Your dad and I talked about this, and we decided to put the college fund to better use.”
“Better use?” I asked, a cold shiver running through me.
“Yep. We’re investing it in my hair salon. College is a gamble, Lila. A business? That’s something real, sweetie.”
A hair salon being renovated | Source: Midjourney
She sipped her coffee like she’d just said the most reasonable thing in the world.
I was frozen in place, trying to make sense of what I’d just heard. Had they really taken my future, everything I’d worked for, and sunk it into Monica’s salon dream?
“How could you do this?” I whispered.
Monica just smiled, a little too pleased with herself.
A shocked teenage girl | Source: Midjourney
“Life’s full of disappointments, kiddo. Better get used to it now,” she said.
Wow.
That was it. I was done. I ran upstairs, slamming the door behind me so hard that the walls shook.
I cried so hard it hurt. What else could I do? Everything I had been holding onto was gone, and the only person I thought I could count on, Dad, had let this happen.
An upset teenage girl | Source: Midjourney
My mom wanted me to get out and make something of myself. And now? It was all over.
The next few days were a blur. I didn’t speak to Monica or my dad unless I absolutely had to. Every time I looked at that stupid urn sitting on my desk, my stomach twisted.
I couldn’t even bring myself to throw it out. It felt like some kind of morbid evidence. Like proof of the betrayal I didn’t see coming.
A pink funerary urn on a desk | Source: Midjourney
At school, my friends tried to cheer me up.
“Maybe she thought it was funny, Lila,” my friend Kira said. “Like, who really knows what Monica is thinking?”
“And anyway, there’s nothing stopping you from throwing it out! Just do it! Don’t overthink it,” Mel said.
Three teenage girls | Source: Midjourney
But still, I couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that Monica was prancing around, acting like she was the queen of the house, while I sat there with no future.
Then, a few days later, something strange happened.
When I got home from school, there was a note on my desk. Not in an envelope, just folded, with my name written in Monica’s messy handwriting.
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
Meet me at the salon at 6 P.M. tonight. No questions. Just trust me. -M.
I almost laughed out loud. Trust her? Yeah, right.
But something about the note gnawed at me. Maybe it was the fact that I wanted to confront her one last time, tell her exactly what I thought of her.
Against my better judgment, I decided to go.
A note on a table | Source: Midjourney
When I got to the salon, the lights were off, and the front door was unlocked.
I hesitated for a second, wondering if this was some elaborate prank. But curiosity got the best of me.
I stepped inside, and there they were. Monica and my dad, standing side by side, both grinning widely.
“Surprise!” Monica shouted, throwing her arms up like this was the happiest moment of her life.
The entrance to a salon | Source: Midjourney
I just stared at them, completely lost.
“What is this?”
Monica stepped aside, and that’s when I saw it — a shiny, brand-new sign mounted on the wall.
Dream Cuts: A Scholarship Fund in Honor of Sarah
I blinked, feeling like the room was tilting on its axis.
A hair salon | Source: Midjourney
“What… what is this?”
Monica smiled, but it wasn’t her usual smug grin. This one was softer, almost real.
“We didn’t use your college fund, kiddo. It’s all still there. The salon? It’s not just for me. It’s for you, too. For other kids like you, too.”
I couldn’t breathe.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
“But then, why would you make me think otherwise?” I asked.
Monica winced, putting her hand on her head.
“Yeah, so, the urn thing… That was not my best idea. I thought it’d be motivational, like, bury the past and embrace the future. You know? But it turns out that it was just creepy.”
A woman with her hand on her head | Source: Midjourney
I stared at her, speechless.
My dad stepped forward, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“We’ve been planning this for months, Lila,” he said. “Your mom always wanted to help kids get to college. This salon is going to fund scholarships. For you and for others in her name.”
“The salon has been my dream, Lila,” Monica said. “But it was never going to come at your expense. This way, a great portion of all our profits in the future will go to the fund.”
A smiling man | Source: Midjourney
I didn’t know what to say.
Or what to think.
Just that I felt a warm haze take over me.
Monica laughed softly.
“I’m not a monster, darling,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to think that I was trying to take over your mom’s role.”
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
For the first time in a long time, I smiled.
It wasn’t perfect, but things with Monica probably never would be. But, at that moment, standing in the middle of a salon named for my mom’s dream, I realized that she wasn’t trying to ruin my life.
She was trying to build something bigger than any of us.
A smiling teenage girl | Source: Midjourney
And somehow, against all odds, it felt like a new beginning.
And yeah, I kept the urn. But I planted white peace lilies in it, thinking it would be symbolic after all. And who knows, maybe I’ll take the urn to college.
What would you have done?
Peace lilies planted into a pink funerary urn | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you |
I Transferred $24K to My Daughter for Her College Tuition, Only to Discover She Never Enrolled — What She Spent It On Made Me Pale
Caroline had been saving for her daughter’s college fund since Angela was born. But after a classmate of Angela’s reveals that Angela is not actually enrolled in college, Caroline must uncover what her daughter is doing and what she used the money for.
Children are always going to break your heart. This was something that I learned the hard way after trusting my daughter, Angela, completely.
A close-up of a smiling girl | Source: Midjourney
Since Angela was born, I have been saving for college. I needed to know that irrespective of what life threw my way, I would be able to educate my child.
“I think you can wait until she’s a little older,” my husband, Holden, said. “We can do it together.”
“You can add to her college fund later,” I said, looking at my baby girl. “But I’m going to start from next month. I wasn’t able to study, Holden. And it was because we didn’t have the opportunity to do so. Angela is going to get that opportunity.”
A smiling baby girl | Source: Midjourney
“Okay, Caroline,” my husband said. “You start it now, and I’ll add to it in a year. The house will be paid off, and I’ll be able to put that money into the fund.”
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
The Camera Revealed Our Expectant Birth Mother’s Plan to Destroy My Family – Her Lies Gave Me the Life I Always Dreamed Of
When Rachel spotted her husband kissing the woman they had trusted to bring their dream of parenthood to life, her world crumbled. But what began as a betrayal set her on an unexpected path, proving that the darkest moments can ultimately lead to something beautiful.
I was halfway through unloading groceries when my phone buzzed. It was a motion alert from our door camera. Frowning, I tapped the notification and waited for the video to load.
A woman looking at her phone | Source: Pexels
It was Sean. He was on the porch, but he wasn’t alone.
“Jessica?” I whispered, frozen as I watched her step closer to him. Her hand rested on her swollen belly as her lips curved into a smile. Sean said something I couldn’t hear, and then she kissed him.
A man hugging his wife | Source: Midjourney
I dropped the carton of eggs.
You see, Sean and I had been married for five years. We had built a beautiful life together, or at least, I thought we had. When we realized we couldn’t have children, I was heartbroken. Adoption became my lifeline, my way to the family I dreamed of.
At first, Sean wasn’t on board.
An uncertain man | Source: Pexels
“Adoption’s a big step,” he said one night, staring into his beer. “What if… I don’t know… What if it doesn’t feel the same?”
“It’ll be ours, Sean,” I said, gripping his hand. “We’ll love them like they’re our own. Please, just think about it.”
He eventually agreed, but not without hesitation. Still, I clung to hope.
A woman smiling at herself | Source: Pexels
Months later, our adoption agency called.
“Congratulations!” the social worker chirped. “Jessica, a young expectant mother, has chosen you and Sean to adopt her baby. She loved your profile, said you seemed kind and stable.”
Stable. If only Jessica knew.
A thoughtful woman | Source: Pexels
I was ecstatic. I threw myself into preparations — decorating the nursery, reading parenting books, and doing everything I could to make Jessica feel supported.
“You’re paying for her rent now?” Sean asked one evening, his tone sharper than usual.
“She’s carrying our baby,” I said. “The least we can do is make her comfortable.”
Sean nodded, but something in his expression unsettled me.
A couple having a serious conversation | Source: Pexels
At first, everything seemed fine. Jessica was polite but distant. I assumed she just needed space. Sean, however, was overly attentive.
“She needs someone to drive her to the doctor,” he said one Saturday morning, grabbing his keys. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I could go,” I offered.
“No, it’s fine. I’m already dressed.”
A man leaving his house with car keys | Source: Midjourney
I didn’t argue, though the pattern repeated itself. Late-night texts. Long phone calls. Sean also insisted on visiting Jessica alone.
One night, I finally said something.
“You’re spending a lot of time with her.”
“She’s carrying our baby, Rachel,” he snapped. “What do you expect me to do? Ignore her?”
A couple arguing in their living room | Source: Pexels
I bit my lip and looked away. Maybe he was just stressed. We both were.
The door camera footage proved I was wrong.
When Sean came home that evening, I was waiting in the living room.
“Rachel?” he said, surprised to see me sitting in the dark.
An angry woman sitting in the dark | Source: Midjourney
“How long?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“What are you talking about?”
I held up my phone, showing him the video. “How long have you been sleeping with her?”
Sean’s face turned ghostly pale. “I… It’s not what it looks like.”
A couple arguing | Source: Pexels
“Don’t you dare lie to me!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face. “I saw her kiss you, Sean! How could you do this to me? To us?”
“It just happened,” he stammered. “I didn’t plan this, Rachel. It started before we knew she was pregnant. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” I laughed bitterly. “You’ve destroyed everything!”
“I’ll fix it,” he said desperately. “I swear, I’ll fix it.”
An angry woman talking to her husband | Source: Pexels
Jessica’s voice echoed in my head. “She’s carrying our baby. I had to step up. It was the right thing to do.” Only now, I wasn’t so sure.
“Whose baby is it, Sean?”
He hesitated. “She says it’s mine. She chose our family because she recognized me among the families.”
My world crumbled.
A sad man sitting at the table | Source: Pexels
“Get out,” I whispered.
“Rachel—”
“Get out!”
Sean grabbed his coat and left. I sat alone in the silence, my mind racing. Jessica had chosen us to adopt her baby, but it wasn’t an act of kindness. It was revenge.
A sad upset woman in her living room | Source: Midjourney
The call came a month after Sean left. I hadn’t heard much from him, though I knew he was still with Jessica. The silence was both a relief and a burden.
“Rachel,” Sean’s voice came through the phone. It was unsteady. “I need to talk to you.”
I sat down, gripping the edge of the counter. “What do you want, Sean?”
“It’s about the baby. He looked nothing like me.” He hesitated, then exhaled heavily. “I had a paternity test done.”
A man looking at his phone | Source: Pexels
“And?”
“She lied,” he said, his voice breaking. “It’s not mine.”
For a moment, I didn’t respond. The words felt surreal.
“She made it all up?” I asked, my tone flat.
A woman talking on her phone | Source: Pexels
“She thought I wouldn’t ask for a test,” Sean said. “But when the baby was born, I just… I didn’t see it. The timing didn’t make sense either.”
I closed my eyes, anger and vindication swirling together. “So what now?”
“I don’t know,” Sean admitted. “Jessica left. She took the baby, and I haven’t heard from her since. I — Rachel, I’m so sorry. I messed up.”
A sad man talking on his phone | Source: Midjourney
I laughed bitterly. “Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it, Sean. You didn’t just mess up. You betrayed me, destroyed our marriage, and let that woman humiliate me.”
“I want to come back,” he said softly. “I want to fix this.”
“No,” I said firmly. “There’s nothing to fix. Go figure out your life, Sean. I’m moving on with mine.”
A serious woman talking on her phone | Source: Midjourney
Two weeks later, I found myself at the hospital. I had avoided it since the adoption fell apart, but there were loose ends to tie up — final paperwork, the agency’s apologies, and too many painful reminders.
“Are you Rachel?” a gentle male voice asked as I stood near the reception desk.
I turned to see a tall man with kind eyes and a warm smile. He wore scrubs and carried a clipboard.
A med tech | Source: Pexels
“Yes,” I said cautiously.
“I’m Ethan,” he said, extending his hand. “I work in the lab here. I was supposed to meet you to review some of the test results.”
“Oh,” I said, shaking his hand. His grip was steady, calming. “Thank you.”
We walked to a small office. Ethan handed me some forms, explaining the process for closing the adoption file.
A doctor holding a tablet | Source: Pexels
“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” he said sincerely. “It’s not easy, losing something you hoped for.”
I nodded, surprised by the emotion rising in my chest. “Thank you.”
For a moment, he seemed hesitant, then said, “I… I went through something similar. My fiancée left me two years ago. We had a newborn daughter at the time.”
A young woman talking to a lab tech | Source: Midjourney
I blinked. “She just left?”
“Vanished,” he said, his voice heavy. “I tried to find her, but she didn’t want to be found. After a while, I stopped looking. I figured she made her choice.”
“Wow,” I said softly. “I’m so sorry. That must’ve been awful.”
He nodded. “I heard rumors she’d passed away. I guess I’m a widower now. I didn’t know what to believe, so I focused on my daughter. She’s the best thing in my life now.”
A lab worker talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney
Something about his story tugged at me. “Do you have a picture of her? Your fiancée, I mean?”
Ethan hesitated, then pulled out his phone. He tapped a few times and handed it to me.
My stomach dropped. It was Jessica.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
A smiling woman near a flower bush | Source: Midjourney
“Rachel?” Ethan asked, concerned.
I handed the phone back, my hand trembling. “Ethan, I… I know her. Jessica. She’s the woman who was supposed to give us her baby.”
Ethan’s expression froze. “What?”
A shocked man | Source: Pexels
“She manipulated my husband,” I said, my voice shaking. “She claimed the baby was his. It wasn’t true. She’s the reason my marriage ended.”
Ethan sat back, stunned. “So she’s alive?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “And as awful as it sounds, I wish I didn’t know.”
A sad serious woman talking to a lab tech | Source: Midjourney
Ethan was silent for a long moment. Then he looked at me with a mix of sadness and determination. “Well, I guess now we both know the truth. What do we do with it?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
For the first time in a long while, I felt a strange, fragile sense of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this broken road would lead to something better.
A smiling young woman looking at a lab tech | Source: Midjourney
Ethan and I started meeting for coffee after work. At first, it was just two people sharing stories of heartbreak — his fiancée leaving him with a newborn and my husband shattering our marriage with lies.
Ethan shared how Jessica left him after he lost his place in med school. Devastated, he enrolled in a local college so he could at least work in a lab and rebuild his life. Somehow, in each other’s company, the weight of the past felt a little lighter.
A couple in a cafe | Source: Pexels
“It’s funny,” Ethan said one evening as we watched his daughter, Lila, toddle around the park. “I thought losing Jessica would break me forever. But Lila gave me a reason to keep going.”
“She’s lucky to have you,” I said softly. “You’re an amazing dad.”
“And you’re an amazing person for surviving everything you’ve been through,” he replied.
A woman with a toddler | Source: Pexels
We grew closer, bit by bit. I babysat Lila when Ethan had night shifts, and he helped me repaint the nursery I’d once prepared for another child. Slowly, the empty spaces in my life began to fill with laughter, warmth, and love.
A year later, Ethan proposed, and I said yes. I became Lila’s stepmother, and soon after, we welcomed our own baby girl. Watching Ethan hold our newborn, his face glowing with pride, I knew my life had come full circle.
Parents looking at their baby | Source: Pexels
Ethan went back to school, determined to finish his medical degree. “You believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself,” he told me. And when he graduated, I cheered louder than anyone.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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