I Refuse to Cancel My Birthday Dinner for My Sick Stepdaughter

I finally planned something nice for my birthday after years of barely celebrating, and then everything went sideways. My husband went out of town, and my stepdaughter got sick. I debated what to do and then chose my happiness.

Now, everyone thinks I’m the villain without even knowing my side of the story. I feel torn between guilt and frustration, and I honestly need an outside opinion.

Here’s what happened:

Hi Bright Side and anyone who might be reading this!

I’m Sophie, and this is my story where everyone is painting me out to be Cinderella’s stepmother without knowing all the details.

I’d been planning my birthday party for weeks. I booked a table at a fancy restaurant I’ve always wanted to try, sent out invites, and was really looking forward to it. I rarely ever do anything for myself, and I’d been feeling burned out and low, so this felt like a big deal.

A few days back, my stepdaughter, Annie (11), came over to stay with us. She doesn’t live with us full-time and comes over occasionally. Which I don’t really mind. She and I are not close, and she and her mom made it VERY clear from the beginning that I was NOT her mom. But, still, we have a respectful relationship.

Then my husband comes to me later and says that he needs to go on an urgent work trip and won’t be back for days. I was so shook. I was like, “What about my birthday? And more importantly, what about Annie? I can’t look after her full-time”.

He just said that it’s not that big of a deal, we can celebrate later, and that Annie will be just fine by herself. If needed, I can call her mom. Which made no sense to me because why couldn’t she just pick her daughter now? He said that she’s “busy with some work, which is why she dropped her off in the first place”. Uh. Okay...

So. My husband left, and I was mad at him, so we didn’t talk much after. Annie and I were managing fine until the day of my birthday, when she woke up with a high fever. I panicked, honestly. I’ve never cared for a child alone. I called her mom several times for help, left a dozen texts, but she didn’t answer.

I didn’t know what to do. Part of me wanted to cancel right away, but another part of me was angry thinking, “I’ve been planning this for weeks, and everyone already arranged their schedules, totally ignoring me and my birthday.”

I thought if I don’t value myself, no one will. Plus, my friends had rearranged their plans, and canceling last minute would have disappointed everyone. So I checked Annie’s temperature, gave her medicine, made sure she was comfortable, and set her up with water and a movie.

She told me to go and said she’d be okay for a few hours. I didn’t want to ruin my party, so I left. I asked my old neighbor to check up on Annie a couple of times, make sure she’s ok until her mom comes.

When I returned, I froze when I saw my husband hugging his ex-wife, who appeared to be sobbing. They turned to me, and my husband yelled at me, saying I was selfish and irresponsible for leaving a sick child alone, especially while he’s away. His ex-wife added that she will never let Annie come over again in a house that doesn’t love her, which made my husband more furious at me. They grabbed their daughter and left to see a doctor.

Thank you for reading so far and letting me vent. Was I really in the wrong here? I have never claimed to be responsible enough to care for a kid, and if these two are OH-SO-RESPONSIBLE, why did they leave her with me in the first place? Knowing I already had plans to go out? Make it make sense!

A unique love story from Toronto, Canada, is winning hearts around the world: Woman Marries a Man 16 Inches Shorter—People Say the Same Thing