Chapter 1: The Daughter Outside the Door
At sixteen, Jasmine had learned that being unwanted in someone’s home could hurt more than being alone.
But she never imagined she would hear those words on her own father’s birthday.
She stood on the front porch of David’s house, holding a small gift wrapped in blue paper.
She had spent nearly an hour choosing it.
It wasn’t expensive, and she knew her father didn’t care about expensive things.
She had picked it because it reminded her of the fishing trips they used to take together before his second marriage changed everything.
Back then, David would wake her before sunrise, make pancakes in the shape of hearts, and let her sit beside him while he drove to the lake.
He always told her that she was his little girl.
No matter how old she became.
No matter who else entered their lives.
At least, that was what he used to say.
Jasmine glanced at her phone.
3:47 p.m.
Her father’s birthday celebration was already underway, and she had planned to arrive just before everyone gathered around the cake.
She imagined his face lighting up when he saw her.
She imagined him pulling her into one of his enormous hugs.
Most of all, she imagined him saying the words she had been quietly waiting to hear for months.
“I missed you, sweetheart.””
Since David married Jessica, Jasmine had seen her father less and less.
At first, Jessica had seemed perfectly pleasant.
She smiled at Jasmine when David was around, asked about school, and occasionally brought home little gifts.
But the smiles never reached her eyes when they were alone.
Whenever David left the room, Jessica’s voice changed.
She complained that Jasmine called too often.
She said the girl was too old to need her father so much.
She made little comments about how difficult it was to build a new family when someone kept dragging the past into it.
Jasmine tried to ignore the remarks.
She told herself that Jessica was adjusting.
She told herself that things would get better.
And whenever David called, she made sure her voice sounded cheerful.
She never wanted him to feel caught between his wife and his daughter.
That afternoon, however, Jasmine had decided to stop waiting for the perfect moment.
It was her father’s birthday.
She wanted to see him.
She wanted to give him his present herself.
And she wanted one afternoon when she didn’t have to wonder whether she still belonged in his life.
She stepped closer to the front door and lifted her hand to knock.
Before her knuckles touched the wood, the door swung open.
Jessica stood in the doorway.
She wore an elegant cream-colored dress, delicate earrings, and a smile that vanished the instant she recognized Jasmine.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Jessica glanced at the gift.
“What are you doing here?””
Jasmine blinked.
“Hi, Jessica. I came to surprise Dad.””
Jessica didn’t move aside.
Instead, she stepped onto the porch and pulled the door nearly shut behind her.
“You shouldn't come here today.””
Jasmine stared at her.
She had prepared herself for an awkward greeting.
Perhaps Jessica would complain about the timing.
Perhaps she would tell Jasmine to wait until the guests finished eating.
But she hadn’t expected to be told to leave before she had even seen her father.
“Why?”” Jasmine asked quietly.
“It's his birthday.””
“I know what day it is.””
“Then why can't I come in?””
Jessica let out a short, impatient breath.
“Your father wants to celebrate his birthday with his family.””
Jasmine looked toward the closed door.
“I’m his daughter.””
Jessica’s expression hardened.
“He wants to spend today with his family, not someone like you.””
The words struck Jasmine so suddenly that she forgot what she had planned to say.
Someone like you.
She had heard Jessica make cruel remarks before, but never quite like that.
Jasmine looked down at the present in her hands.
The blue wrapping paper had a small crease near one corner because she had been holding it too tightly during the drive.
She smoothed it with her thumb.
“But Dad doesn't even know I'm here.””
“That’s because he’s enjoying himself,” Jessica replied.
“And I intend to let him enjoy his birthday without unnecessary drama.””
“I'm not trying to cause drama.””
“Then go home.””
Jasmine swallowed.
Through the narrow space between the door and the frame, she could hear laughter.
Someone was telling a story.
Someone else was clapping.
Then came the unmistakable sound of a birthday song beginning inside.
Jasmine turned toward the window.
There he was.
David sat at the dining table surrounded by relatives and friends.
A large birthday cake stood in front of him, decorated with white frosting and little chocolate curls.
Jessica’s purse rested on the chair beside him.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everyone seemed welcome.
Everyone except the girl standing just a few feet away.
Jasmine pressed her lips together.
She could see her father smiling as someone handed him a plate.
For one painful second, she wondered whether he would even notice if she left.
Maybe Jessica had told him not to expect her.
Maybe he had agreed.
Maybe the distance between them had grown so large that he no longer cared whether she showed up.
She hated herself for thinking that.
David was still her father.
He had taught her to ride a bicycle.
He had held her hand at the hospital when she broke her wrist.
He had sat beside her bed after her mother died, promising that the two of them would always have each other.
Surely those memories meant something.
Surely she meant something.
Jasmine looked at Jessica again.
“Can you just tell him I'm here?””
Jessica folded her arms.
“No.””
“Please. I only want to wish him happy birthday.””
“I said no, Jasmine.””
The girl’s eyes began to sting.
She blinked quickly, refusing to let the tears fall.
She was sixteen.
She had told herself she was old enough not to cry over every hurtful thing Jessica said.
But this was different.
She wasn’t asking for money.
She wasn’t demanding attention.
She wasn’t trying to ruin a party.
She was standing outside her own father’s home with a birthday present, hoping to spend five minutes with him.
And her stepmother was treating her like a stranger who had arrived uninvited.
Jasmine took a small step backward.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Jessica’s shoulders relaxed, as though the problem had finally been solved.
“Good. Go home.””
Jasmine turned toward the window one last time.
Her father was laughing with the people inside.
She lifted the little gift slightly, almost as if she could somehow send it through the glass.
Then she whispered words that Jessica barely heard.
“I just wanted to surprise him.””
And she turned away from the door.
Inside the house, the birthday song ended.
David thanked everyone and reached for his glass.
He smiled at his guests, but something suddenly felt wrong.
He looked around the dining room.
Then toward the hallway.
Then at the empty chair near the end of the table.
His smile slowly faded.
“Where’s my daughter?””
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For the first time that afternoon, Jessica had no easy answer ready.
And outside, Jasmine was already wondering whether she should leave before her father ever discovered she had come.
