A 17-year-old girl, Anna, shared her heartbreaking story with us. Her stepfather has been cruel to her, making her life like a Cinderella story. He destroyed her dream prom dress, which she had saved up for a long time. But her story has a happy turn too.

Anna’s life has been tough since she was young. She lives with her mom and stepdad after her parents separated when she was three. Her dad lost custody of her after a serious accident left him paralyzed and unable to care for her. Despite this, Anna stayed close to him and eventually moved in with her mom and stepdad.

Anna has a stepbrother, and their family relationships are strained. Her stepdad believes Anna disrupts their lives because she’s an extra person they have to take care of.

Anna worked hard since 10th grade to save money for her biggest dream: a $1,000 prom dress. Her mom and stepdad told her they’d help with basic graduation costs like a cap and gown, but Anna had to pay for everything else, including prom. She saved all her earnings and even did extra work to earn spending money.

One day, she bought a beautiful $1,000 dress for prom. She was thrilled that her dream was coming true.

But her stepdad ruined everything because of his own feelings. When he saw the expensive dress, he couldn’t accept it. He argued that Anna should have used the money for family bills instead of a dress. They fought even more when he suggested Anna help pay for her stepbrother’s prom, which she refused.

 

The next morning, Anna couldn’t find her dress. She asked her stepdad if he’d seen it, and he said he had and was washing it. But he’d put it in the washing machine on a heavy cycle, completely ruining it. All the sparkles fell off, and the colors faded.

Anna felt completely hopeless. Her uncle visited and learned what happened. He blamed Anna’s mom for letting her stepdad act this way and not leaving him. Her mom defended Anna but was upset with her husband’s actions. She threatened to divorce him and told their family what he’d done.

Luckily, Anna’s uncle offered to buy her a new dress. The boutique agreed to replace it, understanding the situation.

Anna’s mom is now going through a painful divorce, but Anna believes their life will improve without her stepdad’s cruelty.