My Best Friend Married My Father——Then On My Birthday, She Gave Me a Black Box and Told Me to Open It Alone

as I understood it was over.

“Sweetheart, sit down,” my father said, his voice unusually steady. “There’s something we need to tell you.”

“I’d rather stand,” I said, my voice icy.

Lydia gave me that watery, mournful smile that I once found endearing. Now, it made my skin crawl. “Honey,” she began, “your dad and I… we’ve been talking, and—”

“Lydia and I continue reading …