My name is Jenna, and I am 19 years old. My mom left when I was born. My dad wasn’t in the picture either. He and my mom split up before I was born, and he never made too much effort to be a part of my life. He has another family now, and we don’t meet often.
I lived with my grandma, my father’s mom. She always told me that my mom didn’t want me and that she chose to leave me behind.

Grandma was always the only family I had. When she died, she left me her house and all her savings. Soon, my phone flooded with angry messages from my stepsiblings, demanding I split it all. I wasn’t going to listen to them until my dad came, and instead of asking for money, he confessed the real reason my mom left. It wasn’t because she didn’t want me. According to him, Grandma had interfered. She had convinced her that she wouldn’t be able to raise me alone, without a father. She told her that her whole life would be ruined and that there would be no future for her with a baby on her hands. She pressured her into stepping away so she could work and build her life, aka “for her own good.”