I’m struggling to accept my husband’s daughter from his previous marriage and I feel trapped, especially since I’m already pregnant. In desperation, I’ve come up with a cunning plan.

When I married my husband, I knew he had a daughter from a previous marriage. Her mum had moved overseas and left her with him. Unfortunately, their relationships quite strained, and those little gifts her mum sends dont really make her happy; she misses her mum terribly. At first, my stepdaughter lived with her gran, my mother-in-law, but eventually she moved in with us.

I really hoped Id be able to build a good relationship with her, but no matter how much I tried, we just couldnt seem to click. She sees me as a stranger and pretty much ignores any effort I make to get closer. Instead, she tries to have the upper hand, running to her gran or her dad whenever things dont go her way. Its frustrating because everyone expects me to be the one to look after her and lay down the law, yet I dont actually have the authority to do so. My husband and mother-in-law never pull her up on her behaviour or set any boundaries, so Im left to handle her outbursts and bad manners. As a result, shes become quite spoiled and impossible to manage.

I spend loads of time with her since my husbands always busy at work, and my mother-in-law just pops by briefly. Its exhausting, and honestly, Id love a bit of time to myself or to get on with my own work. But they all seem to criticise me for not being as gentle as they think I should be with her. Maybe if I hadnt been put under so much pressure, things could have worked out better between us.

Now, I regret marrying someone with a child, because her behaviour, laziness, and messiness have honestly overwhelmed me. I know Ill never be able to replace her mum, and its clear Ill never feel like Im really her mother. Things got even trickier when I found out I was pregnanttheres no turning back now.

So Ive come up with a plan to encourage her to move in with her gran, hoping itll be better for both of us. Fingers crossed itll make things healthier all around.