My stepfather blocked my education to protect his son, and my mother agreed. Now they want my money

The Education Block and the Golden Child

My stepfather blocked my education to protect his son, and my mother agreed. Now they want my money after my success. Hello, Reddit Eyes Plus here.

You know, growing up, I always knew I didn’t fit in with my stepdad, Brad, or his son, Mason. Brad married my mom, Cheryl, when I was 12. From day one, it was clear Mason was the golden child.

He got everything: new gadgets, extra tutoring, you name it. Meanwhile, I had to figure things out on my own. It was fine, though.

I didn’t need their attention because I had my own goals. By high school, I was killing it. I was top of my class with awards and scholarships lined up.

I worked my butt off to get into a prestigious high school on scholarship. For a while, I thought maybe I’d proved my worth to Brad and my mom. But oh, I was wrong.

Senior year rolls around, and I’m all set to apply to my dream colleges. I had plans for partial scholarships and part-time jobs. It was doable.

But Brad sat me down one night and looked me dead in the eye. He said, “We can’t afford college for you.”

Mind you, Mason was fully prepped to go to some private college on their dime. He couldn’t even bother to pass his classes without a tutor.

I’ll never forget the way my mom just sat there. She didn’t say a word or fight for me. She just let him shut me down like that.

He even said something like, “It wouldn’t be fair to Mason if we spent all this money on you.” Like, what? How was that even a fair comparison?