A woman revealed her family tradition of passing a precious ring down to the eldest daughter. As per the ritual, she was expected to receive the ring, but things took a different turn after her grandmother’s death.
The 21-year-old Reddit user shared that her grandmother was suffering from Alzheimer’s and passed away after some time. Her death sparked a debate among the family members.
She left a family ring that her mother gave her. It was passed down from her grandmother, and she intended to pass it to her only granddaughter, but things didn’t go as planned after her death.
The Redditor revealed that she was looking forward to receiving the ring because she had always adored it since her childhood. She said it was the only thing she wanted from her grandmother.
The family ritual said that only the eldest daughter would get the ring. OP’s (Original Poster’s) grandmother had two daughters, and OP’s mother was younger.
OP’s aunt had two sons, so she asked her sister to give the family ring to OP since she was the only girl among the grandchildren. However, things changed when OP’s grandmother passed away.
When OP was 14 years old, her aunt adopted a 17-year-old girl. Since then, no one had discussed the family tradition, so OP assumed the girl’s addition wouldn’t affect her chances of getting the ring.
OP planned to get her hands on the ring before her aunt’s daughter.
After OP’s grandmother passed away, everyone cleaned up her house. OP revealed that her grandmother was shifted to a facility after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, so her house was cluttered and needed cleaning.
While cleaning the house, OP heard her aunt and adopted daughter whispering in the pantry. She walked towards them and secretly listened to their conversation.
To her surprise, they were planning on getting the ring from her grandmother’s jewelry box before she could get there. OP’s cousin believed she deserved the ring since she was the eldest granddaughter. OP explained:
“I was upset because my aunt promised me I could eventually have it but she changed her mind.”
After learning their plans, OP decided to get her hands on the ring before her aunt’s daughter does. When the family planned to go out for dinner one night, she told them that she had to leave early because her manager had called her for work.
Instead of going to her office, she returned to her grandmother’s place and took the ring from the jewelry box. She immediately left for her house before anyone else could return. She wrote:
“I have no idea what will happen today when my aunt realizes it’s missing.”
She posted her story on Reddit to ask other users if she did the right thing by taking the ring. A user replied that the ring belonged to OP because of her grandmother’s promise and not because she was the biological granddaughter.
The user added that OP’s aunt and cousin were wrong for planning to take the ring. She asked OP if her grandmother would like to see her offspring fighting over a ring.
A second user supported OP but said she didn’t have to say bad things about her cousin because she was adopted since it wasn’t in her control.
OP later updated her post and shared the details from her grandmother’s will, stating the ring belonged to her youngest daughter’s eldest biological daughter. She also confronted her aunt about it, after which she got offended and left the house, telling OP and her mother to clean it themselves.
The girl believes the ring belongs to her because she is the biological granddaughter. She added that her grandmother thought “blood ties were more important.”
One user replied that OP and her grandmother were at fault for treating the other girl like a “second-class member” since she was adopted. Another user pointed out how difficult it must have been for the adopted girl to fit into the family since she was adopted at an older age. Most users believed everyone in the family was at fault.