Mom Chose Her Cheating Husband over Me

Ever since Mom has gotten remarried, my stepdad, Winston Cox, becomes the only person who matters to her. She saves every luxury meal and delicacy for him, while I am left to sip on his leftover soup. His designer suits fill three closets until they overflow, yet I am forced to wear my cousin's old hand-me-downs. She spends 20 thousand dollars on virtual gaming gear for him, but when I ask for a ten-dollar study guide, she says, "Just memorizing the textbook is more than enough!" One night, the noise Mom and Winston make in the bathroom disrupts my studying. When I ask that they keep it down, Mom throws me out of the house and onto the street. Years later, I turn into a multibillion-dollar entrepreneur. That's when Mom crawls back to me, begging, "Winston and his mistress teamed up and drained all my assets. Could you please take me in?" Chapter 1 When I was ten years old, my father, a corporate executive, died from overwork. With his inheritance and compensation payout, Mom married a man 12 years younger than her. From that moment on, the steak and ribs I used to love always ended up on his plate. All that was left for me was his leftover soup. I tried to cuddle up to Mom the way I used to. "You're giving all the good food to Winston, Mom. What if I don't get enough nutrition?" Mom tapped me on the head. "You brat, are you seriously jealous of your stepdad? "He gives me emotional support. Can you do that?" I looked up what emotional support meant online. Basically, it referred to the ability to bring someone emotional satisfaction and psychological comfort. I couldn't help but wonder—Mom used to hug me and cover my face with kisses. Wouldn't that make me the person who gave her the most emotional support? One day, I got home early from school. The moment I walked in, I caught Mom and Winston Cox passionately making out on the balcony. She looked happier than I had ever seen her, laughing so hard that the crow's feet around her eyes were completely crinkled up. In that instant, it hit me. The kind of happiness Winston brought her was something I could never provide. He spent at least 100 thousand dollars a month, so Mom started cutting back on my expenses. I used to wear brand-new Adidas and Nike clothes, but now, I was forced to wear my older cousin's faded hand-me-downs. I used to get 50 dollars in allowance every month, but now, I didn't get a single cent. One scorching summer day, I wanted to buy a one-dollar popsicle, but Mom frowned. "Kids shouldn't eat too much cold stuff. It's bad for your stomach!" But as I turned away, I saw her sitting on Winston's lap, feeding him spoonful after spoonful of ice cream. At that moment, it felt like a heavy weight had violently slammed into my chest. My tears splattered onto my worn-out sandals that completely exposed my toes. Once I started middle school, the academic competition became cutthroat. I used to rank in the top ten of my grade, but suddenly, I plummeted past 15th place. Panic set in. Academic success had always been my planned escape route from this house, but now, my only foothold was crumbling. Upon getting home, I asked Mom for money to buy a set of study guides, and she instantly exploded. "Ten dollars? You kids are supposed to be the future of this country, so the school should be handing these out for free! If you ask me, just memorizing the textbook is more than enough!" I disappointedly returned to my bedroom. Around 7:00 pm that night, I heard Winston laughing in the study. "Babe, a full digital set like this must cost at least ten thousand dollars, right?" I walked out and stopped outside the door, where I could see Winston staring ecstatically at a screen full of virtual gaming gear. "It's 20 thousand dollars!" Mom cooed and wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes full of adoration. Winston swept her into his arms. "I'm definitely giving you a major reward tonight!" The study door clicked shut. Standing behind the door, I was completely shut out in a different universe. Their heavy, muffled breathing seemed to rip at my nerves as I bit my lip hard, swallowing all my hurt and humiliation. I made a vow to myself then. One day, I would become someone of true value so Mom would look up to me the way she looked up to Winston right now. Chapter 2 Before getting married, Mom and Winston signed a prenup stating that she would never have children with him. She wanted nothing distracting them from their private world as a couple. Winston was a gym trainer making only a few hundred dollars a month, but he was lucky to meet Mom not long after starting the job. Armed with his eight-pack abs and smooth tongue, he succeeded in sweeping her off her feet. Just three days after Dad's funeral, Mom dragged Winston into the city hall to marry him. My grandparents strongly objected when they found out. "Hobert isn't even cold in his grave, yet you've lined up your next man! He worked himself to the bone to build a multi-million dollar business, only for you and your lover to live off it!" They stood there with hunched backs, their voices hoarse and raspy as they argued with Mom. Looking at their deeply wrinkled faces and gray hair made my heart ache. They had been farmers their entire lives. They had sacrificed everything to raise Dad, their only child, into a successful man, only to be left with nothing. When I told them that I wanted to leave and move back to the countryside with them, they gently talked me out of it. "You'll have good food and nice clothes if you stay in the city with your mom, but if you come with us, you'll only suffer. "Besides, schools in the countryside can't rival the educational resources here in the city. Stay here, be your mom's little princess, and grow up to become someone who contributes to society!" What they didn't know was that in Mom's eyes, I was no longer a little princess. To me, Winston was nothing but a homewrecker who barged into my life out of nowhere and seized everything I had ever owned. For their third wedding anniversary, Mom booked dozens of tables at a luxury hotel. Her family and Winston's relatives sat crowded around the tables, chatting and laughing as if they had known each other for a lifetime. They had endless topics to talk about. Meanwhile, I sat expressionless in the far corner, feeling like a complete outsider. Suddenly, Winston's older brother walked over and patted me on the shoulder. "Your mom and dad have been married for three years now, but you still call him 'sir.' Since we're all celebrating today, why don't we change that? Let's hear you call him 'Dad'!" All eyes in the room immediately locked on me. Mom urged, "Go on. Say it." Fighting back my disgust, I indifferently looked at her and said, "I can't bring myself to say it." Slap! I could immediately feel my cheeks burning in pain. Mom's chest heaved with pure rage. "It's been three years. How are you still hung up over your dead father?" Her words hurt like a knife cutting through my heart. I immediately stood up and walked out, just to hear Winston complaining to Mom behind me. "I don't mind if she doesn't call me Dad, but she shows such a poor attitude toward my family. You need to teach her some manners." That night, I dug out all our old family albums and cut "Mom" out from every photo we had taken together. My tears soaked the bedsheets as I told myself to study harder. Only when I reached the very peak would people looking down on me finally bow their heads. Chapter 3 The next morning, I was up before 5:00 am and the first person to arrive in class. Pulling out my math notebook of past mistakes, I began reworking every question again until my math teacher, Lucia Whitaker, walked in and interrupted me. "What's gotten into you, Alera? I used to tell you to work on your math, but you'd just shrug it off and say it didn't matter if you were a little weak in one subject." "That was before, Ms. Whitaker. I know how important math is now. I need to make sure I rank first in the city for every single subject." Ms. Whitaker was briefly stunned by the pure determination in my voice. After a few seconds, she gave me a look of sympathy and said, "You've grown up a lot since your dad died. "Here, take my number. Text me anytime if you ever run into a problem you don't understand." My nose stung, and I was deeply moved. Back then, my classmates and I made fun of her behind her back, calling her a heartless tyrant and the most hated teacher in school. But from that day on, I reached out to Ms. Whitaker every night to go over the toughest concepts. Those study sessions became some of the few moments of genuine happiness in my life. When I turned 15 years old, I aced my exams with the highest score in the entire city and earned a spot at a prestigious high school. Friends and relatives came by with gifts to congratulate me. Maybe because I made Mom proud, she started treating me a little better. At dinner, she would share some of the steak or ribs with me. She stopped making me wear my cousin's old clothes and took me to the local flea markets to buy cheap shoes and outfits instead. They weren't Adidas or Nike, but I was content that they were new. At night, I could still hear her and Winston fooling around while grinding through practice exams. But now, she would remind him, "Let's go to sleep early so we don't disrupt Alera's studying." A small, victorious smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I knew that I had re-earned Mom's attention through hard work. But these days didn't last long. Winston finally lost his patience about two weeks later. It was a Saturday, and the three of us ate dinner in silence as usual. Suddenly, Winston slid his foot up Mom's dress as his eyes scanned my body from head to toe with a repulsive, evil grin plastered on his face. "You're all grown up now, Alera, so you should know your mom and I have basic adult needs. You'll understand, don't you?" The soup I had just sipped splattered all over the table. I glared at him and coldly snapped, "I'm sorry, but you disgust me!" With that, I marched into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. Outside, Winston exploded into a rant. "Unbelievable! Look at her! She has zero respect for me!" Mom's sweet, coaxing voice followed, "Enough, babe. I'll make it up to you tonight." Sure enough, at 8:00 pm that evening, the unbearable sounds started coming from the bathroom again. This time, it felt like Winston was doing it to get back at me. The noise was louder than it had ever been. Even with my earplugs in, I could still hear everything. I even heard Mom aggressively telling him to "go harder". The questions in my test prep book transformed into a sea of tiny flames. I marched over to my bedroom door and screamed toward the bathroom, "Turn it down! You're making it impossible to study!" But they were completely lost in their world. Winston shouted back over the noise at the top of his lungs, "How's that, babe? I've gotten a lot better, haven't I? "From now on, let's not worry about Alera. Our pleasure is the only thing that matters!" Mom replied between gasps, "Yes… Yes, babe… I'll do whatever you say." Completely enraged, I grabbed a fruit knife and stormed into the bathroom. They screamed. "Alera! S-Since when were you standing there?" Mom stared at me in horror, her eyes bulging out of her head, while Winston frantically grabbed a towel to cover his private part and looked at the knife in my hand. "W-What are you doing?" I let out a cold laugh. "I'm going to chop you up." Chapter 4 Ignoring the fact that she was completely naked, Mom lunged forward. "Have you completely lost your mind? He's your father!" "No, he's not! He's just an outsider!" I screamed with everything I had. The fury in Mom's eyes quickly turned into pure disgust. "I swear I gave birth to a curse. All you do is ruin my life! "Do you know why I never loved your father? He was a boring guy who spent all his time and energy working! He deserved to work himself to death!" Mom's last sentence hit me like an arrow piercing straight through my chest. Tears streaming down my face, I pointed at Winston and yelled, "All he has to do is flirt with you a little, and you throw yourself at him like a desperate dog in heat. I hope Dad comes back as a ghost and drags both of you to hell!" Mom delivered the second slap of my grown-up life. This time, it landed with a harder force than before. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and Mom was so mad that veins on her forehead bulged. "You're moving into the school dorms starting tomorrow, and don't bother coming home, even during the holidays!" "Fine," I resolutely replied. Standing behind her, Winston shot me a smug look, as if he were silently declaring his victory. … After moving into the school dorms, I finally felt at peace. Every day after classes ended, I would stay in the library reading and grinding through practice exams. I was always the last person to leave. Mom only gave me 100 dollars a month for living expenses, so every meal at school was just a plain bread roll. I spent every extra penny I had on study materials. My stomach was constantly cramped with hunger pangs, but they served as a reminder to study harder. Every night after the evening study sessions ended, I stayed behind in class for an extra two hours solving equations. The dorm monitor noticed my routine and started leaving the doors unlocked for me. After hesitating for a long time, I finally bought a bag of oranges. When I handed them to her, tears welled up in her eyes. "I've seen you eat nothing but a plain bread roll for breakfast every day. Your family must not be giving you much money, are they? "These oranges are on me." With that, she pulled a 100-dollar bill out of her wallet and tried to force it into my hand. I immediately pushed it away. "No. These oranges only cost me five dollars…" "Take it. I believe in you, child. You're going to get into the best college!" Her encouragement felt like a tiny spark of fire in the darkness, giving me a huge motivation to keep working hard. Aside from eating and sleeping, I spent all my time studying. My deskmate noticed the dark circles under my eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you exhausted?" "I am, but it's worth it," I answered in a tired voice. One day in physics class, the teacher called on me to answer a question. Just as I stood up, the room spun, and I crashed onto the floor. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, hooked to an IV drip on the back of my hand. "You really are a manipulative snake, Alera Welch. I can't believe you went behind my back to complain to your homeroom teacher. "She called to tell me that you fainted from malnutrition and demanded that I give you more allowance money." Mom's contorted, furious face appeared before my eyes as she yelled and cursed. I rolled my eyes and turned my body away, refusing to look at her. The next second, a thick stack of 100-dollar bills slapped onto my body. "Here's a thousand dollars! "That's all your living expenses for the next three years of high school. Tell your teacher not to call me again, and don't you ever reach out to me either!" She threw the money at me, her eyes brimming with hatred. Gritting my teeth, I sat up in the hospital bed and began picking up the bills one after the other. My tears fell like a snapped string of pearls. Just then, Winston rushed into the hospital room, looking all flustered and panicked. "What are you doing here, babe? The dealership is waiting for you to wire the full payment for my Porsche 911!" Mom jutted her chin at me. "This ungrateful brat complained to her teacher that I wasn't giving her enough money. I didn't even have the time to put my makeup on before rushing over here!" Only then did Winston notice me lying in the hospital bed. He glanced over with an unconcerned look in his eyes and said, "Oh, so Alera's sick. "Well, get some rest. Your mom and I have to take care of some important business." With that, he grabbed Mom's arm and dragged her out the door. "Janelle Baldwin!" I called after her. "One day, I'll make you get on your knees and beg me!"