Taste of My Revenge

On New Year's Eve, I got stuck cleaning up my husband's mess at the office. Our daughter was still running a high fever, but my husband was eager to take his mistress and her son home. He even told my daughter that this was a family dinner.

When our daughter and his mistress's son fought, he immediately slapped her without even finding out what happened while saying, "You're just like your mother. Bossy, unreasonable and always bullying others."

He also forced our daughter to apologize. Her face was red because of the high fever, but he thought she was unconvincing. He then locked her in her room as punishment while he took his mistress and her son out for a fancy meal. Our daughter was left delirious from the fever, while my husband played the role of a loving family man with his mistress and her son on screen.

Why should we have to endure this? I wanted those bitchy pair of scumbags to pay for what they'd done to us, to my daughter and me.

New Year's Eve should be a time for family reunions. Instead, I received a call from my daughter. Her voice was weak and tearful.

"Mom, I feel awful. Dad just hit me because of Charlie. It was Charlie who pushed me, but Dad slapped me. I don't want a dad anymore. Mom, I miss you. I felt like burning."

My daughter had been running a fever for the past few days and as a mother, my heart ached with worry. What on earth was Stefan doing?

The boy she mentioned, Charlie, was the son of Stefan's mistress. While I was at the office cleaning up his mess, he had brought his mistress and her son into our home and even laid hands on our daughter. What the hell was that?

It was beyond outrageous, but I tried to suppress my anger. At this moment, I should comfort my daughter first. "Ysabell, don't cry. Mom will be home soon. Where's Dad? Let me talk to him."

Ysabell's voice became weaker and weaker. She gradually began to speak incoherently, "Dad, Dad locked me in the room and asked me to reflect on myself. Today, he brought Yolanda and Charlie for dinner. Dad called it a family dinner. I said, what kind of family dinner is it if Mom is not here? Then he slapped me, he slapped me twice today. I'm so sad."

"He also said I'm just like you, bossy and likes to bully people. Mom, you're the best Mom in the world. You're not like what Dad said. Mom, I have a fever. I feel so awful. I'm going to faint."

Then, there was silence. My heart skipped a beat.

I stood up abruptly, grabbed my bag and rushed out. I knew that a persistent high fever could lead to coma or even death.

I kept calling my daughter desperately, but there was no response. My worry grew and my eyes stung with tears. After hanging up, I called 911 and then called Stefan.

He kept rejecting my calls, but I was relentless. Finally, he picked up. I blurted out anxiously, "Stefan, Stefan, Ysabell has a fever! You have to go back and help her!"

Stefan scoffed dismissively, "She's faking it! Don't believe her! I have important things to do tonight. Don't use this as an excuse to bother me, Zelda."

He added, "Even if you're trying to compete for attention, there should be a limit. I'm just having a meal with Yolanda. Please don't use our daughter's illness to deceive me. It's disgraceful."

My anger flared and I couldn't help but say, "I would never joke about my daughter's life, Stefan."

"Oh! That's just perfect," he replied before hanging up on me abruptly.