: The Other Woman

My dad's mistress showed up at our door, pregnant,

calling my mom an old hag and me a money pit.

She told my mom to know her place and step aside willingly.

She even had the gall to say, "The one who isn't loved is the real mistress."

But what she didn't know was that my dad married into our family.

What she knew even less...

was that my dad had been in a car accident two years ago and lost his ability to have children.

1.

When the mistress showed up with her big pregnant belly, my mom was at her wit's end over my failing math grade.

"Dana Rhodes, a single-digit math score. How fitting. I should have named you something that means 'double' instead."

My mom was gentle, kind, and upright. Even when faced with the fact that I'd scored a 7% in math, she managed to speak in a soft, gentle voice. Of course, the frantic throbbing of the vein in her temple gave her real feelings away.

When it came to personality and character, however, it seemed I took after my dad.

Good-for-nothing, unscholarly, and lazy. Besides inheriting my mom's pretty face, I could be described as completely useless.

Even though I was only in seventh grade, I was already a serious 'problem child' in the eyes of many of my teachers.

My dad either ignored me completely or would sigh deeply and furiously call me useless.

But he never stopped to think—if it weren't for his garbage genes getting in the way, would I really have ended up in this predicament?

And speak of the devil, that good-for-nothing father of mine hadn't cleaned up his romantic messes, and now his mistress had shown up, ready for a fight.

But my mom's and my first reaction wasn't anger, but—

Shock.

Yes, the kind of shock that would last us a hundred years.

The mistress had shown up at our door, pregnant!

The math test in my mom's hand—the one with my 7% score—went slack as she stared blankly at the mistress.

The mistress seemed to misunderstand my mom's reaction, interpreting it as heartbroken despair.

This only made her more arrogant. Assuming the air of the lady of the house, she plopped herself down on the sofa.

2.

The mistress might not have had any morals, but at least she knew how to get straight to the point.

"Divorce Chad. We've been together for two and a half years. You're old and washed up; you shouldn't keep clinging to your position. It's time for someone new. Besides, I'm pregnant with Chad's baby."

Everything she'd said so far was laughable, but that last line made me crack. I actually laughed out loud.

My mom, far more composed than I am, calmly retorted, "You're pregnant? What does that have to do with us?"

The mistress shot back, full of self-righteousness, "I'm carrying Chad's child, and he promised he would take responsibility for me. The one who isn't loved is the real mistress here. Take your money pit and get the hell out of Chad's house."

Wait a minute…

I blinked, not quite understanding the situation.

'Is this mistress just a phenomenal actress, or had my dad suddenly… recovered?'

Three years ago, my dad was in a car accident and fell into a coma for three days. Fortunately, he pulled through. While his other organs recovered just fine, the accident unfortunately left him permanently sterile.

My mom and I couldn't bear to see my dad fall apart, so together with his doctor, we've been hiding it from him ever since.

That's why I laughed out loud when I heard the mistress claim she was pregnant with my dad's child.

Obviously, the mistress was having an affair with my dad, but he clearly wasn't her only sugar daddy.

She just saw that my dad was rich and thought she could use a baby to marry up and secure her future.

'My dad was a classic sucker.'

But she had seriously miscalculated.

For one, my dad couldn't get her pregnant. For two, my father, who's always putting on a show, would never have told her that he'd married into our family. He only has what he has today because he lives off my mother's money; most of the family's assets are in her name.

Seeing that my mom and I remained silent, the mistress grew impatient and slammed her hand on the table. "I'll say it again! The one who isn't loved is the real mistress here. If you know what's good for you, you'll bow out gracefully. It'll save you the humiliation of being thrown out."

My mom nodded. "You have a point."

With that, she took my hand. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go pack our bags."

: Divorce

3.

Huh? Wait, wait, wait?

What's going on?

'Why isn't my mom ripping the other woman to shreds?!'

But on second thought, it made sense. My parents' marriage had been over for years—it was in name only. My dad had a long string of affairs, and my mom couldn't even be bothered with them anymore.

This was actually a good opportunity. My mom could finally start her life of freedom.

Besides, this mistress was so low-tier. Stooping to her level would be a total waste of time.

But just as we were about to walk past the homewrecker, my dad came home.

The moment he pushed the door open, the woman channeled her inner award-winning actress. She clutched her stomach, tumbled off the sofa, and burst into a flood of tears.

"I know you can't stand me, but how could you hurt my child! I only came here to meet you like we agreed. Why did you push me? You're trying to kill my baby!"

'Wow.'

'Any word from Cannes?'

This was the scene my dad walked in on.

The homewrecker was sprawled theatrically on the floor, a mess of snot and tears, acting as if Mom and I had actually done something to her.

'Such a damsel in distress.'

The problem was, despite her ridiculously over-the-top acting, my dad bought it.

Tsk.

'I had a feeling that if my dad ever went bankrupt, it would be because some scheming woman had cleaned him out. He was just so damn gullible. How on earth did a woman as smart as my mom fall for him in the first place?!'

A look of pure anguish on his face, my dad rushed over and gathered the homewrecker in his arms. A barrage of accusations flew from his mouth. "What did you do to Mylene? If you have a problem, take it out on me! What does attacking her prove?"

My mom nodded calmly. "As a matter of fact, there is something I'd like to address."

My dad scoffed. "Then get on with it."

"I want a divorce."