Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

”Have a seat,” my mother insisted, pointing toward the couch.

As I stepped into the living room, another truth hit me.

Once again, it looked completely different.

They had replaced everything with new furniture and decor.

At this point, I realized it was a pattern.

Every year, they changed the entire decor.

”I didn’t come here to sit down,” I said.

My mother slowly lowered herself onto the sofa, staring at me with a wide smile.

When she didn’t respond, I realized that unless I sat down, the conversation wouldn’t move forward.

So, I slowly sat down as well.

The entire living room had been redone in ivory and beige, following the latest design trends.

Even my mother’s haircut was completely new.

Everything was branded and fashionable.

”Wow, look at you,” my mother remarked, her eyes filled with nothing but pride.

For a second, my heart flipped inside my chest.

If only she knew how long I had waited for this kind of affirmation from her.

But then I reminded myself that none of it mattered.

In the end, she had treated me worse than anyone else.

”You’re completely different now,” my mother said.

”I mean, just look at you. I always knew you would grow up to be beautiful,” she continued, honestly shocking me.

The Brenda I knew wouldn’t even look at me without a clear expression of displeasure on her face.

I don’t know. Hearing those words from her felt strange.

Then I thought, maybe she had found out about Justin’s death.

Maybe she had called once, and when Justin didn’t answer, she contacted someone from our old neighborhood.

They might have told her what had happened.

Maybe that was what changed her.

She looked guilty. She kept rubbing her hands together, stealing glances at me before forcing a gentle smile onto her lips.

”So it was you who sent me the messages?” I asked, keeping my posture straight.

I guessed she had never seen me this confident before.

Every move I made seemed to surprise her.

There had been a few occasions when I went to live with her, and none of them ended well.

Some left deep scars on my soul and my dignity.

Even when my mother didn’t hurt me herself, she allowed her step children to do it.

”I missed you,” she uttered, smiling at me. ”I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. It’s not like I never thought about you during all those years. I did. You need to understand that I wasn’t in a position to accept you back then. I was in a very difficult place, facing one crisis after another.”

She took a deep breath.

”After I got married to your stepfather. The day I sent you and your brother away was also the day I found out I was pregnant.”

My heart almost flipped inside my chest when I heard that.

I don’t know why, but my immediate reaction was to look at her with even more disgust.

”I know you’re thinking I accepted the new baby and sent you away because of it,” she continued. ”That I chose the baby over you.”

I didn’t have to answer because she already had her response ready.

”That wasn’t the case. I was given a deal. I could either give birth to the baby or keep you and your brother.”

Goosebumps prickled across my skin when I heard that.

”So you did choose the unborn baby over us,” I said, laughing as the words left my mouth.

I guess my mother had been expecting a different reaction because she immediately shook her head.

”You’re not getting it, Verity.”

She paused, as though it was time to explain what I wasn’t getting.

”No, you got pregnant with your new husband’s baby. He asked you to remove the children from your previous marriage from your life, and you did. It’s pretty simple. What’s there not to get?” I replied with a sarcastic grin.

The tears that welled up in her eyes caught me off guard.

She had played the victim throughout the conversation, but then she uttered words that made me feel as though my body was still sitting on the couch while my soul had left it.

”It wasn’t your stepfather’s.”

Neither of us spoke for another minute before she continued.

”When your father left us,” she said, taking a deep breath and biting her bottom lip, ”I went to his friend for help.”

With every word she spoke, my heart pounded even harder inside my chest.

”You two were there, remember that night?”

Her voice began to break.

Only then did I realize that my stepfather and stepsister weren’t home.

In fact, my mother had made sure my stepbrother left as well, so we were the only ones in the mansion while she told me all of this.

”Do you remember that day? You fell and hit your head. After that, you kept complaining that you were losing your vision. We had to rush you to the hospital, and I didn’t have any money.”

My mother rubbed her hands together. I watched her body shudder before she swallowed and continued.

”Your father’s best friend helped us that night.”

She paused again, and I remembered that evening. I remembered it very well.

”Well— he took something else in return.”

She didn’t have to say another word because I already understood what she was trying to tell me.

I just wasn’t sure how to respond.

The fact that my father’s best friend had taken advantage of our situation didn’t surprise me.

What shocked me was that history really did repeat itself.

My mother had tears in her eyes, but there was more she had yet to reveal.

She was about to pull the ground out from under my feet with her confession.

”And then he made it a habit. Because that day, he had recorded me,” my mother said, taking a deep breath before tilting her head back.

A tear rolled down her cheek, but she smiled.