[Please, do not associate yourself with depression! This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to the mental health community!]
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[From now on, every time someone attacks a person with depression, it’s gonna be your fucking fault!]
In the end, her livestream was shut down after being mass–reported by viewers. She still couldn’t figure out what went wrong. In a fit of rage, she smashed her computer, screaming, “What is this crap!”
When she turned around, she met the cold, menacing gaze of her son. She swallowed hard, her expression shifting instantly. “Son, listen, let me explain-”
The news of her livestream failure was already trending. Her son pointed a finger in her face. “You’re a fucking useless failure! How am I supposed to show my face in public now?”
Sharon was a bulldog to the rest of the world, but with her son, she was a doormat. At his words, she crumpled, the tears flowing.” Son! It’s all that little bitch’s fault!” she wailed. “If it wasn’t for Jessica, none of this would have happened!”
“Your father won’t even come home now,” she cried, reaching for her son’s hand. “You can’t be angry with me too. If you leave me… what will I do?”
Her tears didn’t move him. They only fueled his frustration. He shoved her away hard. “Useless!” he spat. Before storming out, he ransacked the house, taking everything of value.
It was my mom who told me all of this. “Your father came to see me,” she said, a worried look on her face.
Hearing his name made my heart jump, fearing another round of drama.
“He wants to remarry me,” she said, looking at me carefully. “His reason is… to give you a complete family. He said you’re successf- ul now, with the scholarship and all your awards, and that college will be expensive. He said I can’t support you on my own, that our home needs a man so we won’t be bullied.”
Just listening to her, I could picture my father’s hypocritical face. He wanted to use me to manipulate my mom, to get rid of Shar- on, and to rebrand himself as the prodigal husband returned.
But the world doesn’t work that way.
I remembered being a little girl in kindergarten. After school, I didn’t go to the park with my parents. I sat under their market stall, folding paper. In elementary school, I helped them deliver goods every day. To ease my mother’s burden, I studied hard. By third grade, I was earning money by tutoring other kids. By fifth grade, I was paying for my own expenses, never asking my parents for a thing. I even bought them small gifts to make them happy.
Life was poor and hard, but it was full of hope. Our hearts were full.
ง
I never imagined that when my father went from pushing a cart to driving a car, when we moved from a tiny flat to a high–rise apar- tment, that our family would shatter.
That Sharon would storm into our home with her son, smash our family portrait, and sneer, “Take your worthless daughter and get
out! My son is the true master of this house.”
She pushed my mother, screaming, “You’re a whore, and you gave birth to a bastard! A whore doesn’t deserve a good life! If you’re
so cheap, go sell yourself!”
Back then, I thought it was a nightmare I would wake up from. I tried to appeal to my father’s love, to get him to help us. But he just stood there and asked my mother, his voice cold as ice, “Do you want half the assets, or do you want custody of Jessica? If you take custody, you leave with nothing.”
He was a stranger to me. “But if you take the money, Jessica stays with me.”
I saw the agony in my mother’s eyes. I watched as my father allowed Sharon and her son to bully my mom. A deep–seated hatred began to grow in my heart. I ran at him, trying to hit him, but Sharon kicked me in the chest. “You damned money pit! If your father doesn’t want you, you might as well be dead!”
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In the end, it was my mom who picked me up. She held me tight and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, Jessica. As long as you have Mo-
mmy, you have a home.”
She signed the divorce papers, gave up her share of everything, and we left with nothing but the clothes on our backs, into the cold,
snowy night.
Now, I was afraid she would fall back into the same trap out of guilt for me. I wanted to warn her, but she spoke first.
“Don’t worry,” she said, her voice gentle as she took my hand. “I won’t.”
“From the moment your father threw us out, to the moment he tried to force me to sign that settlement agreement just to save
face, I knew. I will never put you back in his hands. We can live a good life without him. I will love you enough for both of us.”
I looked at my mother’s loving face, and a wave of emotion washed over me. I threw my arms around her. “You’re already more
than enough,” I told her. “You’re the best mom in the world.”
My mom and I were on the same page. We quietly let a rumor slip to Sharon that my dad wanted to remarry my mom, letting her
and her son feel the threat to their position.
The next thing I heard, my dad’s company had finally been driven into bankruptcy by Sharon and her son’s constant drama. When Sharon found out about the remarriage plans, she started causing scenes at his office every day, using the same tactics she’d used
on us. At first, my dad tolerated it, but after she sabotaged several major deals, he snapped and threw divorce papers at her.
Sharon refused. She took the fight directly to one of his biggest clients. The client, disgusted, pulled their funding, and the company
collapsed.
With the company gone, her son went after my dad for money.
The next time I saw my father, he was a shadow of his former self, haggard and broken. He was waiting for me outside my school.
“Jessica,” he cried, grabbing my arm. “I heard you got your scholarship money. Can you help your dad out? Just a loan! I promise I’ll
pay you back!”
The students at my school knew my family’s story. They started yelling at him, calling him a scumbag, and helped me push him away. I watched him stumble away, a pathetic sight, and felt nothing. I was just an observer.
Then, I pulled out my phone and called Sharon.
“Hello,” I said sweetly. “Weren’t you looking for your husband? He’s out here at my school, begging me for money like a dog. I guess he doesn’t want you anymore, does he?”
The line went dead. I knew the final act was about to begin.
I didn’t expect her to be carrying a knife. She rushed at my father, screaming, “Robert! How dare you betray me and my son! I’ll kill
you!”
My father, caught completely by surprise, was stabbed. He grabbed her hand as she tried to push the knife in deeper, his eyes wide
with shock. “You’re insane!”
“I went insane a long time ago!” she shrieked. “Robert! I was young when I came to you! You’re the only man I’ve ever been with! I gave you a son! And you still betrayed me!”
She fought against his grip, trying to drive the knife home. Just then, her son arrived.
“Mom!” he screamed.
Sharon was distracted for a split second. My father kicked her away and pulled the knife out. Fearing she would attack again, he
raised the knife to stab her.
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Chapter 2
But his son was faster.
“Son!” Sharon screamed as her son snatched the knife from his father’s hand.
“You’re not hurting my mom,” he yelled.
And then, he delivered the final blow to his own father.
Robert collapsed.
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Sharon and her son were taken away by the police. I watched the entire thing with cold detachment, my mind drifting back to that
snowy night, when my father had watched with the same cold detachment as we were thrown out into the street.
Now, years later, I’ve graduated from college. I have a high–paying job, and I’ve moved with my mom out of that small town and into
the city.
Life is steady. And it is happy.