Chapter 8
The moment I spoke, Darlene burst into tears and began lamenting her hardships.
“I was only nineteen when I married your father. I gave him children, worked hard to ease his burden. I never asked for luxury–just for him to treat me well. Why would he betray me like this?”
She hugged her knees, keeping her voice low, likely to avoid waking Raymond and Caleb, sobbing quietly.
While halfheartedly patting her shoulder in mock comfort, I took the phone from her clenched hand and began
scrolling through the conversations with someone saved as “Honey.”
It was abundantly clear that the woman labeled “Honey” was not my mother.
In the messages, my father–normally so quiet and reserved–was attentive to this woman’s health, buying her flowers, makeup, and sending her money–all things my mother never received.
He also complained about Darlene to this woman:
‘Not meeting you earlier is the biggest regret of my life.”
‘My wife is old and ugly, nothing feminine about her. She snores like a damn freight train when she sleeps–kissing her once gives me nightmares for half a year!”
“I must have been out of my mind when I married that walking disaster. She’s dumb as a rock. It’s bad enough she’s always bitter and cruel to Tiffany at home, but she had to pull that stunt at the hospital too, right when the cop showed up for a follow–up visit. I got chewed out in front of everyone–she’s completely humiliated me!”
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As I scrolled through page after page, my father’s disgust for my mother practically radiated from the screen.
Suddenly inspired, I began consoling my heartbroken mother.
“Mom, Dad’s probably just under too much stress and needed someone to talk to. I bet that homewrecker saw an opportunity and seduced him.”
“You can’t let her get away with this. What if Dad leaves us for her?”
SLAP!
The words had barely left my mouth when Darlene, tears still in her eyes, slapped me hard across the face.
She hissed through clenched teeth: “You little bitch, he’d only ever leave YOU!”
Fighting through the stinging pain in my cheek and the urge to curse her out, I forced a tight smile and began quietly
planning how to catch them in the act.
“Mom, Dad cares most about his reputation. He thinks you made him lose face, so he’s getting close to this woman, confiding in her. But what if she made him lose face too? Wouldn’t he come back to our family and be a good husband to you again?”
Hearing my plan, Darlene nodded furiously, completely convinced by my reasoning.
The next day, I returned to my restaurant job, back to my normal routine, but with a new anticipation: catching
them red–handed!
Finally, one afternoon as my shift ended, Darlene stormed in, dragged me out without explanation, and hustled me into a taxi, cursing the entire time.
“That whore, seducing my husband every chance she gets. I’ll skin her alive today!”
“Tiffany, once we burst into the hotel room and I take pictures, you grab that slut. I’m going to claw her face up so badly she’ll never be able to seduce another man again!”
With these instructions, ten minutes later, we barged into the hotel room.
As the door flew open, I rushed in without hesitation and started snapping photos of the two naked bodies tangled
in bed.
My father, finally registering what was happening, quickly covered himself and the woman with a blanket before roaring:
“You crazy bitch! Can’t you ever give it a rest?”
Darlene seemed to break at his words, screaming back:
“No, I can’t! Why should I do nothing when some tramp is stealing my husband?”
After screaming, Darlene charged forward, yanking the blanket off and unleashing a flurry of slaps and hair–pulling on the naked woman in bed.
The woman let out a piercing scream that triggered my father’s protective instinct. He hastily wrapped himself in a bathrobe, grabbed Darlene’s wrist, violently yanked her backward, and slapped her hard across the face.
The blow momentarily stunned Darlene, halting her assault. But Raymond was clearly enraged and continued with punches and kicks while cursing:
“It’s one thing when you terrorize Tiffany at home, but who the hell gave you the right to touch my woman? You’ve got some nerve!”
At first, Darlene tried to fight back, but she was no match for a man’s strength. Her defiance gradually transformed from cursing to broken pleas. Still, Raymond didn’t stop until he was too tired to continue, carelessly tossing Darlene to the floor before comforting the woman in bed, helping her dress, and strutting out together.
By then, Darlene’s face was swollen and bruised, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Watching the pair leave together, she broke down screaming: “I won’t let you get away with this!”
And me? I was hiding safely in the corner, only approaching to help Darlene after Raymond and the woman were
long gone.
“Mom, what are we going to do?” I asked, my voice filled with contrived concern. “It looks like Dad really loves that
homewrecker.”
Darlene’s face quivered with rage, every muscle tense.
“That’s bullshit! They think they can just ditch me and be together? Not happening!”
