Chapter 5
Katrina failed to borrow money. When she returned home, she found Gary sitting there, chain–smoking in frustration.
Her anger flared. She stormed over, snatched the cigarette from his hand, and snapped, “You still have money for cigarettes? There’s not even enough for my prenatal checkups! Your three daughters need school fees! You might as well smoke yourself to death!”
Fuming, she threw the cigarette into the ashtray. Gary, mindful of her pregnancy, didn’t argue back, but Sandra was not as patient.
She muttered under her breath, “Why bring in a wife who acts like a queen… The last one was better, at least she knew her place.”
Katrina sneered at her words, “That obedient wife still divorced your son and took every last penny with her. Compared to that, what’s a little attitude from me?”
Sandra’s face turned an ugly shade of green. She slapped her thigh and said, “That’s right, Gary! That money she took was yours! You worked hard for it! Why shouldn’t you ask her for it? And those three daughters are her children too! Shouldn’t she raise them?”
Hearing this, Gary seemed to have an epiphany. He immediately pulled out his phone and called me.
I answered quickly, asking what he wanted.
Clearing his throat, he spoke with unwarranted confidence, “The girls‘ school fees are due soon, and I’m a little short on cash. Why don’t you cover it? And while you’re at it, send a little extra. Katrina
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has a prenatal checkup coming up, and I need to make arrangements.”
The arrogance in his voice was almost laughable.
He was asking me for money, yet he spoke as if he were doing me a favor.
Hadn’t the girls chosen to stay with him for a better life? Why was he asking me to pay their tuition?
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I smirked inwardly but put on a pitiful tone. “Oh, I really don’t have any money. My injuries caused by you still haven’t healed. The doctor said I suffered serious trauma and needed proper recovery. Most of my money has gone toward medical expenses. How could I possibly afford school fees?”
Gary had no response.
I then heard Katrina explode in rage on the other end. “No money for school fees? She’s lying! She took every penny from you! How much could medical bills possibly cost? She’s just making excuses to avoid paying you!”
I could easily picture Katrina fuming and stomping her feet in frustration.
And she was absolutely right. I was doing it on purpose, but so what?
When Gary failed to get any money from me, Katrina threw a full–blown tantrum at home. She smashed furniture, hurled chairs, and spewed curses in my name.
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She saw Gary’s three daughters as nothing but burdens. She despised them and took every opportunity to make their lives miserable.
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She forced them to cook and clean. If they didn’t do enough, she denied them food, leaving them to go hungry.
She tormented them, verbally abused them, and called them jinxes, parasites and dead weight to drag her life down.
Her constant meltdowns nearly put her unborn child at risk.
Gary, deeply concerned for her, became even colder toward our daughters. He told them to stay out of sight, to stop getting in their way.
It was only then that the three girls realized the harsh truth.
They had believed that choosing Gary meant a comfortable life, yet their reality was far worse than anything they had endured before.
Regret began to settle in, and they realized they should’ve chosen to stay with me.
Finally, they reached out to me and begged me to take them
away.
B
