Mom’s Absence Revealed My Father’s Hidden Agenda

My father lied about everything to get away with living with his mistress. However, it was after a fortuitous meeting with someone I believed to be deceased that I learned the complete truth.

My mother was admitted to the hospital when I was eight years old. My father occasionally took me to see her since she was very ill. One day, though, he brought some depressing news home. He apologized, saying, “Your mother is gone, Josh.”

That night, I sobbed uncontrollably, but Dad insisted that we pack. I said, “Where are we going?”

“With so many memories of your mother, we are unable to remain in this town any longer. If we have any chance of recovering from this loss, we must relocate and start anew,” he replied. So, a few hours later, I got in the car after helping out while crying for my mom.

After what felt like an eternity of driving, we finally arrived at a house that wasn’t all that different from the other one. He assured me, “You’ll love it here and make tons of new friends around the neighborhood.”

However, a few days after moving there, a woman began to regularly show up. My father said, “Josh, this is Erika, a great friend.”

I said, “It’s good to meet you, Erika.”

“Yeah, absolutely. What are we having for supper, Owen? She responded, speaking exclusively to my father and hardly noticing me. My father was grinning, but I was perplexed. I wished for his happiness.

However, their joy passed quickly. Erika came in with us after they were married, just a few months after my mother passed away. She obviously detested me after the wedding. She constantly shouted and assigned a ton of duties.

Nothing I did was wrong, but I wasn’t a disobedient child by any means. “Oh God! “Like your mother, you’re useless!” she cried one day.

“Avoid discussing my mother! Did you know her? I asked vehemently.

“I knew her, of course! Erika said, “Your father had to leave because her illness was bringing him down.”

“Hey Josh! Why are you causing your new mother any distress? Suddenly, my dad entered. He kept scowling at me while whispering something to Erika that I couldn’t hear.

I retorted, “She began discussing my mother.”

“Avoid responding to me. “Now go to your room and do your homework!” he exclaimed.

“All right!” After responding, I walked to my room. Erika didn’t want me around for years. They even took extended trips without me after I was old enough to care for myself. However, I had lost interest. I had no desire to interact with that woman. One day, though, she went too far.

She was in my room when I got home from school. I was saving to get out of this horror house when I was seventeen years old. “Why are you in this place?” I questioned her impatiently.

“This mess is being cleaned up by me. This photo must also be removed right away. I will not allow a picture of another woman in my home. Years have passed. “You must move on,” Erika replied.

“You have no right to touch that image!” I swore.

“In my own home, I’ll do everything I want! As usual, you’re just a brat. I’m eager for you to leave,” she added.

“Like you, I’m eager to get away and never have to put up with a harpy like you again!” I finally lost my temper and yelled. However, my father joined us after hearing our argument.

“What’s happening here?”

Erika boastfully remarked, “Your son is causing trouble as usual, and now he has insulted me.” Dad would support her, she knew.

“Hey Josh! He said, “How many times do I have to tell you to respect your mother?”

“My mother is not her! She is a wicked witch from hell! I despise her! Tears filled my eyes as I screamed. My father’s angry expression made me fear that he might strike me. But I reacted quickly before he could take any action.

I snatched my mother’s photo frame out of Erika’s terrible grasp and fled. When I arrived at the bus stop, I chose to board one. I reached our former hometown unnoticed. I wondered if I might locate our former home as I strolled down these streets, which I hardly knew.

“My name is Josh,” I answered.

“Hey Josh! Son, is that truly you? Wait—that’s you, of course! She exclaimed, “Oh my god!” and gave me a tight hug. We held each other while we sobbed for a time.

“What happened, Mom? After we had cooled down, I inquired, “My father said you died.”

“That vile scum! “It’s unbelievable that he said that to you,” Mom began. “I recall the time you came to see me in the hospital. However, you eventually stopped visiting, and Owen didn’t return my calls. I believed that something had occurred.

I informed her that “he moved us away.”

“That dreadful man. After I left, I found that Owen had filed for divorce and embezzled all of our savings. Additionally, he made arrangements to obtain complete custody. However, everything was managed by lawyers. I couldn’t find you,” Mom went on.

“I’m shocked that he did that, especially to obtain custody of me.” I added, “His new wife detested me from the start.”

“I think it may be related to ancestry. Passing down his last name was Owen’s obsession. However, I had to pay for lawyers and private investigators to find you, so I had to sell our previous house, which was all dad left me. But none of them were able to,” Mom clarified.

“Mom, I’m so sorry!” I sobbed.

“You are not to blame. You were a child. I ran out of money, but I shouldn’t have quit up. Nobody wants to assist a woman who is homeless. But the fact that we found one another is all that matters,” she reassured me.

“Don’t be concerned. I said, “You won’t be homeless any longer.” In order to escape my father and stepmother, I had saved for years. My mother was an adult, but they don’t rent to 17-year-olds. Together, we found a home and began a new chapter in our lives.

After graduating, I found employment and began attending night classes, while my mother eventually resumed her career, which she had to abandon due to illness.

In an effort to distance myself from my father, I also changed my last name to “Fraser,” which is my mother’s maiden name. He no longer had the right to refer to me as his son because he had taken me away from my mother for many years.