Why didn't she share these bitter feelings with my brother?
"Karen, enough with the nonsense. I've told you, I didn't cheat," Dad interrupted her tirade.
"If you want a divorce, so be it. Jessie chose me. You take the boy, sign the papers, and let's call it quits!"
Truth was, Jim Rivers had never strayed. After the divorce in my previous life, he'd returned to his job abroad and stayed single.
But driven by sheer paranoia, Mom kept badgering me, slowly turning me against Dad.
Eventually, I realized I was nothing more than her venting outlet.
And who needs to shower love on a venting outlet?
Jim swiftly signed the divorce papers and slid them across to Karen.
She muttered curses under her breath but finally loosened her grip on my brother, ready to sign her part.
"Really, Jessie? You go with Dad and expect me to struggle with Mom?"
My brother finally spoke up, his adolescent voice cracking.
"She's been nothing more than a maid for over a decade. What's she good for? Are we going to starve?"
"You're the selfish one, Jessie! You traitor!"
His bitter words matched the harshness of his tone.