Your mom is supposed to be the closest person in your world. That’s what people always say, and as much as I wished it were true for me, unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Ever since I was a child, I had always felt like the enemy number one in my mother’s eyes.
She used to say I stole her husband, but I was just a daughter to my dad. She didn’t seem to like that.
She had wanted a son, but I was born instead, and she never tired of reminding me of that.
If it wasn’t for my dad’s support and care, I don’t know how I would have survived my childhood.
But everything changed when Noah came into my life. Noah became the son my mom had always dreamed of.
He knew exactly how to win her over, and whenever my mom insulted me, he’d step in to defend me and shift her attention to himself.
I thought my suffering was finally over, but when Noah and I got married, my mom once again revealed the monster inside her who hated me.
“Oh, Noah, are you really cooking dinner? That’s a wife’s job,” my mom said one day.
“I’m a grown man, and I can cook for myself, it’s fine,” Noah replied.
“She doesn’t appreciate you, this Claire of yours,” my mom said, then glanced at me. “You’ll see, you’ll be a terrible wife, Noah will leave you for someone better.”
“Claire is a wonderful wife, you shouldn’t say that, Mrs. Miller,” Noah responded.
“Noah, you should call me ‘mom,’” my mom insisted.
And these conversations became more frequent. Mom kept saying I didn’t deserve Noah, that he was too good for me, that I was nothing compared to him.
One time, she even blurted out, “If you truly loved him, you’d find him someone more suitable.”
My patience was already on the edge when, one day, mom came over to visit us, and a few minutes later, we heard her scream from the bedroom.
Noah and I rushed to the room, terrified, and there she was, holding a pair of men’s underwear in her hands.
“I told you! I told you she’s not good enough for you! Look, she’s cheating on you!” my mom shouted at Noah, waving the underwear in front of him.
“Why do you think that?” Noah asked.
“Is this your underwear?” she asked.
“How do you even know what Noah’s underwear looks like?” I countered.
“Shut up, you traitor!” she yelled at me.
“Listen, this really isn’t my underwear, but where it came from, I don’t—”
Noah didn’t get to finish. “I’m telling you, she’s cheating on you!” she shouted again.
I scowled at the scene and went downstairs. I dug through my mom’s purse, and as expected, I found exactly what I was looking for. I took her purse and went back to the bedroom.
“Mom, are you kidding me?” I asked, pulling out a price tag for the underwear.
“What are you doing going through my stuff?!” my mom yelled.
“Because I know I didn’t cheat on Noah. What’s all this drama for?” I replied.
“Mrs. Miller, this is going too far,” Noah said.
“I told you, call me mom!” she snapped. “Noah, how can you not see it? She’s not worth your time and attention. You need to find someone better. I just want to help you.”
“Thanks… mom,” Noah said reluctantly. “But I think it’s better if you leave now.”
“I’m doing this for you!” Mom yelled.
“I get it, but Claire and I are tired, and we just want to rest,” Noah said.
“This lazy girl just wants to rest!” Mom muttered, grabbing her purse out of my hands and storming off.
I sighed heavily when I heard the front door slam. Noah came over and hugged me. “I’m so sorry,” he said.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” I replied.
“That’s even worse,” Noah said.
Mom didn’t visit us after that, but she still called and texted Noah every day, talking badly about me.
One day, I decided to plan a getaway for Noah and me to distract us from all the problems, so I bought tickets to a basketball game.
We were excited as we arrived, ready to cheer and forget about everything for a while.
We were eagerly watching the game when, at some point, I even felt a bit nostalgic because our first date had been at a basketball game too.
During halftime, they featured the kiss cam and moved the camera across the stands.
“I’ve always wanted to see something like this, it’s kind of exciting,” I said.
“Yeah, me too,” Noah replied with a smile.
“Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky today,” I said, and Noah smiled and took my hand.
We watched various awkward couples kissing and teased them. Then, at one point, the camera landed on a couple, and Noah and I both froze.
There sat my mom! My mom, who hated basketball and always yelled at my dad when he watched it on TV.
She was kissing some man, obviously not my dad, but just as I started to figure out who he was, the camera stopped filming them.
“Oh my god!” I said, shocked.
“I know,” Noah replied, just as stunned.
“My mom is cheating on my dad,” I said.
“I know,” Noah said.
We both sat there frozen, staring at some point ahead of us. I couldn’t believe it! My mom, who always told me I wasn’t a good wife, was cheating on her husband!
“What are you going to do?” Noah asked.
“Let’s see if we can follow them after the game. We need to figure out who that guy is,” I said, and Noah nodded.
We finished watching the game, but our minds were elsewhere, still processing what we had seen.
After the game, Noah and I stood by the exit and blended in with the crowd.
Finally, we saw them, my mom, walking happily with… Joe, my dad’s best friend! The man I had always called my uncle, even though he wasn’t really family.
“Want to go up to her? Rub it in her face?” Noah asked.
“I don’t know, probably not. I can’t just ruin my parents’ marriage, right?” I said.
“But she’s been trying to ruin ours for so long,” Noah said.
We stood there for a bit longer, then decided to head home. What Noah had said wouldn’t leave my mind.
Mom had been trying to destroy our marriage all along, and on top of that, Dad deserved to know the truth.
But I wasn’t like her, and I didn’t want to become her, so I didn’t know how to handle this.
A few days after the game, Noah and I went to dinner at my parents’ house. I couldn’t look my dad in the eye because I knew what I knew, and I wanted to slap my mom for cheating on him.
I stayed quiet throughout the dinner, thinking about whether I should say something. Then, I heard the same phrase from Mom that settled all my doubts.
“Claire will definitely cheat on you. That’s just her nature. She’s always been careless,” my mom said.
“Stop putting our daughter down,” my dad said.
“I’m just telling the truth. Claire isn’t fit for marriage,” Mom said.
“And you are?!” I shouted.
“Why are you yelling?” she asked.
“Because you sit here acting all righteous, insulting me, and yet you’re the one who’s not fit for marriage,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Mom asked.
“Dad, do you remember how every time Mom yelled at you for watching basketball, saying it was a game for idiots?” I asked.
“Yeah, every damn time,” Dad said.
“Well, when she’s watching it with Uncle Joe, she doesn’t think that way,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Mom asked, panicked.
“You know exactly what I mean. Noah and I were at that game, and we saw you and Uncle Joe kissing like teenagers,” I said.
“Honey, she’s making this up. You know I don’t like basketball, and I can’t stand Joe either,” she said to Dad.
Dad just laughed sadly. “So, you sent me fishing that day, so I wouldn’t watch the game?”
“No, what are you talking about? She’s making it all up!” Mom started to defend herself.
“I believe my daughter,” Dad said.
“But I’m your wife!” Mom shouted.
“I know, but you broke your marital vows, so I’m not putting up with this anymore,” Dad said.
“It’s all your fault! You ruined my life! When you were born, he started paying attention to more than just me!” Mom screamed at me.
“That’s what all good parents do. They pay attention to their children. But it seems you wouldn’t understand that,” I said.
“If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened! You! You’re to blame for everything!” Mom shouted.
“Calm down. Claire hasn’t lived with us for a long time, and all my attention was on you. But it seems that wasn’t enough for you,” Dad said.
“You’ve always been on her side!” Mom screamed.
“That’s not true! But I should have been. I should have divorced you a long time ago and not let you torment my daughter,” Dad shouted.
Mom growled and was about to attack me, but Noah stopped her. “Don’t even think about touching my wife,” he said.
“Noah, son, will you at least be on my side?” Mom asked.
“No, I’ve put up with you long enough,” Noah said.
“You damn family! I hate all of you!” Mom screamed.
“Then leave,” I said.
“What?!” Mom shouted.
“Leave, no one’s holding you here,” I said.
“How dare you!” Mom screamed.
“Get out. My lawyer will send you the divorce papers,” Dad said.
“And where will I go?” Mom asked.
“Not my problem,” Dad replied.
“You bastards! You’ll all pay!” Mom screamed as she stormed out of the house.
We all sighed with relief as we heard the front door slam behind her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I said to Dad.
“It’s okay. I had my suspicions, but you gave me the confirmation,” Dad said.
“Now you can live in peace,” Noah said, hugging me.
For the first time, I truly felt free—free from all her cruelty. Who would have thought that a simple kiss cam moment would end up changing my life forever?