When Marilyn agreed to leave her house every weekend so her husband could spend time with their son, she thought she was being understanding. But after months of this arrangement, she returned home unexpectedly and saw what was really going on.
I thought my six-month marriage to Scott was on solid ground. We’d dated for two years before we got married, and during that time, I’d gotten to know his six-year-old son, Ben.
A woman and a man smile while walking down a street | Source: Midjourney
The boy was sweet and shy, with his father’s blond hair and a smile that could melt ice. His mother, Patricia, seemed to tolerate me well at the time. She even chatted with me during drop-offs, asking me questions about my job as a high school teacher.
“You’re so kind to Ben,” she once told me, watching him show me his latest Lego creation. “It’s nice that he has another positive influence in his life.”
That joke changed after the wedding. I saw her less and less, and months later, Scott dropped a bombshell on me.
A woman in a living room looking pensive | Source: Midjourney
It was a quiet Tuesday evening in spring, and we were both busy in the kitchen. I was preparing dinner and watching the beautiful rain outside through the window.
He was trying to fix one of the cabinet handles that had broken the day before.
Suddenly he cleared his throat and I turned my head, raising my eyebrows.
“Honey, I think it would be best if you went to your parents’ house for the weekend,” Scott began, still focused on the wardrobe.
I blinked. “I’m sorry. What? Why?”
A woman standing in front of a stove looking back in confusion | Source: Midjourney
He sighed and straightened, fiddling with the handles of his hands. “Patricia doesn’t want Ben around you anymore. She says it’ll upset him. If she finds out you’re here when Ben visits, she’ll make things difficult. I just want peace.”
I dropped the carving knife and grabbed a kitchen towel to clean my hands.
“I don’t understand,” I began. “Ben and I get along really well. He loved the science experiments we did last weekend. Remember how excited he was when we made that volcano? He learned so much. Plus, he loves my cooking.”
A child laughing as a science project volcano erupts on a table in the living room | Source: Midjourney
“I know, I know,” Scott placed the handle on the counter and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s just… she says it’s different because we’re married now, and she doesn’t want Ben to think you’re his mother too.”
“I’m his stepmother, so…”
“I know. It’s ridiculous. But it’s temporary until Patricia calms down. Please? You know how she can be when she doesn’t get her way. She’s threatening to cut back on the time I spend with Ben.”
A woman next to a little boy in front of a car in a suburban neighborhood | Source: Midjourney
“So your solution is to kick your wife out of her own house every weekend?” I frowned, putting the kitchen towel back where it belonged. “Scott, this is crazy.”
“Not kicking you out,” he replied. “Just… take a little break on the weekend. Visit your parents. They’d like to see more of you, wouldn’t they?”
I felt bad, but I didn’t want to be the reason Scott wasted time with his son. I felt compelled to agree.
So that Friday, I packed my overnight bag and headed to my parents’ house 20 minutes away, passing through familiar neighborhoods and the park where Scott had proposed.
A woman packing clothes into a suitcase | Source: Pexels
Mom opened the door and immediately, her brow furrowed with worry. “Marilyn? What are you doing here? What’s going on?”
“Sorry I didn’t call sooner. I just came for the weekend,” I said, forcing a smile as I made my way inside. “I thought I’d spend some quality time with my favorite parents.”
She let me in without a word, even though I could see she didn’t believe me. I was glad she let it go that night, but Saturday morning at breakfast, she asked me for the truth.
A breakfast plate | Source: Pexels
I had to tell him what Scott had asked.
“Why are YOU leaving? This is your house,” she said, buttering her toast with forced, angry movements. “When I was your age, Henry would never have asked me to leave our house. For anyone.”
“It’s just temporary,” I lied, pushing my eggs around the plate. “Patricia’s going through a rough patch. It’s easier this way.”
“Easier for whom?” Mom’s voice was soft but firm. “Honey, something’s wrong.”
An elderly woman sitting at a table with toast on her plate, frowning | Source: Midjourney
“I know, but can we just let it go?” I mumbled, and thankfully, Mom agreed.
But a few weekends turned into every weekend, and then months went by.
Every Friday, I packed my bags, as if I were being evicted from my house, the one I had bought before I even met Scott.
A pretty house in the suburbs | Source: Midjourney
It wasn’t fair, and according to him, Patricia liked this arrangement, so we had to continue. He constantly reassured me that he only loved me and that he hated that his ex was acting this way.
But we had to comply with this rule for Ben’s well-being.
I really wanted to understand because he always seemed so sincere, and I loved him and his son. But how far could I go? I didn’t know when I would break.
A woman sitting in bed at night, looking thoughtful | Source: Midjourney
It happened on a Friday. I was only five minutes from my parents’ house when the thought, “Are you an idiot?” came to me. Why was I doing this? This wasn’t right!
I couldn’t justify this strange arrangement anymore, so I turned around and hauled myself up to my house. I parked in our driveway and used my key to unlock the front door.
From the outside, I could see that the house was too quiet for a Friday night with a six-year-old who loved blasting cartoons on TV.
A house at night | Source: Pexels
But I realized what was really going on as soon as I stepped foot in my living room. First, Ben was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, I saw Scott on our couch with one arm casually draped around Patricia. She was wearing my pajamas, the ones I’d just bought that were a bit more expensive.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
With a curse, Scott jumped up from the couch and hit his knee on the coffee table. “Marilyn! You’re… you’re supposed to be at your parents’ house,” he said, limping toward me.
A man looks ashamed as a blonde woman sits on a couch behind him, surprised | Source: Midjourney
I wasn’t looking at him. My gaze was fixed on Patricia, who hadn’t moved. She just smiled and ran a hand through the silk of her pajama shirt. “Well, well. Looks like someone went off script.”
“Where is Ben?” I asked.
“At my mom’s,” Patricia replied smoothly, crossing her legs. “He’s always at my mom’s on Fridays. They have a special movie night. Didn’t Scott tell you?” She turned to him with mock concern. “Oh, honey, don’t tell me you lied to your new wife?”
An elderly woman and her grandson sitting on a sofa, smiling | Source: Midjourney
The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “It was never about Ben, was it?”
“Smart girl.” Patricia smiled and stood up. “I told Scott that if he wanted another chance with me, I needed weekends to see if we could work things out. Sending you away was his idea, though,” she shrugged. “He’s always been good at coming up with… creative solutions.”
I laughed hollowly. “That’s interesting because Scott told me something very different.” I pulled out my phone and pressed play on a recording from last week.
A woman holding up a phone in a living room at night | Source: Midjourney
I don’t know why I recorded it secretly, but at that moment, I was happy. I knew my marriage was over, but they weren’t going to run happily into the sunset either.
Scott’s voice filled the room: “I love you, Marilyn. Patricia is just another person. Selfish and petty. I’m only doing this until Ben is a little older and understands things better. Things will get back to normal for us soon, and then we can think about having our own children. You are the love of my life.”
Patricia’s lips twisted as I put my phone down. Suddenly, she leaned forward, grabbed her slipper, and threw it at Scott. “You lying bastard! This whole time, you’ve had it both ways? You’re pathetic!”
A comfortable slipper that flies through the air | Source: Midjourney
He dodged, and the slipper hit a china ornament on our mantelpiece, knocking it over and shattering it on my floor. I don’t care. It was an ugly thing his mother had given me.
But then Patricia moved, grabbing her purse before pushing me away from the front door and out of my house.
“Feel free to keep my pajamas. I know you can’t afford them!” I yelled, aiming for maximum pettiness.
She froze for a second but kept walking without a backward glance. Once she was out of sight, I went upstairs to our bedroom, Scott following me and desperately pleading behind me.
A woman walking up the stairs of a house with a man following her, looking sad | Source: Midjourney
Ignoring him, I walked over to his closet, grabbed his precious polo shirts, and threw them out the window.
“What are you doing?” he shouted.
“If you come any closer to me,” I began, raising my hand to stop her, “I’m going to scream at the top of my lungs, and you know that old gossip across the street will call the police.”
“Please, Marilyn,” Scott took a step back helplessly. But I didn’t listen.
His expensive suits followed, then his dress shoes, his watch collection, his golf clubs and his travel suitcases.
Clothes and other belongings scattered on the front lawn of a house at night | Source: Midjourney
“Now go pick up that crap off my lawn and get out of my life,” I said in a dangerously calm voice.
“Please listen,” he tried to beg one last time. “I was only thinking about Ben. I wasn’t having it both ways. I was only playing with her.”
“SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
A woman screaming in a room in front of a window at night | Source: Midjourney
The sound was so loud I’m sure the neighbors heard it. He stared into my eyes for one last moment, and his shoulder slumped. Finally, he left.
A few curious neighbors gathered on their porches to watch Scott gather his scattered belongings. Before driving off, he looked back one last time.
People on their porch in a suburban neighborhood at night | Source: Midjourney
“Marilyn, please. We can work things out. I’ll tell you everything,” he insisted, his voice cracking. “I never meant to hurt you. I was just trying to make everyone happy.”
“I don’t want to hear anything from you except through the lawyers,” I replied and closed the front door.
I leaned my back against it and breathed deeply as the adrenaline finally left my body.
A woman leaning against a door, looking peaceful and smiling | Source: Midjourney
A minute later, my phone vibrated in my pocket with a message from my mother. She must have been worried that I hadn’t come back to her house.
“Are you okay? You didn’t come back here.”
I smiled and typed back, “It’s okay, Mom. No one will ever kick me out of my house again.”
A woman in a living room, smiling while texting | Source: Midjourney
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This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and all opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
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