Home / Emotional Realism Short Story / Christmas Eve: Mom Lied About My Chastity / Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

All Chapters of Christmas Eve: Mom Lied About My Chastity: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

At the dinner table, in front of everyone, Mom was still spouting nonsense."No offense, Yvonne, but landing a husband like Louis Hartson is a once-in-a-lifetime blessing. Instead of being grateful, there you are, running around and fooling about behind his back."Who do you think you are? Some kind of social butterfly? A heartthrob? When Louis dumps you, don't come crying back to me!"I was so furious that my head spun. "Don't make such accusations without proof. What makes you think I've been fooling around?"Mom rolled her eyes. "Louis hasn't had a single illness this past year," she replied offhandedly. "You, on the other hand, are down with the flu one day, then hives the next. If you haven't been fooling around God knows where, then where did all these illnesses come from?"I stared at her calmly, finally understanding how her twisted logic worked.All of this stemmed from when I'd caught the flu for the first time.Lately, I had indeed gotten sick quite a lot.With the e

Chapter 2

Dad had tried to reassure me. She was my mom, after all. No matter what, during moments like these, surely she had my best interests at heart.When we arrived at my parents' house, Mom greeted Louis quite warmly. I felt slightly relieved.I thought Dad could have been right. When it came to moments that mattered, Mom really could be different.But then, she spent the entire afternoon talking badly about me to Louis."Look, this is what Yvonne looked like in high school. She was so freckly and chubby. So tall, too. When she stands, she just towers over everyone else awkwardly."Mom held up my high school class photo for Louis to see. At that time, I had gained quite a lot of weight due to academic stress. I'd even been bullied for my appearance.Mom knew all that, yet she chose to turn it into a joke regardless.Fighting back tears, I managed to say, "At that time, the workload was impossible to finish. After dinner, I'd go straight to my room to do my homework, and I wouldn't sl

Chapter 3

I could tolerate anything Mom said, just not this. This, I could not stomach.Among all those initial interns, I had gone through who knew how many rounds of evaluations just to stay in the company.Gripping the phone, I said in a low voice, "There is no way I'm ever going to lose this job."Perhaps sensing the iciness in my tone, Mom fell silent on the other end. However, after a few seconds, she suddenly perked up."Never say never. Who knows…"Gosh, she was truly hopeless!Not wanting to listen to her nonsense anymore, I ended the call.Later events proved I shouldn't have done that. At least then I could have prepared myself for what was to come.…After the Christmas break, Louis and I both returned to work.The first morning rush after the holidays always resulted in unusually congested traffic. To make matters worse, I seemed to get caught at every red light possible.The trip that usually took no more than half an hour ended up taking me almost 50 minutes.When I ru

Chapter 4

"Why on earth do you still have that?" Mom trembled uncontrollably. The bowl of popcorn she'd been holding spilled all over the floor.I watched her in amusement. "How could I throw something so important away?"Dad stood up curiously and moved closer to take a look. Mom darted forward and pushed him back down. "There's nothing to see here. Don't listen to her nonsense."Perhaps it was instinct—this time, Dad did not side with Mom. Instead, he gave her a long, hard look before taking the paper out of my hand.One glance at its contents was enough to make his eyes turn red-rimmed."What does this mean? So, the company knew I was framed all along?"What Dad held now was a written statement.The aged paper had turned slightly yellow, the once-vivid red seal now smudged at the edges.Still, the document clearly stated that the damaged company property had been destroyed by an unrelated outsider and had nothing to do with Philip Lawson.Years ago, Dad had been falsely accused of da

Chapter 5

After she was done yelling, Mom raised her arm to hit me again. Louis immediately shielded me behind him."Mom, what happened between you and Dad has nothing to do with Yvonne," he said.Seeing him defend me only fueled Mom's rage."You've been badmouthing me in front of Louis too! He and I used to be the closest."You just want every man in the world to revolve around you, don't you?"Take a look around. If it weren't for me, would you have landed a man so great? If you had inherited your dad's looks instead, even if you'd gotten down on your knees and begged, nobody would have spared you a second glance!"Mom hurled insult after insult at me without restraint.Dad slapped her across the face again, finally rendering her silent.Mom clutched her face and whimpered, "You'd hit me? For that two-faced woman?"Dad was breathing hard as he spoke. "Call our daughter two-faced again and I'll rip your mouth off your face!"It was clear Dad was ready to sever all ties with Mom this t

Chapter 6

Even though I was married now, this place remained firmly under her control, from the fake flowers next to the TV to the lace doily draped over the fridge and the cheap laundry detergents next to the washing machine.Looking at all the traces Mom had left behind, I let out a long sigh.Louis waved his phone in front of me."Honey, would you like to move into a new place?" he asked.Startled, I turned around and took his phone.There was a message from HR on his screen. Louis had been appointed the vice president of a new company.As for the location of said company, it was in Coralsville—the coastal city I'd always dreamed of living in."You didn't just find out about this now, did you?"Louis tilted his head and gave me an innocent puppy-eyed look."But you've never mentioned it before!""You just don't pay enough attention to me." Louis pouted while he handed me a business license. "And, this is my belated Christmas gift to you."When I accepted the license from him, I rea

Chapter 7

Louis squeezed my hand. His voice was calm when he replied, "I will still address you as Mom because you're older and we're still family, but your actions have made it clear you do not deserve that title."Also, please have some self-respect. If it weren't for Yvonne, you and I would never have crossed paths."One last thing—my wife is no less than anyone else. I love her for who she is. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is your daughter."Apart from giving birth to her, you've given her nothing at all. So, please stop harassing her."After pointedly delivering that speech, Louis took my hand and led me away.When I turned to look backward, Mom remained rooted to the spot. She was still standing there, staring after us even as we walked further away.…Three months passed quickly.Louis had gone over to Coralsville first because of his work. He would come back and bring me over once I'd safely gotten past the first trimester of pregnancy.Ever since that last encount

Chapter 8

I was stronger than before now. Hearing those words simply made me bored."In your eyes, is a woman only beautiful if she has unblemished skin?"If you're so beautiful yourself, why are you sneaking around and spying on me? Where are all the people who love you? Why aren't they by your side?"Mom's lips twitched. She seemed like she was struggling to find more rebuttals against my words."Also, have you forgotten what Louis said to you last time?"Is your goal to make everyone around you hate you? Will that finally make you happy? And, is accepting your age really that hard?"So what if you're slimmer than me, or have perfect skin? What does any of that actually change?"Ever since coming to my senses, I couldn't understand why Mom, at her age, still clung so desperately to superficial things like appearances.Later, I finally understood.She knew perfectly well that she had nothing else left. She had no future to look forward to, nor any personal achievements to rely on.So,

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