Mom Tried to Wife-Swap Me

A week after giving birth, I stumbled across a post online.

[My daughter married way out of her league. How do I make her divorce him?]

The poster claimed to be a mother. According to her, the older daughter was lazy, selfish, and completely unworthy of such an amazing family.

So she planned to force the older daughter to get divorced, then marry her sweet, obedient younger daughter into the same family instead.

The comments blew up instantly.

[I've seen favoritism, but this is actually insane.]

[Was the older daughter adopted or something? What kind of mom schemes against her own kid?]

[So you're basically passing one rich husband around between sisters? Girl, what the hell.]

Then, buried under all the insults, one comment appeared.

Cold. Sharp.

[A woman who just gave birth is mentally wrecked already. Send her some fake cheating pics and let paranoia do the rest. One meltdown and that marriage is cooked.]

The poster replied almost instantly.

[Thank you @LindaKnowsBest!! I'm doing it right now.]

A second later, my phone buzzed.

Mom.

[Kyla, look at this. Is Bruce cheating on you?]

I read the post again.

[My older daughter has been selfish and useless since she was little. She only got into a top college because she got lucky and landed a rich husband.]

[Now she had a baby and suddenly acts like she's some fragile princess. My son-in-law's family spent $30,000 putting her in one of those fancy recovery places, and she doesn't think twice about it. Do you know what $30,000 could do? That's enough for a down payment on my younger daughter's apartment.]

[My younger daughter is the better girl by far. She's classy, sweet, educated, and just got back from a prestigious school in the UK. She fits high society much better than her sister ever will. I need the older one divorced so the younger one can step in instead. Any advice?]

Every word felt like it was scraping across my skin. My hands started shaking.

The IP address was local.

I was only seven days out from giving birth, still recovering.

My husband and his parents were terrified I'd push myself too hard, so they booked me into a luxury recovery suite with a living area, study, nursery, and private bedrooms.

My sister Zoey had just gotten back from the UK last month. She'd even asked me to help her find a job.

The tone. The wording.

It sounded exactly like my mom.

'No way... It can't be...'

My lips went dry.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I opened the photo she sent.

Bruce Brighton was holding a woman in his arms.

Way too close.

It took me three seconds to realize it was fake.

The woman had six fingers.

Under the photo was a voice message.

"Kyla, look at this!" Mom's voice exploded through the quiet room. "Is Bruce cheating on you? Don't be stupid!"

Then she forwarded an article.

[Don't Forgive a Cheater During Postpartum Recovery: Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater.]

Every word screamed divorce.

I tightened my grip on my phone as cold spread through my body.

***

Ever since I was a kid, Mom kept saying we were broke. As the older sister, I had to sacrifice more.

So after high school, I never asked them for money again.

I paid the bills.

When Dad got sick, I covered his surgery.

I dropped twenty grand renovating the house back home.

And when Zoey studied abroad? Forty grand a year. I paid for three years.

I really thought I had a happy family.

Now I saw it for what it was.

A bottomless pit sucking me dry.

I gave them everything.

And now they wanted to destroy my home.

My fingers were still numb as I opened the post again.

The poster had updated it a minute ago.

[Thanks to @LindaKnowsBest for the idea. I already did it. Now I'm waiting to see how my older daughter reacts.]

The comments were tearing her apart.

She ignored every one of them.

I stared at the update, then laughed.

Fine.

If you wanted to play games, I could play too.

***

My phone buzzed again.

Another long voice message from Mom.

"Kyla, did you see it? I've been through this before. Once a man cheats, he's trash. You need to think ahead!"