OWNED BY MY EX-HUSBAND'S STEPBROTHER

Gloria sat in the taxi. She felt dizzy. She thought about Victor and how to explain their divorce to her daughter. She wanted Annabel to not be too shocked when she learned her parents were splitting up.

In Gloria's mind, Annabel was the real victim of their divorce. In every divorce, kids suffered the most. Gloria knew this pain; she had experienced it when her own parents divorced. She was just ten years old. Her mother cheated on her father with their neighbor. After the messy divorce between her parents, her father remarried and relocated to another state with his new family. While her mother turned their house into a mini brothel, bringing different men into the house every night, she locked Gloria and her siblings inside another room.

"Victor was her safe place when her parents split; he was there to comfort her, even buying food for Gloria and her siblings. What went wrong?" She asked herself in a low voice.

The taxi driver looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Yes, just concentrate on driving," Gloria said in a gentle voice.

"Ma'am, we are here," the taxi driver said. He turned left and stopped at the lobby. "It's far from your rich neighborhood. Are you sure?"

"Yes, thanks," Gloria said. She paid him and took her bag. She stood and looked at the building in front of her, it's a shared apartment in a decent neighborhood too. She was not scared of it. She never liked fancy things. She was happy with a simple life and her family.

But she worried about her daughter. Annabel lived in a nice home. This new house might make her upset.

"I'll let her stay at Mom's for now," Gloria said to herself. "Until I find a new place." She went inside the house.

Her friend had already given her a spare key before she traveled. She unlocked the door and dragged her bag inside. The little savings she had would only last her for a month or two. She needed to get a job as soon as possible. Or else, if Victor decides to fight for Annabel's custody, she will surely lose in court.

She opened her room door and sat on the bed. She stared at the wall blankly, then turned and saw herself in a tall mirror.

She stood up. She pulled her big shirt tight at her waist. She looked at her body.

She was not fat now. Four years ago, after her pregnancy, she gained weight. It was hard to lose it after the baby. Taking care of Annabel alone was tough. She never had time for herself, and Victor had refused to hire a maid for her. Victor hated her body while she was pregnant, and it became worse after she gave birth.

But as Annabel grew older and their marriage broke, three years of sadness made her lose weight. She could not eat. She remembered Victor calling her "fat pig" and always making fun of her stretch marks whenever he saw her eating. And because of his constant insults, Gloria had developed a serious eating disorder.

It was not good, but she got back to her old shape. She was even thinner. Sadness and not eating hurt her inside. She looked good outside, but her heart was empty.

Gloria smiled sadly. "Why look good if Victor won't touch me? He won't even look at me. His harsh words have broken me beyond repair."

She had not looked in the mirror for a long time. Victor always said bad things about her body. He called her dirty and not good enough. She avoided looking at her face in the mirror, scared to hate it more.

Now, she moved closer to the mirror. Her eyes looked sad and tired. She had dark circles. The person in the mirror looked like a scary stranger.

"It's been a long time since I smiled without Annabel," she said to herself. She was not the prettiest, but she was certainly not ugly. Life's sadness and a bad husband made her look messy and unkempt.

"Maybe I can use makeup to hide spots and tired eyes," she thought. "I should get a good skincare routine if I save money. That and my college degree might get me a job."

Gloria sighed. She was worried about the future. Victor was right. She was a housewife for 10 years. Without him, she had nothing. She could have worked as a teacher at 24 after college. But Victor proposed to her, and she said yes-and that was the biggest mistake of her life.

"I can't wait. I need a job for me and my daughter. I hope he signs the papers so I can move on. I won't take his money, so it should be fast." Gloria muttered to herself.

She took out her phone and called her sister. She answered on the third ring.

"Gloria, where are you?"

"I'm at a friend's place," Gloria answered. Her mother snatched the phone from her.

"Gloria, why are you at a friend's place? Why are you not at home with Victor?" her mother asked.

"Mom, it's nothing. I just went to pay my friend a visit. Is Annabel there?" Gloria asked, changing the topic before her mother could probe any longer.

"I want to talk to Annabel. Please put her on the line."

"Annabel? Victor picked her up five minutes ago," her mom said. "He said you asked him to, and he also said you are waiting for them at the park."