The Thorns of Love

I gritted my teeth in pain, struggling to pry his hand off. Just then, Mischa stepped out of the room.

She raised an eyebrow and let out a sneer, "Oh, did she find out? I wasn't done having fun yet."

She pressed her body against Sean, coquettishly tugging on his arm and said, "Honey, kick her out. We didn't get to finish last night, let's continue."

"Alright, baby, whatever you want," Sean replied, leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek. With a final tug on my hair, he kicked me out the door.

With nowhere else to go, I returned to my own family home. My mom has a heart condition, so I couldn't bring myself to tell her that everything she owned had been given to Mischa without compensation.

Whenever she asked if Sean and I had argued, I remained silent. But a few days later, Mischa and Sean showed up to wish her a happy birthday.

While grocery shopping, I received a call from the hospital saying my mom had been pushed to the ground and couldn't get up.

Instantly, terror overwhelmed me. An endless, suffocating terror ...

I don't even remember how I made it to the hospital. All night, I signed more critical condition forms than I could count.

For as long as the lights were on in the emergency room, I knelt outside, praying to any god who'd listen not to take my mother.

She was all I had left. But in the end, I still lost her.

She suffered an acute heart attack and passed away despite all attempts to save her. Legally, Mischa inherited the home my mom and I had lived in for twenty-five years.

I couldn't bear to return there. Without my family, even the coziest house no longer felt like home.

I took my mother's ashes and moved into a small, temporary apartment. One evening, after finishing my shift at a bubble tea shop, I returned exhausted to my rented place.

With my mom's ashes nearby, I could feel some semblance of solace. As I reached for my keys to unlock the door, I noticed that the lock had been tampered with.

I grabbed a thick wooden stick, quietly tiptoeing into the apartment. The living room light was on and though the furniture remained untouched, my heart sank.

My mother's urn was gone. Suddenly, I heard noises coming from the bedroom.

I crept closer and the sickening sounds of pleasure grew louder. I shoved open the door, only to find Mischa and Sean tangled up on my bed.

Startled by my intrusion, they both leapt up, accidentally kicking over the urn on the bedside table. My mother's ashes scattered all over the floor.

Mischa adjusted her disheveled shirt and smirked, "Oh, I'm sorry. We just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing. One thing led to another … but don't blame me for knocking over that urn, it was an accident."

I'd tried so hard to distance myself from them, so why did they keep coming back to torment me? I didn't want to cry. I refused to let them see me cry.

"This isn't as amusing as I'd thought it would be," Sean said, straightening his clothes and leaving without a backward glance. Mischa scampered after him.

"Sean!" I called out.

Wiping away my tears, I walked up to him, took off the ring on my finger and threw it at him. "This ring was left to me by your mother. On her deathbed, she told me it was the token of love your father had given her. She said she'd been happy her whole life and wished our marriage would be as happy as hers."