𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, ᴋᴀʀᴍᴀ ᴀ.

40 | horrible time

───── ❝ my ❞ ─────

A child of divorced parents never hears the end of it. 

"Did you intend to only buy one flavor of snacks from that festival to selfishly eat it yourself? Why can't you consider your━

"Daddy, you can go now. Thanks for helping me bring this in." Emei smiled at her dad, who returned her smile.

He pecked her cheek and bid her goodbye. "See you next week."

"See you!" She said as happily as her voice would allow. As soon as he left, her face went sour again. "Are you saying you want me to feed him something he's allergic to?"

"Mei, you know Will only wants you to treat Wyatte nicely. Maybe next time you buy a bunch of snacks, consider getting something in a flavor he will like." Her mom awkwardly smiled. The five-year-old child simply sits there and begins to cry.

"Emei hates me!!" He sobbed, gripping her mother's shirt. "I want snacks! I want snacks! I want snacks!"

"Oh, sweetie, the summer festival isn't ending until tomorrow. We can take you there!" Emei's mother soothed him. "See honey, he's very sad because of your greed. Be nice sweetheart, please? And well I agree on your spending habits. Let's lessen the budget next time."

"Listen to your mother, Chiba." Her mom's fiance scolded sternly. William emphasized her last name like it was the devil's tongue, a constant reminder that she is not part of his family, but is still expected to treat that clump of crying cells as a sibling. 

Emei held her bags of snacks tightly. She stared at her mother disapprovingly. "You never had a problem with my spending habits before, Mom."

"But you are going to high school. And Wyatte is very influenced by you! He always complains when you go and always wants to copy what you do!"

Emei felt herself getting angry. She was already exhausted from all the walking today, and arguing with her mother wasn't how she wanted to end her day. But unlike the other times, she wasn't just gonna let her changed mother ridicule her. 

"Why should I be responsible for being his role model? I mean, you quit your job ever since you got full custody of him from your fiance's ex-wife. You're practically attached to that kid. You be his example."

"You're being rude, Chiba," said William, "Do not blame your mother for wanting to care for her child."

What about me? I'm her child.

Emei pivoted her feet to point at her mother's fiance. Bottled-up fury and the urge to snap were right at the tip of her tongue. 

She had zero respect for this man. He came into her house and took away her time with her mom. He started nitpicking at everything she did, always criticizing her for being lazy, never doing chores, constantly telling her she was ruining her future, and he never stopped calling her "your father's daughter."

Emei learned to stay in her room and only leave to eat. But dinners together with him were the worst. William never failed to show his narcissistic side. Everything, everyone must orbit around him and his life. There was no room for Emei in that system. 

Eventually, she stopped having dinner with them. Either calling food to the house or leaving to eat at Ryu's house. Of course, she got an earful of it from that man. Telling her she's ungrateful and purposely making him look bad in front of her mom.

And of course, her mom never backed her up. Sure, she always tried to mediate between the two, but it would always end in her fiance's favor.

Compromises my ass.

If things couldn't get any worse, the man brought home his son a year into their relationship.

This scrawny ass kid liked to touch everything in sight, hogging the TV, sucking his thumb then touching everything again. He was a monster. He always yelled and screamed. Cried whenever things didn't go his way. He loved to throw tantrums.

Wyatte was a nightmare.

There have been multiple times when he's barged into Emei's room and messed up her bookshelf because she has many colorful things on there. And apparently, it was Emei's fault once she kicked him out.

The "compromises" only increased with that abomination around the house.

Do this. Do that for him. Share this. Share that with him. Watch your language. Don't talk about certain books and movies.

No more pork in the house.

No more sesame in the house.

No more strawberries in the house.

What a double standard. She always got told that she was doing things wrong and being a bad example, but the moment she didn't want him around, she was neglectful and cruel.

"What I spend with my money has nothing to do with you or your son. I don't care that he's sad. I like strawberries and I'm not gonna change my preferences just because he's gonna choke and die if he eats one."

"Emei. Do not talk about death in front of Wyatte" Emei's mother frowned, her voice raising. "You know he's allergic to a lot of things━"

"Tell that to Darwin's natural selection theory because he lost the genetic lottery. If you're so careful about his health, you tell him all the time. 'you're gonna get sick if you eat this' Why do you even sugarcoat it? That kid doesn't listen unless you yell at him. Can't you remember all the things you've tried to pry out of his mouth? He's just looking to kill himself. Just tell him it's deadly so he can steer clear of it.

Why do you think I leave all the things he's allergic to in my room? Why do you think I don't let him in my room? Because half the food I have in my mini fridge could kill him." Emei began to head towards her room, dragging the paper bags behind her. 

"For the last fucking time, I don't care enough to be a 'good example' to him. I don't care enough to pretend he's my future stepbrother. I do care enough that he doesn't die. And I only care about that because you'd be sad if he dies, Mom. You love him more than your own biological child."

Mina gasped when those bitter words left her daughter's mouth. The child in her arms kept crying and calling her mom. He kept begging her to go to the festival. To play with him. To make him feel better. To yell at her daughter.

Her fiance's strong voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She told him to calm down and that she'll talk to her later. Her fiance stared at her in disbelief.

"You can't just let her mouth off to us like that." He said angrily. "Takahiro's daughter is━"

"That's my daughter."

"...Excuse me??"

"From now on, I forbid you from uttering a single word from her." Mina brushed some crumbs off her pants as she stood up, taking Wyatte's hand. 

"Mina, babe, you can't just overlook her tone."

"But I can overlook her existence in this house and you're perfectly okay with that?"

"W-what...No━"

"William you're horrible."

The door to Emei's room creaked open and something was tossed out. A small blue paper bag slid on the wooden tiles and something inside jingled as it hit the floor. 

From inside, a muffled voice said: "That's for his birthday. Sorry I had to miss it, I was on a class trip."

Mina picked up the bag and took out a Sonic Ninja keychain, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm horrible."