Tyler’s no fool, though.
“Work? But you said Daddy doesn’t work anymore,” Tyler said. “I don’t think he’s at work.”
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow, love,” I ran my hand through his hair. “Now c’mon, it’s time to sleep.”
I left Tyler’s room, heading to mine for some much-needed rest. But as I approached, I heard muffled noises.
I heard Billy’s voice and that was okay. But then I heard a woman’s voice. In MY bedroom.
I won’t go into details about what I saw when I opened that door. Let’s just say it was the final straw.
Billy wasn’t just cheating. He had zero respect for me or his role as a father. Who brings their mistress home when their wife and kid are there? A man who doesn’t give a damn, that’s who.
So, long story short, I left Billy the following day and soon sent him the divorce papers. He didn’t even bother fighting for custody or visitation rights.
After leaving the house, we crashed at a friend’s place before I found our current house and moved over here. It’s about two hours away from Billy’s place, and I thought Tyler and I would live here peacefully here. But nope.
There was one person dead set on being part of our lives: Billy’s mother, Valerie.
I had no clue she’d been stalking us until she showed up at our doorstep. We’d barely been in the new place two days when I heard that dreaded knock.
I opened the door, and there she was with her perfectly coiffed gray hair. My ex-MIL, Valerie, was all set to make our lives miserable.
“Margaret, dear! I’m here to see my grandson,” she chirped as if showing up unannounced was the most normal thing in the world.
“Come in, Valerie,” I said with a fake smile. “But please, keep it short. We were just about to have dinner.”
She breezed past me, heading into the living room.
“So, this is where you’ve been hiding,” she said. “It’s quaint.”
“Tyler’s in his room,” I said, changing the topic. “I’ll get him.”
But before I could move, Valerie turned to me. The look on her face was something I’d never seen before.
“Margaret, we need to talk about Billy,” she began. “You shouldn’t have left him like that.”
I could feel my cheeks burn with anger.
“Valerie, that’s none of your business. My relationship with Billy is over.”
“But I’m worried about Tyler,” she pressed on. “A boy needs his father. You’re being selfish, keeping him away from his family.”
