At our holiday family gathering on New Year’s Eve, my mom suddenly blurted out, loud enough for everyone to hear: “Which man gave you the flu?” I stared at her, completely confused. “What are you talking about?” My mom smirked, looking smug. “I knew you couldn’t stay out of trouble.” Then, she looked pointedly at my husband, Ryan, and added, her voice dripping with implication: “You probably don’t know this, but before Emma married you, she was wild. Her dad and I couldn’t rein her in at all.” My eyes widened. “What are you saying?” Seeing my anger, my mom seemed to get even happier. “What’s wrong? Did you do it but can’t own up to it now?” Facing my mother’s slander, I clenched my fists under the table. Since you love spreading malicious rumors about me so much, I guess I don’t need to keep your secrets anymore. At the dinner table, in front of everyone, my mom continued her endless stream of nonsense: “Emma, you’re incredibly lucky to have found a husband like Ryan. Yet, you’re still not satisfied, going out and messing around behind his back. Do you think you’re some kind of irresistible charmer?” I was so furious my head was spinning. “What right do you have to say I’m cheating? Do you have any proof?” My mom rolled her eyes, airily dismissing me. “Ryan doesn’t have the flu, but you do. And you had hives recently too. If you weren’t messing around, where did these illnesses come from?” It was true, I’d been sick a few times lately. Year-end financial closings were brutal, with tons of projects and constant overtime, leading to irregular meals and a weakened immune system. But I thought it was all worth it, because I’d achieved my goals, delivering accurate data by year-end. My colleagues even said I was the most promising candidate for promotion next year. I never imagined all that hard work would become my mother’s excuse to badmouth me. Facing the questioning gazes of my in-laws and Ryan, my dad chuckled and said to me: “Alright, your mom is just joking, don’t take it seriously.” My dad always felt Mom had sacrificed a lot when they were building their business, so no matter how wild she got, he chose to forgive her unconditionally. And because of that endless indulgence, my mom only became more outrageous. Watching everyone’s faces return to normal, she turned back to Ryan and continued: “Starting tomorrow, I’ll move into your house to keep an eye on Emma, so she doesn’t mess around again.” Ryan awkwardly waved his hand. “No, Mom, it’s fine. Emma is perfectly good, she won’t cause any trouble.” My mom grabbed Ryan’s hand, glaring. “A man shouldn’t be such a doormat! If she does something to hurt you, I absolutely must discipline her.” “If you can’t bring yourself to scold or punish her, I will. I promise I’ll whip her into shape.” Watching my mom’s earnest declaration, I suddenly felt a twisted urge to laugh. Were these words really coming from my own mother? Other mothers wish their daughters well; even if there’s conflict between a young couple, they’d side with their daughter. But my mom? She just dragged my name through the mud and then offered to discipline me on behalf of my husband. After the holiday dinner ended, my mom continued to monopolize Ryan and my in-laws, talking endlessly. Seeing my in-laws’ grim faces and Ryan’s evasive eyes, I suddenly realized I was truly fed up with my mom.
I don’t know why, but my mom always seemed to find it incredibly amusing to spread rumors and belittle me in front of others. From fabricating stories about me stealing when I was a child, to spreading a rumor that I was having an affair with a professor at my college graduation ceremony. I had almost no friends; everyone avoided me like the plague. But every time I confronted her, my mom showed no remorse, claiming she was “just joking” and who knew people would actually believe her. Whether she was joking or not, all I knew was that whenever she opened her mouth, nothing good ever came out. After dating Ryan for a year and a half, hiding it from my parents, I decided to take him home to meet them. Worried that my mom would say something detrimental again, my palms were sweating the entire way home that day. My dad tried to reassure me, saying she was my mother, and no matter what she was usually like, she’d surely think of me at a crucial moment like this. When we arrived, my mom’s attitude towards Ryan was actually quite decent, and half my worries dissipated. I started to believe my dad; at key moments, my mom was different. But then, my mom proceeded to badmouth me to Ryan for the entire afternoon. “Look, this is Emma when she was in high school. So dark and fat, and so tall. She looked like a mountain standing there.” My mom showed Ryan my high school class photo. Back then, I’d gained a lot of weight due to academic stress and had even been bullied because of my size. My mom knew all of this, yet now she was telling it as a funny story. I held back tears, struggling to say: “There were so many assignments I couldn’t finish them all. Every day after dinner, I went straight to homework, and I wouldn’t sleep until 1 or 2 AM. The doctor said my weight gain was due to hormone imbalance.” My mom shot me an annoyed glance. “Alright, alright, don’t act like you were some brilliant student.” Then, my mom turned back to Ryan: “You probably don’t know this, but Emma’s grades were actually terrible. She almost got kicked out of college.” The extreme suppression of my emotions made my voice tremble. “That was just one class I failed, and I passed the make-up exam in the second semester.” But this time, my mom didn’t even acknowledge it. She just kept telling Ryan stories about my past. My dad tried to stop her several times, but she wouldn’t shut up. That entire afternoon, if Ryan showed even the slightest interest, my mom would dig up even more embarrassing stories about me. Some things I didn’t even remember, but no matter how much I questioned or protested, my mom just kept talking. That afternoon, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. As I walked Ryan out, watching him head to the parking lot, I was even prepared for him to break up with me. But as I turned to leave, Ryan took my hand and said: “No matter what your mom says, I only believe what I see.” “Our wedding will proceed as planned, don’t leave me.” My eyes suddenly stung. This was the first time someone had listened to my mother’s words and still chosen to believe in me.
After the holiday dinner ended badly, Ryan saw I was still upset, so he suggested we go on a road trip for a few days. We chose a nearby rural town. Compared to the city, it had a more festive atmosphere, and the food was fresh and delicious. Ryan and I had a great time there. Two days before the end of the holiday break, I suddenly received a FaceTime call from a distant relative, Aunt Carol. “Emma, where are you now?” “I’m out of town.” “Oh? So you really did run away and hide.” I was full of questions. “Hide from what?” After my question, Aunt Carol’s tone became anxious. “Emma, don’t try to hide it from us anymore. If you lost your job and have no income, you can tell us.” “We relatives can all chip in a little, and you’ll get by. Why on earth did you take out predatory online loans?” “Now, during the holidays, you’re hiding from creditors and can’t even go home.” Hearing Aunt Carol’s words, I nearly collapsed. I tried my best to explain, even screenshotting my employee ID from my work software to prove I still had a job and absolutely had not taken out any online loans. Seeing all the evidence I presented, Aunt Carol grudgingly believed me, but still urged me to call my mom right away. At that, my temper instantly flared. Sure enough, this ridiculous rumor had been spread by my mom again. Before I could even call her, my mom called me. “How can you embarrass me like that? Telling Carol you’re still working is basically telling everyone I’m talking nonsense, isn’t it?” I gripped the phone, a cold laugh escaping my lips. “And weren’t you talking nonsense?” “They just asked me where you were, and I didn’t know, so I just said whatever came to mind. How was I supposed to know they’d actually believe it?” “Is this my fault? Can I control what they think?” Listening to my mom’s self-righteous excuses, I sighed deeply. But my mom wasn’t done. “Besides, with the economy slowing down, who knows, you might lose your job any day now.” I could tolerate anything else my mom said, but this statement, I absolutely could not. Who could understand how many rounds of assessments I went through to secure my position at the company among so many interns? Gripping the phone, I said, my voice low and steady: “I’m not going to lose this job.” I don’t know if my tone was too cold, but my mom went silent on the other end. But after a few seconds, she suddenly sounded excited: “Don’t be so absolute. Believe it or not…” She was hopeless! I didn’t want to hear her rambling anymore, so I hung up the phone. But later events proved I shouldn’t have hung up. At least then I would have been somewhat prepared.
After our holiday break, Ryan and I both returned to our respective jobs. The morning rush hour on the first day back was exceptionally congested, and of course, I hit every red light. A trip that usually took half an hour to the office ended up taking almost fifty minutes today. Rushing into the office, I noticed everyone looking at me strangely. Just as I reached my cubicle, Mr. Harrison, my director, appeared in front of me: “Emma, can you come over here for a moment?” “What’s wrong?” Mr. Harrison’s gaze was unreadable. He said in a low voice: “Just come with me.” Before I even entered Mr. Harrison’s office, I heard my mom’s voice. A sense of foreboding instantly shot through me. Opening the door, I found my mom inside, as expected. Besides Mr. Harrison, several company executives were also there, and the atmosphere was suffocating. My mom saw me enter and pointed at me directly: “Even though you’re my daughter, since you’ve done something to betray the company, I have to expose you.” “What did I do?” “What did you do?” My mom said righteously: “Last night, you sent all of our company’s data to a competitor from your computer. I saw it all.” I gasped. As a financial professional, leaking company data was the gravest taboo. If the leaders actually believed her, I would be completely ruined. Sure enough, after hearing my mom’s words, all the executives’ eyes turned to me. I steadied my breath: “Last night, you weren’t even with me. Where did you see this?” “And which company data are you talking about? What’s the competitor’s name?” My mom was speechless for a moment, but then quickly replied, her voice loud and clear: “You’re the one who contacted them, how could you not know?” I looked her straight in the eye. “I want to hear you say it.” My mom’s eyes darted around. “If the leaders don’t believe me, they can check her computer. There must be records.” Mr. Harrison’s face was cold as he told me to open my computer. The data spreadsheet was right on my desktop. The last modification time was yesterday evening at 10:30 PM. Mr. Harrison’s glasses glinted coldly. “Why were you working on it so late?” “Because I thought it might be needed for a meeting on the first day back to work, so I just opened it to check before going to bed.” Mr. Harrison didn’t say anything, but he immediately revoked my access to the company system. “You’ll take a few days off first. We’ll let you know after the company has investigated everything thoroughly.” With that, Mr. Harrison turned and walked away, not saying another word to me. My mom grinned, looking smug. “Thought you had some amazing job, didn’t you? All I did was say a few words, and they told you to pack your bags and hit the road.” “And you were foolishly working overtime every day. Now you know, they didn’t care about you at all.” Intense anger brought tears to my eyes involuntarily. I challenged her: “Is this another one of your ‘jokes’? Do you know this could make me lose my job?” My mom shrugged indifferently. “So you lose your job. Just stay home and relax. What’s the big deal?” Fine. Since you love spreading rumors about me so much, I won’t keep your secrets anymore. When I got home, I pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. “Mom, does this look familiar?” Seeing the paper in my hand, my mom’s face instantly turned ashen.
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