The Young Stepmother's Survival Guide

f a seasoned professional, easing me into the situation. Being a bank executive,

, and I found myself relaxin

ortest marriage leaves lasting ties of affection. Marlene gave her life giving me a son, an

a rural courtyard, I was n

two weeks ago. We're good to go," he re

at someone in the neighboring house. Her voice was as sharp as a rusty knife, her words laced with an endless string of expletives I couldn't fully understand. Her dem

be any different? Was Marlene also this kind of

truth-Marlene was, in fa

ies at him as well. But as she noticed the pile of gifts he was car

. In an instant, her expression turned menacing, her eye

d quickly and

e. He had a sly, shifty air about him, with slicked-back hair and a black leathe

uding an air of petty delinquency that made me instinctively

"That's my former brother-in-law

ng an internal groan. The whole family see

long ago. Otherwise, I might have had to en

ex-brother-in-law. He averted his ga

noticed Alfred and s

down, noting how much he had changed. After tossing out a few insincere compliments, h

me shudder. I clutched Alfred's

ly then did he grudgingly step aside, grumbling, "That

h a smirk, fanning himself with

ted her worries to her son. "People say men forget their old loves when they find ne

voice. "When you have time, you'd

on't worry, Mom. We've still got the two kids on our side. The old

.

m my visit to Marlene's family, I re

c. The more you tried to avoid something,

fred and I enjoyed a passionate honeymoon phase. But the bliss did

after day, she caused chaos, hurled insults at me, and tr

essionable. With my patient care and attention, she warmed up to

tepmother was

ster sweetly calling me "Mom," he

without fail-declaring my cooking inedible, refusing to eat, or worse,

spanking. She'd behave for a day or two, only to revert to her old ways. Her misbehavior was so

tears on more than one occasion. I found myself contemplating leaving the family more times than I

targeting my belongings, deliberately damaging or destroying them. M

patience. Yet I chose to swallow my anger, convincin

she refused to go to school, throwing a tantrum and demanding A

ed managed to get her to drop the idea and go back to school. But her ho

hem under the blanket on my bed. When I climbed into bed that night, I felt something hard beneath me. Thinking it was just a misplaced object, I