George\u2019s absence haunts their home, his memory wrapped in his shirt that Mariana clutches each night.
\n\n\n\n

Yet, it wasn\u2019t his death that shattered her\u2026 it was her stepdaughter Susan\u2019s demand for his assets.\n\n\n\n

When she finally gave in, a twist emerged, leaving Susan furious and Mariana oddly at peace.\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, I still hear my hubby George\u2019s voice in the back of my head.\n\n\n\n

I wake up clutching his favorite shirt, his scent lingering on the fabric.\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Mariana, 57 years old, and I was married to the most wonderful man, George, for 25 years.\n\n\n\n

She called me \u201cMom\u201d and filled the void in my heart of not having a child of my own. I didn\u2019t see her as \u201csomeone else\u2019s\u201d child.\n\n\n\n

I loved her as my own daughter, you know. When Susan got married to the man of her choice, George and I were overjoyed. But after that, everything went downhill when George was diagnosed with terminal cancer.Susan\u2019s visits dwindled from weekly to monthly, then stopped altogether.\n\n\n\n

She barely came to see her father, occasionally calling me to ask about his condition. One day, she asked me something that tore me apart. \u201cHow many more days does he have left to live?\u201d I gripped the phone tightly, my voice trembling. \u201cSusan, your father isn\u2019t some product with an expiry date.\u201d\u201d I just want to know, Mom. I\u2019m busy, you know that\u2026 I can\u2019t be visiting often,\u201d she replied. \u201cBusy?\u201d I echoed, disbelief coloring my tone.\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo busy to see your dying father?\u201d She sighed heavily. \u201cLook, I\u2019ll try to visit soon, okay?\u201d But that \u201csoon\u201d never came. Then, the day I dreaded finally arrived. The hospital called, informing me that George had passed peacefully.I was shattered, barely able to stand as the news sunk in. My George, my beloved George, was gone. To my shock and disappointment, Susan didn\u2019t even attend his funeral. When I called her, she had an excuse ready.\u201dYou know that I just delivered my baby last month, Mom,\u201d she said, her voice oddly detached.\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe doctors advised against long travel due to some health issues.\u201dI swallowed hard, fighting back tears. \u201cBut Susan, it\u2019s your father\u2019s funeral. Don\u2019t you want to see him one last time?\u201d \u201cI can\u2019t risk my baby\u2019s health,\u201d she replied curtly. \u201cYou understand, right?\u201d I didn\u2019t, not really, but I nodded silently, forgetting she couldn\u2019t see me.\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, sweetie. Take care.\u201d As I hung up and sat near my husband\u2019s coffin, I couldn\u2019t shake off the feeling that something had fundamentally changed between us.Six months after George\u2019s passing, I was startled by a loud knock on my door. Opening it, I found Susan and her husband Doug, accompanied by a stern-looking man in a suit. Susan barged in without a greeting. \u201cMom, we need you to sign some papers.\u201d I blinked, confused. \u201cWhat papers?\u201d Doug thrust a stack of documents at me, including a blank sheet. \u201cJust sign these.\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s for transferring all the assets into our names.\u201d\u201dExcuse me?\u201d I stepped back, my heart racing. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d Susan rolled her eyes. \u201cDad\u2019s assets, Mom. We\u2019re here to claim what\u2019s rightfully ours.\u201d Their audacity left me speechless. If only George had left a will, I wouldn\u2019t be in this mess. I would have ensured my daughter was taken care of before she even knew there was a problem. But this? Their tone and audacity irked me. How could they think I\u2019d just stand by and let them walk all over me?\u201dNo,\u201d I said firmly, finding my voice. \u201cI want you to leave my house right now.\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t you dare come back with such awful demands.\u201dSusan\u2019s face contorted with anger. \u201cYou can\u2019t do this! You\u2019re not even my REAL MOTHER!\u201d Her words hit me like a bag of bricks. I stumbled back, tears welling in my eyes. \u201cSusan, how can you say that? After all these years?\u201d \u201cJust stick to your boundaries and pass on my father\u2019s assets to me,\u201d she spat\n\n\n\n

.I felt my blood pressure rising, my vision blurring with tears and rage. \u201cGet out of my house!\u201d I shouted. \u201cYour father would be heartbroken if he knew what a greedy daughter you\u2019ve become. I\u2019m glad my George didn\u2019t live to see this day.\u201d Susan launched into a tirade, her words becoming a blur of insults and demands.\u201dHow dare you, Mariana?\n\n\n\n

George was my father, not yours, and you have no right to anything here!\u201d she yelled. \u201cYou think you can wiggle your way in here and take what\u2019s ours? Over my dead body!\u201dThat did it. Tears sprang from my eyes. Susan\u2026 the daughter my George and I had raised practically stabbed me with her words alone. But no, I wouldn\u2019t let them break me.\n\n\n\n

Not me. Not Mariana. \u201cThis is my home, and you\u2019re not welcome! Take your greed and get out before I call the cops!\u201d I retorted.\u201dDo you have any idea what you\u2019re putting us through? You\u2019re nothing but a greedy vulture, circling around for scraps my father left behind!\u201d Susan barked. \u201cIf you had an ounce of decency, you\u2019d leave right now! But clearly, that\u2019s asking too much!\u201d I snapped.\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think a few harsh words will scare us? Just sign the damn papers, lady!\u201d Doug yelled at me. I felt cornered by the daughter I\u2019d loved and raised. I was furious and heartbroken.When they refused to leave, my neighbor, hearing the commotion, rushed over. \u201cYou heard her! This isn\u2019t your place, and you\u2019re not welcome. Move it!\u201d he physically escorted Susan and Doug out.As they left, Susan\u2019s furious voice echoed back. \u201cThis isn\u2019t over, Mariana! You\u2019ll regret this!\u201d I slumped onto the couch, my heart aching.\n\n\n\n

Where had all that love we once shared vanished? How could greed twist my daughter into someone I barely recognized?With trembling hands, I reached for George\u2019s framed photo on the side table. Tears blurred my vision as I traced his smiling face. \u201cOh, George,\u201d I whispered, my voice cracking. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you take me with you? I\u2019m lost without you.\u201d A sob escaped my throat as I clutched the frame to my chest. \u201cOur daughter\u2026 our sweet Susan\u2026 she\u2019s a stranger to me now. What happened to the little girl who used to call me Mom?\u201dThe silence of the empty house pressed in around me, amplifying my grief. I rocked back and forth, the photo cool against my tear-stained cheeks. \u201cI miss you so much, honey,\u201d I choked out.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to face this alone.\u201d Susan\u2019s calls didn\u2019t stop after that. Day and night, my phone buzzed with her angry messages and voicemails. Finally, exhausted and desperate for peace, I decided to give in.I met with my lawyer, determined to give Susan what she wanted and be done with it. But there was something neither of us knew. A week later, Susan stormed into my home again, her face red with fury. \u201cHOW DID YOU DO THIS?\u201d she screamed. \u201cI only get $3,000 and an old car? What about everything else?\u201d\n\n\n\n

I stared at her, a small smile forming on my face. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201dSusan waved a paper in my face. \u201cThis! This pathetic inheritance you told the lawyer to give me! Where\u2019s everything else?\u201d I took the paper from her, a small smile dancing on my lips. According to this, George only had $3,000 in his bank account, an old Mustang, and some debts.\u201dWhat about the house? The SUV? Dad\u2019s old farmhouse?\u201d Susan snapped.You see, my lawyer, whom I\u2019d called the other day, arrived and explained the situation. And this is what he said: \u201cMrs. Anderson, everything the family owned is in your name.\n\n\n\n

The house, the SUV, the farmhouse, everything. Mr. Anderson transferred it all to you years ago, keeping just three grand in his bank account and his old Mustang. It\u2019s up to you now to decide the fate of these assets.\u201d Until the lawyer dropped the bomb, I\u2019d assumed George had left me nothing. But no! He had made sure I\u2019d be taken care of after he was gone. Bless his soul.Susan\u2019s face twisted with rage when I spilled the tea. \u201cYou\u2019re lying! This can\u2019t be true!\u201d she hissed. I looked at her, a strange calm settling over me.\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, Susan, you wanted your father\u2019s assets. Now you have them.\u201d \u201cThis isn\u2019t fair!\u201d she shrieked. \u201cYou tricked me!\u201d I looked up, a gentle smile plastered on my face. \u201cNo, Susan. I gave you exactly what you asked for\u2026 what rightfully belonged to your father. And now, I\u2019m keeping what rightfully belongs to me.\u201dIn the days that followed, I made a decision. I sold everything \u2014 the house, the SUV, the farmhouse, all of it. I made a decent eight figures, and bought a beautiful villa in a place I\u2019d always dreamed of living, far from everyone. As I settled into my new home, I received a call from an old friend back in town. \u201cMariana,\u201d she said, her voice hushed. \u201cI thought you should know. Susan\u2019s trying to start litigation against you.\u201dI sighed, unsurprised. \u201cLet me guess, it fell through?\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep. Everything was in your name, after all!\u201d I thanked her for the information and hung up, feeling a pang of sadness and relief.Weeks passed, and I started to enjoy my new life. I traveled around the world, tried new hobbies, made new friends. But the peace didn\u2019t last.One day, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number. When I answered, I heard a man\u2019s voice. \u201cMrs. Anderson? I\u2019m calling on behalf of Susan. She wants to meet with you.\u201d I felt a chill run down my spine. \u201cNo,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cI\u2019m not interested.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Mrs. Anderson, she insists\u2014\u201d I cut him off. \u201cTell Susan she got what she wanted. I have nothing more to say to her.\u201dAs I ended the call, I couldn\u2019t help but wonder why Susan was so desperate to meet now. What more could she possibly want? The fragments of my remaining peace? I shook my head, pushing the thought away. It didn\u2019t matter. I had a new life now, and I intended to live it to the fullest. After all, isn\u2019t that what George would have wanted?\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"