Raised by My Mother's Lover, Forced into Marriage at Eighteen for a Dowry? Not a Chance!

After my parents divorced, my dad dumped me on my mom’s lover to raise.

He beat and scolded me constantly, only hoping I could quickly repay the debt my mom owed him.

But ten years later, when my mom wanted to take me away, he cried and said he’d give up everything just to keep me.

[1]

When I was seven, our once-harmonious family shattered overnight because of my innocent comment: “When daddy’s not home, mommy brings other uncles to sleep over.”

My mom moved out that very night, and my dad dumped me on my mom’s lover to raise.

The man’s name was Frank.

My dad looked at the man before him and said coldly, “If it weren’t for you, our family wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“As compensation for destroying my family, take care of Mandy for a while until I get settled in my new job.”

With that, my dad pushed me towards the man opposite him.

Seeing the scar on Frank’s face, I cried and turned back to run to my dad.

“Daddy, I promise I’ll never say anything wrong again. Please don’t leave me!”

My dad didn’t hide the disgust in his eyes. Even though I had his blood, I was still the child of that unfaithful woman.

But my dad still forced a smile, “Mandy, be good and sensible. Only then can daddy come back for you sooner.”

I could only wipe my tears and obediently return to Frank’s side.

Frank hadn’t looked at me once. As my dad was about to leave, Frank grabbed him and said, “Room and board not included.”

My dad gave an awkward smile and took out $50 from his bag to hand to him.

Watching my dad’s retreating figure, Frank said coldly, “If you don’t come back for her within a month, I’ll dump her.”

My dad nodded repeatedly, “She’s my own daughter after all. How could I possibly abandon her?”

With those words, my dad turned and left without looking back.

And so, I was temporarily taken in by Frank.

As we lived together, I discovered that although he was my mom’s lover, he was actually a pitiful man who had been scammed out of his money by my mom.

He originally had some small assets, but after my mom took everything and ran, he could only move into a run-down house rented in the countryside.

Within a month, I endured all kinds of cold treatment from Frank. He always dumped all the dirty and tiring chores on me.

“Seeing your face that looks just like your mother’s makes me angry! You’re both good-for-nothing freeloaders!”

I knew he was taking out all his resentment towards my mom on me.

To be able to stay in this house temporarily, I could only humbly obey any of Frank’s arrangements.

Every day, my only motivation was the hope that my dad would come to take me away from this misery soon.

But as the one-month deadline approached, there was no news from my dad’s side.

Frank’s calls to my dad went unanswered.

Frank’s face grew darker and darker. He spat on the ground viciously, “You little brat, if your dad doesn’t come to get you in the next couple of days, I’m going to sell you to old man Johnson at the end of the village!”

A wave of panic washed over me, and I could only work even harder.

The month passed, and I waited from dawn till dusk, but still didn’t see my dad. It was then that I realized I had truly been abandoned by my father.

Frank grabbed me and said, “Come with me.”

He dragged me towards the direction of the village’s end. Seeing he was serious, I panicked completely and desperately clung to the ground.

“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to!”

“You think you have a choice? Since you’re your mother’s daughter, you should pay off her debts!”

Just as I was still struggling desperately, old man Johnson from the village’s end actually came to the door.

[2]

“Frank, I couldn’t wait any longer at home.”

Old man Johnson grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. The fear in my heart was like a lake, drowning me until I could barely breathe.

Frank took advantage of my daze and hoisted me onto his shoulder, following old man Johnson towards his house.

I desperately pounded on Frank’s back, “I don’t want to! I don’t want to go with him!”

Tears of grievance soaked Frank’s back, but he showed no sign of stopping.

“I’m begging you, I’ll do whatever you say from now on, just please don’t send me away.”

Frank ignored my fear and helplessness, casually discussing the price with old man Johnson.

“As agreed, $400 a month.”

At old man Johnson’s house, he turned and went inside to find an iron chain.

Frank’s brow furrowed slightly, “Old man, what are you doing?”

Old man Johnson smiled slyly, “Well, since I paid for her, I naturally have to prevent her from running away.”

With that, he locked the huge iron chain to my foot.

Old man Johnson handed the money to Frank, who counted it, satisfied, and turned to leave.

No matter how much I cried for help behind him, he never looked back at me once.

Abandoned by my parents, and now abandoned by my mother’s lover, it seemed I was destined only to be discarded in this life.

Old man Johnson closed the door and immediately slapped me across the face, “From now on, you’re my property. You’ll cry when I tell you to cry, and laugh when I tell you to laugh, got it?”

I nodded, clutching my stinging cheek.

“Now take off your clothes!”

I looked up in disbelief, meeting old man Johnson’s leering gaze. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing my reluctance to move, old man Johnson slapped me again.

“What are you playing at, acting all pure?”

“Your mom is a big slut who seduces men everywhere, and you’re just a little slut too! Do you want me to do it myself?”

Despite the tears of humiliation falling non-stop, I still hugged myself tightly, not giving him any opportunity.

Old man Johnson grew increasingly impatient. Sure enough, the next second he pounced on me like an evil ghost.

“No! No!”

I closed my eyes tightly, hearing only the sound of clothes being torn. His disgusting, dry hands groped all over my body.

Fighting the nausea, I bit down hard on his hand, but it only earned me an even more vicious beating.

“You little slut, you dare bite me? I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

I wanted to scream for help, but found I was too scared to make a sound.

Just as I was about to be forced to accept my miserable fate, the door behind me was kicked open.

Before I could even look back, I saw a figure rush in front of me and kick old man Johnson away hard.

“You bastard!”

“Didn’t I say I was bringing her over just to do your laundry and cooking? What the hell are you doing?”

Old man Johnson looked at Frank with an awkward smile, “Frank, why are you protecting this little brat so much?”

“Don’t forget, she’s the daughter of that woman who hurt you. Didn’t you want revenge on her?”

“How about this, I’ll give you an extra $50 a month, just let me play with her a little…”

Before he could finish, Frank punched old man Johnson in the face, “If you dare touch her again, I’ll kill you!”

With that, he threw the $400 old man Johnson had given him earlier onto the ground.

He unlocked the iron chain from my foot and picked me up.

“Let’s go home.”

[3]

After returning home, Frank stopped making me do heavy chores.

He turned around and sent me to the only elementary school in town.

“Your mom owes me so much money, it would take forever if you just worked to pay it back. Better to send you to school, you’ll make money faster that way.”

“Remember, you’ll have to pay me back double for your school fees in the future!”

He rubbed his stomach, “I’m hungry, go make dinner.”

Frank used to be a small factory manager. He had the opportunity to gradually expand his business, but then he met my mom.

He gave my mom everything he could, but she turned around and betrayed him. The factory went bankrupt almost overnight.

I heard all this from the neighbors.

Soon it was time to start school. Frank handed me a new backpack and clothes with a blank expression.

“I’m telling you, if your grades aren’t good, I’ll send you off to work!”

I excitedly took the clothes and backpack, “Thank you, Uncle!”

Frank said he was afraid I’d run away, so he personally took me to and from school every day.

He now worked at a parts factory just outside the small town. Although his work hours didn’t match my school schedule, he still managed to drop me off and pick me up on time.

I thought things would continue peacefully like this, but before long, the story of my background spread through the school.

The school bully, Fatty, and some other kids cornered me in a secluded spot by the school wall.

“Mandy, my mom said your mom is a big slut who seduces men everywhere. You little slut came to our school just to corrupt us.”

“You should go seduce men everywhere like your mom. Our school doesn’t welcome people like you!”

Looking at their faces, I mustered up the courage to retort, “Your whole family are the sluts!”

Fatty glared at me, nostrils flaring, and with a few others, locked me in the equipment shed.

“Mandy, no one wants you. Even if you die in here, no one will know!”

They laughed at me as they ran away.

Frank waited for me at the school gate for two whole hours. By the time he found out where I was, it was already midnight.

Curled up in a corner, I shivered from the cold.

In my daze, I heard his scolding.

“Useless thing, don’t you know how to fight back when they bully you?”

“Your mom is so capable, how did she give birth to such a wimp?”

His reprimands gradually grew quieter until he held me in his arms, wiping away my tears with his calloused hands. All my insecurities instantly vanished.

Later I found out that to find me, he had searched every corner of the small town.

Those bad kids only revealed my location after he repeatedly questioned them.

Seeing the scrapes on his arms, he must have fallen in his haste to find me.

The next day, Fatty’s mom came to the school to make a scene. She pointed at my nose and started cursing.

“This little bastard not only uses foul language but also tells lies.”

“My son was just joking with her, and look how badly beaten his face is now?”

I looked at Fatty’s swollen face, knowing it must be Frank’s handiwork.

“Principal, you must expel this little bastard!”

“You’re the bastard!” I snapped back immediately.

The fat woman flew into a rage, “You unwanted child, if you’re not a bastard, what are you? Am I wrong?”

“Let me tell you, it’s your honor that my son even joked with you…”

Suddenly the office door opened, and Frank, who should have been at work, appeared.

“You call that a joke? How about I lock your son up for a night too?”

Seeing Frank, Fatty quickly hid behind his mother. Such a comical sight made me burst out laughing.

“If your kid dares to bully my daughter again, I won’t be so lenient next time!”

At that moment, I felt the whole world go quiet, with only Frank’s word “daughter” echoing in my ears.

My eyes stung, and I quickly ran out of the principal’s office.

[4]

By 2008, I was old enough to start middle school.

Remembering Frank’s “threat,” I got into the best middle school in the city with the top score in town.

At this time, there were layoffs at the factory where Frank worked, and he was on the list.

He wasn’t cut out for physical labor in the first place, and these years had taken a toll on his health.

He hadn’t saved much money, and now things were even worse.

A female employee who had once been helped by him at his factory suddenly approached him, saying she wanted to marry him and live together.

Although friends advised him to send me away, he sighed helplessly: “The child is so big now, we can’t let someone else benefit from the bride price for nothing.”

The woman’s arrival gave this home a chance to breathe.

This pieced-together family finally had a hint of home-like warmth.

Frank relied on a second-hand motorcycle he got from a friend to start a passenger transport business in town.

The income wasn’t much, but it was stable.

But good times didn’t last long, and the woman gradually revealed her true intentions.

Whenever Frank wasn’t home, she would drag me to meet various old ladies.

“Mandy, remember, these might all be your benefactors.”

At that time, I didn’t understand what she meant, and seeing how hard Frank worked every day, I didn’t dare to bother him.

But that day, she and an old lady said they were taking me to a banquet.

I was forcibly dragged to someone’s house, only to see a big red “Double Happiness” character pasted on their front door.

I was pushed into the main seat, and next to me sat a man wearing a red flower on his chest.

“Mandy, just enjoy your meal. I’ll come pick you up later.”

With that, the woman left with the old lady, and they were counting some cash that had appeared from somewhere.

It was then that I finally realized - she had sold me!

I threw down my chopsticks and tried to run, but the man next to me grabbed me, “Wife! Where are you going?”

“After we finish eating, it’s time for our wedding night!”

I panicked but forced myself not to cry.

“Let go of me. If my uncle finds out, he’ll kill you!”

The man smirked, “You mean that lousy motorcycle driver? The money I gave him is more than he could earn in decades of driving. He’d be overjoyed!”

“Just stay here obediently and give me a big fat son. I promise I won’t mistreat you!”

The man hoisted me up to leave when suddenly there was a loud bang. Frank had crashed right in on his motorcycle.

He threw his motorcycle aside with a flourish, “Put her down!”

The man was intimidated by his aura, and I quickly broke free to hide behind Frank.

“Frank, I’ve already given the bride price to your wife. You’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?”

Frank snorted coldly, “I never married that woman!”

Just then, the woman came back crying with the money.

“Frank, why are you doing this? I really wanted to live with you!”

“If we sell this girl, you could open your own factory again. You wouldn’t have to ride that motorcycle in the wind and sun anymore!”

But faced with such a huge temptation, Frank didn’t even bother to look. He directly slapped away the money the woman was offering.

“I don’t need it.”

With that, he put me on his motorcycle and left.

After that, the woman never came back.

But one day, the motorcycle he relied on for a living was smashed to pieces.

It didn’t take much guessing to know who did it, but without evidence, he could only swallow his anger.

As the start of my school term drew nearer, Frank started coming home later and later.

I also tried to find whatever part-time jobs I could do.

But when I came home that day, I saw Frank had returned early.

He sat on the doorstep, chain-smoking the cheapest cigarettes.

Seeing me, he slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with an emotion I couldn’t understand.

Putting out his cigarette butt, he finally spoke, “Your mom’s back. She’s inside.”