I’m Natsuna, 35. I’m a single mom raising my 9-year-old son, Koki. I divorced my ex-husband, Takaaki, about three years ago. We were middle school classmates—one of those “can’t-ever-really-get-away-from-each-other” types. Even now, we both live in the same hometown. When we split, I got a decent settlement, and the child support hits my account every month, so I’ve let him keep his visitation rights. Today is our monthly visit. Takaaki just pulled up in his car to pick up our son.
I was furious that he prioritized his mistress over us, but honestly, I’m totally over him now. My son doesn’t have much of an emotional bond with a father who ignored his family to go out and play, either. Because of that, I didn’t feel like putting up a fight… and the divorce went through without a hitch.
We had to move out of the house I shared with Takaaki, but I walked away with a significant amount in alimony. As long as he keeps paying the monthly child support, I’ve agreed to let him continue seeing our son.