I’m Mariko, in my 40s, living with my husband, Takayoshi (also in his 40s), and our daughter, Sally (in 8th grade). Both our families live nearby. I initially thought Sally’s harsh language and attitude were just part of her rebellious phase, but it turns out she’s been heavily influenced by my mother-in-law, Sanae (in her 70s). My husband is eager to remarry his mistress, Misato Fukuhara (in her late 30s), who is currently pregnant, and my mother-in-law seems to be backing this marriage simply to get her hands on Misato’s wealth. I truly believe they both manipulated our dog and our daughter just to force me out and finalize the divorce. Facing the cold reality that Sally chose not to live with me and continued to push me away until the very end, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of loneliness and regret for not being a better mother.
While I was in the process of finalizing the divorce through my lawyer, my husband hit me with a list of ridiculous, laughable demands—claiming that since I was the one who asked for the divorce, I wasn’t entitled to alimony, and instead, I owed him for “neglecting the dog” and for “compensating his mother” for her troubles. Suspecting this was all my mother-in-law’s doing, I decided to leave the legal mess to my lawyer. Worried about Sally, I reached out to Misato, only for her to tell me, “I’ll take responsibility and raise her,” while also having the audacity to accuse me of abusing the dog and Sally. I immediately sent her the video I had of my mother-in-law actually abusing our dog. In the end, the dog was rehomed, and my life is finally starting to settle down. As for my husband and his new circle? Things went absolutely haywire.