I’m Aine.Back in middle school, I was bullied — and the pain from that stayed with me for years.
When I met my husband, Hiroki, he understood what I’d been through and promised he would never say anything cruel to me. But over a decade later, he’s changed. Lately, whenever I make a mistake, he sneers, “That’s why you got bullied. ”Then one day, our son Yu, who’s in eighth grade, spoke up for me. He said, “That’s messed up, Dad. ”And then… our daughter Niina, a seventh grader, stood up too.
It wasn’t just Yu who stood up for me.Even Niina spoke back to Hiroki.Their words were calm, clear, and perfectly logical.
I’m sure the two of them had already talked it over — deciding what to say to their father if something like this happened again.Watching their father treat me that way must have hurt them too.The fact that it got to this point… makes me feel ashamed of myself.I can’t just sit there crying every time Hiroki says something cruel — I need to stay strong and show him that I can stand tall.