“I’m sorry, but it’s too late to terminate the pregnancy,” the doctor told my mother when she visited his clinic.

My mother was heartbroken. My father was a wealthy man, but he wasn’t very rich in terms of appearance. So, from the moment she found out she was pregnant, mom despised me.

Even after I was born, she didn’t care to look after me. She didn’t want to work, so she began looking for a rich man who could shower her with everything she’d ever wanted.

Luckily, she soon met the man of her dreams who was not only wealthy and successful but also attractive. His name was Mike.

Soon, the man proposed to her, and my mom accepted. She was over the moon. But she didn’t want Mike to know that she had a kid. So, she decided to carry out her cunning plan.

When Mike came to visit her for the first time, she hid me in a pantry. But surprisingly, I began crying aloud, and Mike overheard me.

“You have a baby, Olivia?!” Mike was shocked.

My mom was furious at me. “Yeah, she’s my daughter. My ex-husband passed away in a car accident, and I have to raise her alone!”

Mike smiled at me and took me in his arms. “You have a beautiful daughter, Olivia. I would love her like my child,” he said.

My mom was disappointed. She didn’t like how I looked, so she wanted to send me to an orphanage before Mike found out. But now that Mike wanted to adopt and care for me, my evil mother didn’t have a choice.

Soon, my mom and Mike got married, and one year later, they had twins. Mom loved them because they were pretty, just like her.

I promise I was never envious of my twin sisters getting all of my mother’s attention, but I did want her to love and care for me. Sadly though, as time went on, she became ruder to me.

“You’re disgusting, Beth,” she screamed at me one day. “Please stay away from my babies!”

“But mom, they’re my sisters, and I love them,” I explained.

She glared at me. “They are not related to you in any way! You look awful, just like your father, and my babies are beautiful. I should have left you in an orphanage,” she finished.

I was devastated. I knew she didn’t like me, but today, she made it very evident. I couldn’t hold back my tears at that moment and started crying out loud. That’s when Mike came back from work. Thankfully, he had heard my mom lashing out at me.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Olivia?” he yelled at her. “She’s our daughter. How can you even think about saying something like that?”

“But Mike…” Before she could finish, Mike cut her off. “We will not discuss this ever again! All the three kids are ours, and we will treat them equally.” My mom was enraged. I saw her clenching her fist as Mike left the room.

Since that day, whenever Mike was around, my mom didn’t offend me. But as soon as he left for work, she would return to her daily humiliation. I remember she once screamed at me, saying I had ruined our family portrait because of how horrible I looked.

I was always scared that she would give me to an orphanage, so I just put up with everything in silence.

As my twin sisters grew older, they noticed how my mother mistreated me, and they began ridiculing me as well. “You look awful, Beth! I mean, are you even our sister?” Lily, my younger sister, told me. However, the twins behaved well when Mike was present, so I could never complain about them.

When I turned 18, I packed my stuff and moved out. The only person I kept in touch with was my stepfather, Mike. I would call him every day and ask him how my mom and sisters were.

But one day, it was my mother who picked up the call. “Hi, mom. Is dad there? He hadn’t returned my calls, so I was worried,” I told her.

“He’s hospitalized, Beth,” she answered. “He passed out at work.”

I quickly got off the call and rushed to the hospital. When I arrived, I saw my mother and twins in Mike’s ward.

“Oh, Beth, you’re finally here!” he said in a low voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t return your texts or calls.”

I held Mike’s hand in mine. “It’s okay, dad. Please get some rest. We can talk later,” I told him.

“I’m afraid we can’t, Beth,” he answered. “It’s stage three cancer, so I have only a few months to live. Plus, the company hasn’t been doing well lately, so I don’t think we’ll be able to afford my treatment.”

When my mother learned that Mike was broke and his life was hanging by a thread, she decided to leave him. I tried to stop her as she was leaving the hospital, but she said she didn’t want to waste time with a sick man and an ugly daughter.

I was grateful for everything Mike had done for me, so I took an academic leave from the university and found a part-time job to look after him.

Mike often asked me why mom and the twins never visited him, but I didn’t want him to worry, so I lied, telling him they were sick and couldn’t come to see him.

And then, one day, my worst fears happened — Mike left for his heavenly abode. But my mom and the twins never showed up, not even during the funeral. In fact, the only time I met them after Mike died was when his lawyer summoned us to her office.

My mother was enraged at the lawyer because she believed Mike had been struggling financially in recent years. But it turned out that Mike had been saving all the money for me. He knew how evil his wife was, so he left all his money and property in my name.

When my mom learned this, she immediately changed her attitude towards me. “Oh, Beth, my daughter,” she said as she hugged me. “I’m so glad we are a family.”

I shoved her and almost yelled at her. “Stay away, mom! You’re just a pathetic woman who’s after my dad’s money. If you try contacting me again, I’ll hand you over to the cops!”

Yes, she was my mother, and she went through the pain of giving birth to me. But some people don’t deserve to become parents. My mom is an excellent example of that.

What can we learn from this story?

• Good people always get goodness in return. Beth stood by Mike’s side when he needed someone the most, and in turn, God blessed her with his inheritance.
• Relationships are built with love and not necessarily by blood. The way Mike loved Beth and supported her proves that.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who visited the clinic with a huge baby bump but claimed she wasn’t pregnant.

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