Tina thought she was living happily ever after marrying her high school sweetheart. However, after being kicked out by her husband and left to raise her son alone, she discovered just how severe the consequences of her actions had been.
An extravagant traditional wedding had always been Tina’s dream. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be when she decided to marry her high school sweetheart, Richard, at the tender age of 18.
He was from a substantially wealthy family, and the idea of marrying him without her family’s approval seemed a bit arbitrary to Tina.
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However, in her heart, she was happy to marry the man she loved. Richard’s family’s money was never of interest to her; she genuinely loved him.
After a couple of months of being together, Tina became pregnant. Although they had never talked about having children, she was thrilled with the revelation and couldn’t wait to tell her husband.
“What do you mean you’re pregnant?” Richard asked, agitated.
“I thought you would be more excited. I know we didn’t plan this, but I know you are a family man. You would be an amazing father,” Tina assured him.
“Family man? The only reason we’re together is so I can get away from my family! How could you do this to me?” Richard yelled at her.
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Tina was completely taken aback by Richard’s words. “Was he showing his true self now?” she thought. “No, not my Richard,” she concluded.
Tina convinced herself that she still needed a little more time to process everything and that she would have to be patient. The next day, Richard came home drunk and kicked Tina out of his apartment.
“Go away, Tina! If I see you here again, we’ll have a problem!” he said.
The young woman did not fight him, but simply left, thinking that Richard would come to his senses later. Tina went to the apartment a few days later and discovered that he had changed the locks.
She then called Richard’s parents, and the ensuing conversation left Tina devastated.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Tovar. I was trying to get in touch with Richard. Recently…” Tina began trying to explain before being rudely interrupted.
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“How shameless, young lady! Calling after everything you have done to our son!” said Mrs. Tovar.
“What I did to you? I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand. Please… I don’t know what you heard, but let me explain…” the young woman said, trying to explain before being interrupted again.
“We have heard everything! The fact that you cheated on him and got pregnant by another man! Don’t call here again or we will sue you!” Ms. Tovar snapped.
At that very moment, everything became as clear as daylight to Tina; she and the child in her womb were alone.
Years passed and Tina took it upon herself to raise her son with the love and strength she had left. Her son, Greg, made things easy for her. She struggled to make ends meet, but Greg’s ability to understand her problems and his eagerness to help eased Tina’s burden a little.
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The mother had always been transparent with her son about what had happened between her and his father. Greg was grateful to his mom for all her efforts and worked hand in hand with her to put food on the table.
By the time he was 15, he had begun working as a caddy at the local golf club.
Although he had started working at a very young age, he never let it interfere with his studies. Greg had never been the brightest in his classes, but he had adopted an incredible work ethic.
The boy graduated from high school with honors and opened a business shortly after with the money he had saved from his job.
Tina was extremely proud of the man her son was becoming. However, she was concerned about the anger Gregor had begun to harbor towards his father.
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Greg never talked much, but whenever his dad or the very idea of fatherhood came up in conversation, Tina couldn’t help but notice the look of indignation in her son’s eyes.
As the years went by, Greg’s business grew and improved every day. Over time, he became quite wealthy. He even hired his mother in one of his main offices. At just 26 years old, Greg was one of the most successful people under 30 in his town.
One day, the young man decided it was time to pay his father a visit. He had been following his movements for a while, but had never brought himself to confront him before.
Greg pulled up near Richard’s driveway, his hand gripping the baseball bat in his passenger seat.
He still didn’t know what he would do when they were face to face. But his anger was burning so fiercely inside him that the bat would surely come in handy, though he wasn’t quite sure what his intentions were. Whatever they were, they weren’t good.
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As he sat in his car, contemplating where his next steps would take him, he saw something that shook him to the core.
Greg had never been a violent person. But he had felt so much anger and pain for so long because of his father’s abandonment that he had never for a second considered the possibility that he could actually heal his heart.
All the pain she had fostered over the years told her that Richard deserved whatever was at the end of that baseball bat. But as she watched her father go out to take out the trash, frail and ragged, she realized her own decline.
At that moment, Gregor realized how far and low his quest for revenge had taken him. This horrible man who had nearly destroyed him and his mother surely no longer existed.
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And even if it was somewhere there, was it worth everything he’d worked tirelessly for? Greg saw a “for sale” sign in Richard’s yard and decided to put down the bat and grab his phone.
He called the number on the board and concluded that the older man was in debt and that his house was going to be confiscated to be sold to cover his loans.
Greg immediately left Richard’s property with a clear conscience and grateful that he hadn’t made what could have been the biggest mistake of his life. He then bought the man’s house.
A few days later, Richard met with the buyer to finalize the sale. His heart sank when he walked into the estate agent’s office to find Tina and her son waiting.
Richard was speechless. Moments after entering the room, Greg announced who he was and told him to leave the property.
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“If I see you here again, we’ll have a problem!” said the young man.
The words lingered in Tina’s head as she watched Richard walk away in embarrassment the same way she had all those years ago.
What can we learn from this story?
- Be careful how you treat others; there are always consequences: Richard felt comfortable threatening Tina, and her unborn baby. Later, his actions created consequences for him that he could never have foreseen.
- Never feed the impulse for revenge. It could lead to your own decline: If Greg had decided to follow his vengeful heart, he would have initiated his own decline. However, by moving away from violence, he was able to handle the situation with justice.
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