She lowered her lashes, dabbing at her tears with the meekness of a saint. "Honey, I love you too much. I can't stand watching you fight with your mother over me. Just marry someone she approves of and live a good life. Don't worry about me. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
There was an old saying: a woman's tears, wielded just right, could break any man's resolve.
A pushover like James never stood a chance against a master manipulator like Meryl.
The next second, he grabbed the gold locket and hurled it to the ground with all his strength. His eyes bulged with rage as he whipped around and screamed at me.
"Is that what you want, Mom? You won't stop until you've driven Meryl away? If anything—anything—happens to her or the baby, you're a murderer! I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!"
James stormed off with Meryl on his arm, still ranting about how I always played favorites.
Why should that precious heirloom locket go only to Madge, and not to him?
He'd conveniently forgotten that the family had always treated both children equally.
He'd had an identical locket once, years ago.
A gift from their grandmother.
But back in sixth grade, he'd secretly sold it and blown the money on an all-night internet café binge.
When Grandma found out, she broke down crying on the spot. She even spent a fortune afterward, pulling every string she could to track it down.
She never found it. Not even by the day she died.
And now here he was, twisting the story, repackaging his own ingratitude as grievance.
After that day, James moved out with Meryl.
To milk sympathy from everyone they knew, the couple deliberately rented a cramped, run-down one-bedroom in a remote suburb.
Life was rough, sure, but that didn't stop them from flooding social media.
In the photos, Meryl sat outside a building that looked one strong wind away from condemnation, hands cradling her belly in the sunlight.
The caption read: "Baby, Mommy's so sorry for dragging you into this. Even your own grandma doesn't want you. It's my fault for coming from nothing. Mommy's sorry."
Post after post followed.
"Finally got my hands on some apples today! They were from the clearance bin, and I had to cut away the bruised parts, but they were still good. My husband saved up just to buy these for me. No matter how bad things get, I can't bring myself to waste them."