When Charlotte’s mother dies, her sister Barbara wastes no time trying to cut her out of the inheritance. Armed with an old document, Barbara smugly tries to throw a spanner in the works. But when the truth comes out, it’s Barbara who faces the ultimate betrayal, and by the time she realizes her mistake, it’s far too late.
I always thought family was unbreakable.
That no matter what, blood was blood, and at the end of the day, we would always have each other’s backs. That’s how family works, right?
A woman sitting on a bed | Source: Midjourney
But after my mother passed away, my sister Barbara came waltzing in and made me question everything I thought I knew.
And by the time the truth finally came out?
Barbara was the one begging for forgiveness.
My mother raised two daughters: myself, Charlotte, and my older sister, Barbara.
Two smiling women | Source: Midjourney
Naturally, Barbara was always the golden child. She was the one who got all the attention.
Barbara craved a roast chicken? My mother had one cooking away the moment her words left her lips. Barbara needed dry cleaning fetched? My mother would jump into her car and fetch it.
Barbara was also beautiful. Stunningly beautiful and never failed to make heads turn. She was blonde with piercing blue eyes, just like my mother.
Roast chicken and veggies on a tray | Source: Midjourney
Meanwhile, I was the odd one out. I had dark hair, dark eyes, and to be honest, I never really looked like either of them.
But I never questioned it. Why would I? I loved my mother.
No, I adored my mother with everything I had. She was my entire world.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
So when she got sick, I was the one who put my life on hold to take care of her. I didn’t complain once. Not when bruises bloomed on my arms as she held onto me tightly when I took her to the bathroom. Not when she got frustrated and threw her food across the room. Not even when she would break down and cry for hours.
Barbara, on the other hand?
She was too busy chasing her dreams of becoming an actress.
“I can’t take care of Mom, Charlotte. I have auditions. I have producers to meet. I have to stay relevant and seen at events. You understand, right? Right, Lottie?”
An ill woman laying in bed | Source: Midjourney
And I did.
Because that’s what I always did. I was always understanding, while Barbara lived her life however she pleased. I tried not to focus on her and how I could have done with the help.
Instead, I let Barbara come in and out of the house, wearing her new clothes and showing off photos of her with actors and actresses that she had met.
A woman standing by a mirror | Source: Midjourney
“This is a glamorous life, Mom,” she said one day when Mom was too weak to get out of bed to eat her soup. “And you should really clean up your look, Lottie. You need to get noticed. Your posture is horrible because you sit hunched in front of that computer.”
“It’s my job, Barbara,” I said simply.
Life continued in that way for months. And finally, Mom passed away. But that was when Barbara came back.
A bowl of soup | Source: Midjourney
And she wasn’t grieving. Not at all. She was hungry, starving even.
For our mother’s money.
After the funeral, we met with Alistair, my mother’s lawyer. Barbara walked in like she owned the place, dressed in black but wearing diamond earrings I had never seen before.
I should have known something was off when she sat down with a smug smile.
A woman standing in a doorway | Source: Midjourney
The lawyer pulled out the official will, but before he could even read it, my sister pulled her first stunt. Barbara reached into her designer bag and pulled out a yellowed, folded piece of paper.
“Before you read that,” she said sweetly, “I have something interesting to share.”
She slid the paper across the table to me.
“Look what I found in Mom’s drawer when I was searching for her jewelry.”
A piece of paper on a table | Source: Midjourney
I unfolded it, and as soon as I read the words at the top, my stomach dropped.
ADOPTION DECREE.
Barbara leaned back with a smirk.
“Well, well, well,” she drawled. “Looks like I finally know why you always looked so different from us.”
My hands shook as I re-read the document.
A woman reading a piece of paper | Source: Midjourney
Once. Twice. Three times.
“You… you’re lying,” I gasped. “You made this up! You got one of your strange friends to make this!”
She let out a fake gasp, her long nails tapping against the desk.
“Oh, Charlotte,” she said. “Don’t be so dramatic. My friends have things to do with their lives. And anyway, it’s all right there. You’re adopted. Girl, you’re not even Mom’s real daughter. I always knew that your brown eyes and brown hair had no place in our family.”
A woman’s hand on a desk | Source: Midjourney
I felt sick. I felt the bile rise in my throat.
Had my mother hidden this from me my entire life? But why would she do that? Why not tell me the truth?
Would it have changed anything?
Not for me. I would have been more grateful for her.
Barbara crossed her arms.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
“So, despite Mom’s will saying that we split everything, you know, she kept saying that, I’ll be making sure that you get nothing. You don’t belong in this family, so why should you get anything?”
“Ladies, calm down. Let’s take a moment to think about this,” the lawyer said.
But I was too stunned to speak. Barbara’s words had cut me. Deep.
A smug woman | Source: Midjourney
And that’s when I saw it. There was one detail she had overlooked in her ploy. The name on the adoption paperwork had been erased. Someone had deliberately tried to remove it.
And that?
That made me suspicious.
“Please, Alistair,” she said. “You can do whatever comes next, but in terms of the estate, I want it all. I can wait until you sort out the paperwork.”
A lawyer sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
The lawyer sighed and nodded.
“But I think the two of you need to have a heart-to-heart before we meet again.”
Barbara scoffed.
“That’s not necessary.”
Barbara was so confident that she had won. But I wasn’t about to let her take everything without proof. I didn’t want to be horrible about it, but I had missed two promotions in the months that I had been looking after our mother.
A smug woman sitting in an office | Source: Midjourney
I needed to know that I had the safety net of her money. I just needed to have something to my name…
I decided to demand a DNA test.
“What’s the point, Charlotte?” she scoffed. “You know what it’ll say, Lottie. That you’re not family. I wonder where Mom found you. Do you think your birth mother misses you?”
I didn’t think anything other than the fact that our mother would be turning over in her grave at Barbara’s behavior.
A woman standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“Just do it,” I demanded. “Think of it this way. If I am really adopted and there’s proof, you’ll have more claim to everything.”
That did it. She moved her head slowly from side to side. Suddenly, she got off the couch, martini in hand, and looked at me.
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
But the results?
A frowning woman | Source: Midjourney
Oh my goodness. They shocked everyone. Because Barbara?
She was the one who wasn’t biologically related to our mother.
After the results came in, I went to my Aunt Helen, my mother’s younger sister. She had been tight-lipped about everything, but after I told her about the DNA results, she finally told me the truth.
“Your mother never wanted you both to know, Lottie,” Aunt Helen said, tears in her eyes. “Because she knew how much it would hurt you both.”
A sad older woman | Source: Midjourney
“Know what?” I asked, heart pounding, but I figured that it was about Barbara’s birth.
“Barbara wasn’t Mom’s biological daughter, Lottie.”
“So, you knew?”
Aunt Helen nodded.
“Your mother found Barbara at a train station when she was two years old. She was abandoned. My sister took her in, raised her as her own. And she never, ever wanted Barbara to feel anything less than loved. It helped that she had the same blonde hair and blue eyes.”
A little girl sitting on a bench | Source: Midjourney
“Okay,” I said slowly, trying to fit all the puzzle pieces together. “But how did Barbara have an adoption decree? If she was found at a train station, I mean?”
Aunt Helen sighed and glanced out the window as if she was gathering her thoughts.
“Because your mother made it official, darling. She went through the court system and legally adopted Barbara a year later. She wanted to make sure that no one could ever take her away.”
A mother and daughter duo in a court room | Source: Midjourney
My stomach twisted. I didn’t know how to feel. Or what to feel.
“So, Mom just didn’t tell her?”
Aunt Helen shook her head.
“She never told either of you, Lottie,” Aunt Helen said softly. “Because in her eyes, it didn’t matter. Barbara was her daughter, just like you were. Blood or not, she loved you both the same, and nothing was going to change that.”
An older woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
But Barbara had never seen it that way.
She had spent her entire life being treated like the golden child, like she was the one who belonged.
And yet, in the end?
Barbara was the adopted one. I was our mother’s real daughter…
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
The biological daughter.
When I told my sister the truth, she laughed at first. We were standing in the kitchen and I couldn’t wait to get it out. She needed to know the truth, too.
“You’re lying now, Charlotte,” she said. “You probably got someone to doctor the results, didn’t you? Or you hacked into the system! You’re the computer whiz…”
But when I showed her the DNA test and told her everything Aunt Helen had said?
Her face went pale.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
“No. No, this can’t be right. Mom loved me. She… she wouldn’t just take in some abandoned kid!”
But she did. She had.
“Barbara,” I said. “She loved you. And you being adopted doesn’t change that. Our mother was wonderful. She probably saw you and couldn’t wait to love you.”
Barbara looked at me. She was… I don’t know. I couldn’t read her face. I couldn’t understand what she was thinking. I had no idea.
A woman leaning against a kitchen counter | Source: Midjourney
She was blank.
As for my mom, she had given Barbara everything. She had seen a little child and wanted to take her home and love her, to make that child her own.
And instead of spreading that love and joy… what did Barbara do in return?
She had tried to steal my inheritance.
A child sitting on a bench | Source: Midjourney
She had tried to erase me from my own mother’s life.
And now?
She was the one who lost everything.
We went to see the lawyer again. Together, but in different cars. Barbara couldn’t even look at me.
Alistair had confirmed that my mother’s will was valid. Despite Barbara’s cruel attempt to cut me out, I still got half of everything.
A lawyer sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
“But… wait!” Barbara said, her fingernails digging into her thigh. “I don’t want to share…”
“Barbara,” Alistair said. “It’s clear. Your mother wanted the two of you to share everything. A straight 50-50. Now, if you want to play this biological daughter game, I don’t know what to tell you… Charlotte could take everything.”
My sister thought she could rewrite history, but legally? She couldn’t touch a thing.
The will was still clear. We were supposed to split everything.
A document on a desk | Source: Midjourney
But after her stunt? After trying to erase me from my own mother’s legacy? Barbara lost more than just her pride.
“Let’s go to court,” she said.
“I really don’t recommend that,” Alistair said.
“So, what?” Barbara blurted. “You just want us to split the money and then pretend that we’re family again? I don’t want anything to do with Charlotte. I want my money and my house. And then I want to be done with this!”
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
“Barbara, come on…” I said.
“Just be quiet!” she bellowed, throwing one of Alistair’s pens onto the floor. “I don’t want you around. You’ll just be here to remind me that I’m not biologically our mother’s daughter. So, no. We’re doing this. And when I win, you’re going to get the hell out of my house.”
That was it. That did it. I didn’t want to be nice. I didn’t want to share. I didn’t want Barbara around any more than she wanted me around.
A pen on a carpet | Source: Midjourney
So?
I hired Alistair on the spot. For me this time, not on behalf of my mother’s deceased estate.
“Let’s do it,” I said. “Let’s go to court.”
“But I want Alistair!” Barbara said, standing up.
“Too late, sis,” I said.
Months later, Barbara fought it in court, desperate to take everything for herself. But she failed.
A woman standing with her arms folded | Source: Midjourney
In the end, the judge ruled against her.
And I got it all.
She tried to destroy me, and in doing so, she destroyed herself and her future.
And do you know what?
I think she deserved every single bit of it.
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
My Colleague Came to My Date with Her 3 Kids in Tow & Ruined It – When I Confronted Her, She Boldly Said, ‘You Should Thank Me’
The night had everything I’d planned for: candlelight, wine, and the promise of a deeper connection. But when my colleague burst through the door with her kids in tow, the evening spiraled into a disaster I never expected and a truth I wasn’t prepared for.
The third date with Susan was supposed to be the charm. We’d met on Tinder — her profile was a perfect mix of witty banter and effortless beauty. After two great dates and a dreamy stroll in the park, I was ready to take things to the next level.
Couple on a date during sunset | Source: Pexels
That night, I picked a cozy Italian restaurant tucked away from the usual hustle. It was the perfect backdrop for soft candlelight and deep conversation over wine and pasta.
Susan arrived in a navy dress that hugged her figure just right, her hair cascading over her shoulders. She smiled, and I thought, Wow, this might actually be something.
The waiter had just set down a basket of fresh bread when the sound of the door swinging open grabbed my attention. At first, I ignored it. But then I heard a familiar voice.
Couple on a fancy dinner date | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, hey, Rob! Fancy seeing you here!”
I froze mid-reach for the breadstick. Standing at the entrance, unmistakably Linda from accounting. Her bright floral dress clashed with the scene, but that wasn’t the real problem. No, the real problem was the three kids clinging to her, each armed with loud, sticky energy.
“Linda?” I managed, blinking.
She marched over with her kids toward our table. “You didn’t tell me you were coming here tonight!” she said.
Mother and her children walking into a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
Susan’s confused glance darted between Linda and me. “Friend of yours?” she asked, her tone cautious.
“Colleague,” I corrected, a forced smile plastered on my face as Linda plopped her kids into chairs at our table.
“It’s packed tonight,” Linda said, casually stealing a breadstick. “I figured we’d join you. You don’t mind, do you?”
Oh, I minded. I really minded.
Linda had always been an enigma. A single mom of three — ages two, eight, and 12 — from two failed relationships, she was equally magnetic and intimidating.
Woman walking into a fancy restaurant with her three children | Source: Midjourney
Around the office, she commanded attention with her sharp intellect and striking beauty, though she kept everyone at arm’s length. I admired her resilience, devotion to her kids, and ability to balance chaos with grace.
But that admiration was from afar — strictly professional. Besides, a woman like Linda? She’s completely out of my league.
But tonight, as she slid into the booth beside me with her kids, her aura wasn’t awe-inspiring. It was suffocating.
“Linda, what are you doing here?” I stammered, my voice low, my eyes darting toward Susan, whose confusion had quickly hardened into annoyance.
Tense man talking to two women at a dinner table in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Linda replied, casually placing her hand on mine. I instinctively pulled back. “You promised to watch the kids tonight, and here you are… having dinner with her?” She nodded toward Susan as if she were an unwelcome guest.
Susan’s mouth fell open. “Excuse me?” she said, her voice sharp.
Linda wasn’t fazed. “I mean, we’re a family.” She gestured to her children, now happily devouring the breadbasket. “The kids were so excited to see you tonight!”
“Linda, I never promised—”
Tense man talking to two women at a dinner table | Source: Midjourney
She cut me off. “Really, Rob? You’re going to pretend this isn’t a thing in front of her?”
“Pretend what’s a thing?” Susan demanded, standing now, her face a mix of disbelief and fury.
Linda shrugged, a smug grin spreading across her face. “I didn’t mean to ruin your date, Susan. But you should know the kind of man you’re seeing. He’s been leading me — and the kids — on for months.”
My heart stopped. “What? Linda, stop this!” I hissed, glancing around. Other diners were starting to notice.
Susan grabbed her purse. “You two clearly have… unfinished business,” she snapped, glaring at me like I was something stuck to her shoe. She turned on her heel and stormed out.
I stood to follow her, but Linda’s toddler, an adorable baby girl, clung to my leg.
The restaurant went silent.
Toddler smiling while sitting in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
I turned to Linda, my voice barely contained. “What are you doing? You just ruined my date!”
She didn’t even flinch. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, her toddler now happily munching on a breadstick. “You should thank me.”
“Thank you?” I mumbled, my anger rising. “For what? Publicly humiliating me?”
Linda calmly pulled out her phone, scrolling with deliberate precision. “No. For saving you.”
“Saving me?” I stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
Man with a confused expression | Source: Midjourney
She flipped the phone around, holding up an image. “Recognize this?”
I squinted at the screen. It was a grainy photo, but there was no mistaking the face.”That’s… Susan. Why are you showing me this?”
“This,” Linda said, zooming in on the photo, “is a mugshot.”
The words didn’t register at first. “A mugshot?”
Linda nodded, her expression grave. “My brother’s a cop. Last night, I stopped by the station to drop off some paperwork for him. While I was there, I noticed her face on the bulletin board. She’s wanted for fraud.”
“Fraud?” I echoed, my brain struggling to keep up.
Man with a confused expression during dinner | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah,” Linda continued. “She’s been conning men. Gets into relationships with them, gains their trust, and then scams them out of thousands. I didn’t put two and two together until I saw the picture you posted on Instagram before your date tonight. So, I called my brother, and — well, here we are. She’s probably being arrested as we speak.”
The room tilted, or maybe it was just me. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not,” she said, her tone softening. “Look, Rob, I know this was… a lot. But I couldn’t just stand by and let her take advantage of you. You’re a good guy. You don’t deserve that.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The anger drained from me, replaced by something else — disbelief, confusion, maybe even gratitude. “Why didn’t you just… tell me? Why the whole spectacle?”
Man with a confused expression having a conversation with his coworker | Source: Midjourney
Linda sighed, her gaze flickering toward her kids. “I tried calling you before your date, but you didn’t answer. And once I saw you here, I panicked. I didn’t want her slipping away. I did what I thought was best.”
I sat back, rubbing my temples as the weight of her words settled in. “So… you’re saying Susan is—”
“Gone,” Linda finished, her voice firm. “And you’re welcome.”
I stared at her, my emotions swirling into chaos. If she was telling the truth, then maybe she’d saved me from disaster. But the way she’d done it? I wasn’t sure I could forgive that.
Tense, confused man with arms crossed, talking to his coworker in a fancy restaurant | Source: Midjourney
The realization hit me like a freight train. Susan — charming, witty, and gorgeous — was a scam artist. And Linda, with her kids and bold, chaotic interruption, had just saved me from walking straight into a disaster.
The table fell silent, the air thick with unspoken tension. For a moment, I couldn’t look at Linda. My mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions — gratitude, embarrassment, and something else I couldn’t quite name.
Then her eldest broke the silence, kicking his legs under the table. “Are we getting pizza or what?”
I couldn’t help it — I laughed. A real, unfiltered laugh that seemed to cut through the tension in the room.
Man laughing while seated at a dinner table | Source: Midjourney
Linda smirked, leaning back in her chair. “You know, Rob, you should thank me right about now.”
I shook my head, half-amused, half-exasperated. “You’re unbelievable.”
She shrugged. “And yet, here you are. Not scammed out of your life savings.”
As I looked at her — tired but radiant, her kids clearly hanging on her every word — I felt something shift. Linda wasn’t just the brave, maddening woman who had bulldozed into my evening; she was something more. She’d saved me tonight, but she’d also shown me what I’d been too blind to see.
Man and woman in a fancy restaurant having dinner | Source: Midjourney
“Linda,” I began, my voice steadier than I expected, “can I buy you dinner? All of you.”
She blinked, clearly caught off guard. “You want to buy us dinner? After all this?”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at the kids. “I think you’ve earned it. And honestly? I could use the company.”
Her oldest grinned. “I vote pizza!”
Linda studied me, her expression softening. Then she smiled — a real, genuine smile that made something stir in my chest. “Alright, Rob. But only if you’re buying dessert, too.”
“Deal,” I said, grinning.
Man and woman sharing a happy moment | Source: Midjourney
Two years later, Linda and I are still together. I’ve adopted her kids, and every day, they remind me what it means to love and be loved.
As for Linda? She still insists I should thank her for that night.
And every single day, I do.
Happy couple enjoying breakfast in their home | Source: Midjourney
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