I was raised by my grandmother. Of course, Im grateful to her, but her love always came with strings attached.
I was only five when my beloved dad decided he didnt want a family anymore and left us for a mistress, who was younger than my mum. Since we were living in his flat at the time, after the divorce he demanded that Mum and I move out straight away.
I had to move in with my grandmother, my mums mum. My father, brave man that he was, found plenty of ways to dodge paying child support. To put it plainly, Mum and I were left without a penny and had to live in Grans small flat. Times were incredibly hard for us. Gran was on a meagre pension, Mum was always away working odd jobs, and I had to come home from school and look after everything around the house.
As I got older, Id sometimes skip school and pick up work on the local building sites. Studying took a back seat. I felt sorry for my mum and gran, both just about scraping by every week, so I decided that after my GCSEs, Id drop out, get a full-time job, and do my bit. But then, Grans sister, Aunt Doris, turned up. She said shed take me in, help me with schoolwork, and support me properly. Aunt Doris didnt have children of her own and was eager for me to live with her. My mum and gran agreed.
So I moved in with Aunt Doris. Mum and Gran would visit us now and then. Life with Aunt Doris was much easier. She had a good pension, so I could stay in school and didnt need to work. She even taught me to cook and sew. I finished school with top marks and got a place at university to study law.
Aunt Doris constantly reminded me that the minute I finished my studies, shed leave me her flat in her will. She said she loved me as if I were her own and wanted to help me get a good start. But things turned out in a way no one expected. In my third year at uni, I met Grace.
She was astonishingly clever and beautiful. She loved me just as much as I loved her, and I decided I wanted to marry her. When Aunt Doris found out, she was furious. She said Grace was only interested in my future inheritance, not in me.
She told me that if I didnt break things off, shed leave me nothing. Naturally, I told Grace everything. She said we could call it off if the flat mattered so much, but also told me shed be happy living with me anywhere, even if it was in a rundown bedsit, thats how much she loved me. So, I took the risk, chose love, and moved out. Aunt Doris cut all contact with me. I was left without a flat, but with the woman I loved.
Now, its our tenth wedding anniversary. We have two children, and our love is even stronger than before. Each year that passes, I become more certain than ever that I made the right choice.
