Long ago, in a small town in England, there lived a girl named Emily Whitaker. Her mother, Margaret, had raised her alone since Emily was barely three years old. Emilys father, Robert, had left them after a short, loveless marriagea match forced upon him by his family when Margaret became pregnant. They endured two strained years before Robert vanished, leaving Margaret to devote herself entirely to her daughter.
For years, it was just the two of them in their modest flat in Manchester. But when Emily turned twelve, Margaret sat her down one evening, her voice hesitant.
“Emily, youre old enough to understand Ive met someone. His name is Arthur, and were to be married. Hell be moving in with us soon.”
Emily said nothing, though the news didnt sit well. She knew other children at school had stepfathers, and they managed. But when Arthur arrived, something about him unsettled herhis brusque manners, his rough voice.
“You can call me Dad,” he announced the first night.
Emily nodded stiffly, but the word never passed her lips.
Arthur believed children ought to be disciplined, not coddled. From the moment he stepped into their home, life grew harder.
“Mum, Im going to the library with Sarah, then we might walk about for a bit,” Emily said one afternoon.
“Listen to her, giving orders!” Arthur scoffed. “Margaret, you let this girl walk all over you!”
“Im not walking over anyone!” Emily protested, but Margaret merely continued washing dishes in silence.
“Youll go to the library and come straight back by three,” Arthur barked. “A minute late, and youll stand in the corner with no supper. Thatll teach you to disobey your elders!”
Emily turned to her mother. “Mum!”
“Love, do as your father says. Hes the head of this household now,” Margaret murmured.
For six long years, Emily endured, counting the days until university might free her. When she turned eighteen and was accepted into Leeds, she hoped for a dorm room, a way out at last.
But the university had no space. “Only out-of-town students qualify,” they told her.
“Shouldve applied somewhere farther away,” she muttered, trudging home.
She befriended two classmates, Lucy and Hannah, who also longed to escape their families. They found a flat to sharea cramped one-bedroom, but better than nothing.
“Mum, I want to move out. Its closer to uni, and”
“Over my dead body!” Arthur cut in. “Youll turn that place into a den of sin, bringing lads round instead of studying! Wholl pay for it? Your mothers on half-wages, and Ive had my pay docked! Not a penny from me!”
“Ill earn it myself!” Emily snapped, slamming her bedroom door.
But part-time work proved scarce, and the dream slipped away.
Then, one morning, a stranger stood in their halla lanky young man Arthur embraced like a son.
“Emily, meet my boy, Tom. Lived with his mum in the countryside till now. Hell be staying with us.”
“Where?” Emily demanded. “Weve only two rooms!”
“Ill manage on the sofa,” Tom said with a smirk.
Horrified, Emily confronted Margaret. “Mum, how will we live like this?”
“Well manage, love. Arthur supports us now. I wont quarrel with him.”
Tom took over the kitchen. Breakfast became impossible. He and Arthur lounged at the table, drinking ale.
“Sister, come sit with us!” Tom called one evening, grabbing Emilys arm.
“Let go!” she cried, wrenching free.
“Mind your tongue!” Arthur slurred.
That night, Emily wept into her pillow. The next morning, she asked Margaret, “This flatdidnt Father buy it for us?”
“Well, yes”
“Then its partly mine?”
Margaret hesitated. “Legally, its mine, but”
“I want them gone!”
“Ungrateful wretch!” Arthur roared. “Not another shilling from me! Buy your own food!”
Emily began scraping by, saving every pound. Yet Arthur and Tom helped themselves to her groceriescheese, bread, whatever they fancied.
The final straw was her sliced ham, gone by morning.
“Mum, if you wont stop them, then pay me back and Ill leave!”
“Leave, then! Good riddance!”
With that, Emily packed a bag and walked out.
She stayed with a friend, then found work and switched to night classes. A year passed before she spotted Margaret outside a boarding house.
“Mum? What are you doing here?”
“Living here,” Margaret admitted softly.
“What about the flat?”
Margarets face crumpled. “Oh, love Arthur tricked me into signing it over to himsaid itd stop you making claims. Then Tom started bringing girls into your room. One day, I came home to find some tart in my bed.”
“What did you do?”
“What could I do? The flats his. The police said I could stayIm still on the leasebut the deeds done. I begged my job for this room. I meant to tell you”
Emily sighed. “Well.”
“Dont hate me, love. Ive lost us both a home.”
Emily patted her shoulder but said little. That evening, she returned to her own rented flatsmall, shared, but clean and peaceful.
She saw Margaret occasionally, though never for long. Margaret spoke of divorce, of fighting for half the flat. Emily listened but stayed out of it. Shed had enough of that mess. Some battles werent worth the cost.