DADDY’S PARAMOUR

Chapter 01

Chapter 01

MHALEE'S PŌV

RAVEN dropped me off at home from his house, where we had just finished spending time together. It's his day off, and conveniently, no one was home. So, we made the most of our time being intimate there.

My mom was at home preparing our dinner. Meanwhile, my brother and his wife were just lounging in our small living room.

Our house is small and doesn't have a divider, so you can see the kitchen as soon as you enter.

But there is one room in the house, and it's shared by my mom and me. We have housemates, who are my brother's family.

He and his family squeezed in with us because my brother, who is supposed to be capable, doesn't have a job and relies on our mom. He and his family cram into the living room.

My brother already has a family but still hasn't moved out. Our house is small, and we live by the riverbank. I was born and raised here. This place is also where my parents met.

My father passed away 5 years ago. He was stabbed while selling food on the street. Our area is chaotic, but we have no choice. We're poor and can't afford to rent a nicer house. Perhaps if it were just my mom and me, our lives would have been better. My brother and his family rely on us, and are dragging us deeper into poverty.

Sometimes, I get too lazy to work, like now when I don't have a job. I can't blame myself for feeling this way. Who would feel motivated with a lazy, dependent person around?

My brother has always been lazy. He got married but can't even support his family. He just drinks and hangs out with friends.

He keeps getting his wife pregnant despite not having a job. They already have three kids, but the third one is still in the womb. They act like they own the place, doing nothing but fighting. Sometimes, I don't even stay at home because they're so chaotic.

"Hi, Auntie," my nieces and nephews said when they saw me and approached.

"Hello," I replied with a smile and hugged them. "You smell bad. Haven't you taken a bath yet?" I asked the siblings with a scrunched-up face.

The siblings just laughed. One is 7 and the other is 4 years old. My brother has a daughter and a son. I don't know the gender of the unborn one.

"Oh, you're here, Mhalee. Come on, let's eat," my mom said when she saw me. Raven also greeted my mom.

"Hi, Auntie."

My mom just nodded, and my boyfriend said his goodbye. He was going to play basketball at the court with his friends.

"Okay, text me later," I said, then kissed him on the lips and hugged him tightly. When my boyfriend left, I approached the table. But I rolled my eyes because my lazy brother got to the table first.

He's such a glutton.

Lazy people shouldn't be fed! It's so audacious. My brother and I don't get along because of his laziness. There was a time when we used to be very close. He used to always defend me against my enemies. But not anymore.

I sat next to my mom and got some food. We're having fried fish. Fried fish with soy sauce and tomato dip. It's really delicious.

"That's gross! There's a spoon, but you're using your hands to eat!" I said irritably to my brother because he was using his hands for the dip. He hadn't even washed his hands and went straight to eating.

He paused and looked at Mom.

"Sorry," he said after a while, his mouth full of food. You'd think someone was about to snatch the food from him.

"Take it easy, honey," said his wife, Lena. Lena is nice, but she's lazy like my brother because she does nothing at home but lie around. Just because she's pregnant doesn't mean she should completely rely on my mom. I get frustrated with her sometimes. I just avoided confronting her to prevent a fight with my brother.

After a while, my mom spoke up, and I turned to her while still chewing.

"Mhalee, why don't you look for a job? I'm having a hard time doing laundry. Please help me," my mom pleaded with me.

My mom is a laundrywoman, but only for our local neighbors. She earns about 9 to 16 dollars a day. But it's still not enough because there are so many of us. She's only 40 years old but looks 60 due to the hard work she's doing.

My mom is the only one working, and my brilliant brother does nothing but rely on her. I used to have a job in the market, but I left because my boss was awful.

And who would be motivated to work when my brother constantly relies on us? I lost the motivation to work because everything my mom and I worked for is spent on my brother's family, especially when the kids get sick.

We're the ones paying for the house, electricity, and water. We even cover the food. In a situation like this, who would be motivated?

"Mom, why don't you ask my brother to find a job?" I said to my mom, then turned to my brother. "So he won't just rely on us! He does nothing but depend on us."

"I'm always the one you blame," my brother asked me irritably.

"Am I wrong to do that? Why can't I complain?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. "You have a family now, but you still rely on us. Get a job," I told him in an annoyed tone.

"You know I can't find a job, right? It's hard to find work these days, especially without a proper education," my brother reasoned with me.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have gotten married and had so many children. It's hard to find a job," I sarcastically said to him, causing my brother to get angry.

"What's your problem? You don't have a job either, yet you don't hear me complaining?" my brother asked me angrily, his face showing he was mad. I was a bit nervous. But because I'm defiant, I still answered back.

"Why should you complain? At least I don't have a spouse or kids. Unlike you, you have a family. You should be the one—"

"Damn it!" my brother shouted angrily, slamming his hands at the table, which made me stop ranting. His action startled everyone with us. "It's not my fault that I can't find any job! No one wants to hire me! So, what's your problem?!"

"My problem is that you kept on relying on our mother! If you can't find any job, then maybe you should look harder!" I shouted back at him. I was a bit nervous, worried he might suddenly hit me because my brother tends to get easily annoyed when it comes to these topics.

"That's enough!" My mom stopped us with an angry voice.

"We're at the dining table, and here you two are, fighting. That's why we're having such bad luck," she said, looking at us angrily. It was clear that she was mad at both me and my brother. We always fight about work.

I took a deep breath, rolled my eyes, and looked at another part of the house.

Our house is ugly. It's covered in tarpaulin and is disorganized. Yet the rent is still expensive.

"She started it!" I heard my brother say, so I turned to him.

"If you don't want to be lectured, get a job!" I answered back, which made my brother even angrier. He looked at me as if he wanted to hurt me. But he was holding back because my mom was there.

"That's enough! It's up to you if you don't want to work! But if that's the case, we'll starve to death!" my mother said as she left the table and went out of the house. I sighed deeply.

"I've lost my appetite," my brother said as he stood up abruptly and also left the house.

I rolled my eyes while looking at my nieces and nephews. Lost his appetite? I snorted. He nearly finished all the food on the table.

His wife, Lena, followed him.

I also stood up from the table, having lost my appetite as well. I left my nieces and nephews at the table and went to the bathroom after washing my hands.

I grabbed my phone and texted my boyfriend. I wanted to check if he's already done playing basketball. But Raven didn't reply, so I sighed deeply. I went to our room, lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

The previous occupant put up some photos of sexy women. That person must have been quite the pervert. The women in the pictures were almost naked.

I realized that I've been jobless for a month, just lazing around just because I lost the motivation to work because of my brother. He constantly relies on me and Mom. He has no drive in life, even though he already has a family.

Who'd feel like working when there's a lazy bum at home, right?