My Mom Invaded My Privacy, I Cut Her Off

I came across a post from someone in my neighborhood. The blogger had posted a photo of a "s*x toy." The caption read: My daughter bought this kind of thing. Is there something wrong with her? I stared at the photo, studying the background three times before finally realizing that it was my apartment. I rushed home and found my mother sitting on the couch. My little toy was sitting in plain sight on the coffee table in front of her. The moment she saw me, she raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. "What did you buy this for? Trying to seduce someone? You've embarrassed me enough!" I covered my cheek and tried to reason with her. "Mom, it's one of the products my company sells. Everyone has one, and you—" Before I could finish, she cut me off and hurled the toy at me. "What kind of trashy company do you work for? Nothing but a bunch of shameless sluts and perverts! I think you're the one who's sick in the head! What decent girl would ever touch something like this? You're coming to the doctor with me. Right now!" I yanked my arm free, my patience finally gone. "First, I'm not sick, and I'm not going to the doctor. Second, it's a perfectly normal s****l wellness product. I'm 25. There's nothing wrong with using one. And finally, Mom, you owe me an apology for what you just did." My mother's face darkened. "I'm your mother! If you don't throw that thing away, then don't ever call me your mother again!" She looked so certain I'd never dare cut her off. I smiled. "Fine." I pointed toward the door. "Then please leave my apartment, ma'am." "What did you just say?" My mom froze for two seconds before laughing. "Stella Sinclair, say that again. You're kicking me out? I'm your mother!" "My mother?" I pointed at the thing she had thrown onto the floor. "Would a mother go through her daughter's room without permission? Would she take pictures of her private things and post them online just so strangers could judge her?" "I'm doing this for your own good!" Her voice rose. "Just look at what you bought! Have you no shame? Your father was stolen away by a shameless woman like that. And now you're throwing yourself at men too? Are you trying to become a homewrecker just like her?" Not this again. Ever since I was little, whenever I did anything she considered even slightly "improper," she would drag my father into it. I wasn't allowed to wear skirts, wear makeup, or grow my hair long. It was always because doing those things would turn me into "a shameless woman like that." I put up with it for 25 years. I felt sorry for her for raising me on her own, so I had never talked back. But today, I was tired. I was done putting up with it. "Mom, Dad's affair was between the two of you. It has nothing to do with me." I looked at her and finally said everything I'd been holding inside. "You told me not to wear skirts or grow my hair long, so I listened. You told me not to wear makeup, and I listened to that too. But what you did today—how is any of that 'for my own good'?" She was rendered speechless, her face turning bright red. She grabbed the glass from the coffee table and hurled it at me. "Who told you to talk back? Who told you to act so shameless? Is this what I raised you for? To make me miserable?" The glass slammed into my chest. I let out a muffled groan from the pain. But the ache in my heart was worse, choking me until I could barely breathe. "I'm talking back? I have no shame?" I stared at her, my voice trembling. "Mom, I'm 25. I'm an adult. What I buy is my business. You put my private life on the internet for everyone to see. So tell me—who's the one with no shame here?" "You still have the nerve to say that?" She pointed at the toy on the floor, repeatedly jabbing a finger against my forehead. "You're an unmarried woman sneaking around with something like that! What will people say about me if they find out? What will the neighbors think? Won't you be satisfied until you've completely humiliated me?" "You only care about your reputation." My voice dropped as I looked her straight in the eye. "When you posted that picture online, did you ever think about mine?" "Your reputation? What reputation do you have?" She let out a cold laugh. "You bought that thing because you're desperate for a man, aren't you? No one wants you, and you still insist on degrading yourself!" Her words cut straight into me like a knife. For a moment, I couldn't say a word. Seeing me fall silent only made her more worked up. "Am I wrong? You're 25 and still don't even have a boyfriend. All you do is hide at home playing with this disgusting stuff! Who's going to believe you're a decent girl? If you really were decent, why would you need to buy something like that?" "Enough!" I shoved her hand away and stepped back. "Are you finished?" She stared at me in shock, then her expression darkened even further. "What? You did it, so now you're afraid of people talking? I'm your mother. I'm the only person in this world who's willing to tell you the truth!" "The truth?" I let out a bitter laugh, tears welling in my eyes. "Calling me a slut. Calling me dirty. That's your truth?"