Mother's Daughter, Daughter's Home

Chapter 3: First Love and a New Hell

The journey to Rico’s hometown was long and tiring, but Lina’s heart was full of hope. She held her belly gently, thinking about the child growing inside her. She imagined a big house filled with laughter, a mother-in-law who would hug her, and brothers and sisters who would treat her as family.

When they arrived, the welcome was warm. Rico’s family came out to meet them. They smiled, they shook hands, they offered food and water.

"So this is Lina," his mother said, looking her up and down. "She looks very simple."

"Yes, Mother. She is a good woman," Rico said proudly.

They had a simple civil wedding. Lina wore a white dress, and she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. She thought she had finally escaped her sad past. She thought she had found her paradise.

But it did not take long for the mask to fall off.

Slowly, Lina discovered the terrible truth. Rico’s family was not normal. They were like wild animals living in the jungle. In their compound, every kind of sin existed.

There were brothers who were drunkards and thieves.

There were sisters who worked as prostitutes and did bad things.

There were uncles who used drugs and hurt people.

They were liars, cheaters, and criminals.

Lina, who was raised as a conservative Muslim woman, was shocked to her core. She prayed, she dressed modestly, she valued cleanliness and honor. But here, everything was dirty, chaotic, and wrong.

Because she was different, she became their enemy.

"Look at her, acting like a saint," Rico’s sister, Marites, sneered one morning while they were eating. "She doesn't drink, she doesn't laugh. She is so boring."

"Maybe she thinks she is too good for us," his brother, Roberto, laughed loudly, spitting food on the floor. "She is just an orphan from nowhere. Who does she think she is?"

(Marites’ POV)

I hate her, Marites thought with jealousy. She is so pretty and clean. She makes us look bad. Rico should be with someone like us, not a prude like her.

At first, Rico tried to defend her. "Stop it! She is my wife! Respect her!" he would shout.

But his family was strong and loud. They whispered bad things to Rico every day. They poisoned his mind.

"Your wife is too quiet," his mother would say. "I don't trust her. She is probably hiding something."

Slowly, Rico changed. He got tired of fighting. He stopped protecting her.

"Just do what they say," Rico would tell Lina lazily, then he would take his money and leave the house. "I am going out with friends. Don't wait for me."

And so, Lina’s suffering began.

Even though she was heavy with child, she was forced to work like a slave. She carried heavy woods, she cleaned the whole dirty house, she washed everyone’s clothes.

" Lina! Where is my food? Cook fast!" they would shout.

"Lina! Fix my room! Why is it messy?"

While Lina was sweating and struggling, Rico was enjoying his life in the next town. He went to discos, he drank alcohol, he smoked, and he flirted with other women openly.

Sometimes, he would give his salary to Lina, but only for a moment.

"Here, keep this," he would say.

Then, a few hours later: "Give it back. I need money for beer and cigarettes. You are strong, you can work and earn money yourself, right?"

Lina bit her lip and said nothing. She was hurt, but she endured. She started hiding small amounts of money, saving every peso she could earn from her own hard work. She hid rice and canned goods in her cabinet, hoping to have something for when the baby arrives.

But even that was not safe.

One day, Lina came home from work. She opened her cabinet and her face turned pale. It was empty.

"Where is my food?" she asked, trembling. "Where is the rice I saved?"

"Oh, that?" his mother said casually, wiping her mouth. "We were hungry last night. We ate it. You should share, you are living in our house."

"But that is for my baby!" Lina cried out, tears falling down. "I worked hard for that! I was saving it!"

"So what?" his brother shouted, standing up. "You are just a woman! Your body is here to serve us! Be grateful we let you stay!"

Lina ran to her room and locked the door. She cried until her eyes were swollen.

"Why? Why is this happening to me?" she whispered to herself. "I thought I had a family. I thought I was loved. I am still an outsider. I am still nothing."

When the time came to give birth, the pain was unbearable. Lina held her stomach, rolling on the floor.

"Rico! Rico!" she called out.

But Rico was not there. He was partying again.

"Mother-in-law! Please help me! The baby is coming!" Lina shouted.

Her mother-in-law came to the door and looked at her with cold eyes.

"Too much trouble," she said. "Just push it out. We gave birth in the fields too. Why make it big deal?"

She left Lina there to suffer.

(Mother-in-law’s POV)

Good, she thought cruelly. Let her suffer. If she dies, then Rico can find a better wife who is like us.

Thank God for the neighbors. Good people heard her cries and rushed to help.

"Poor woman! Her family is useless!"

"Come, we will bring you to the hospital!"

They carried her to the tricycle and rushed her to the town hospital. There, amidst pain and tears, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She named her Elara.

A few hours later, her mother-in-law arrived. But she didn't come to help. She came to scold.

"You wasted money!" the old woman shouted at the top of her lungs. "Why did you stay here? You could have given birth at home for free! You are such a waste of money! You are useless!"

Lina was weak, but the neighbors who helped her got very angry.

"Shame on you!" one neighbor shouted back. "Your daughter-in-law almost died! She gave birth alone! And you come here to shout? Are you even human? Get out of here!"

They scolded the old woman until she ran away, red-faced and furious.

Lina had no money left. She had to work the very next day. She carried little Elara with her everywhere she went.

"Please, Ma'am, Sir, don't get angry," Lina would beg. "She is just a baby. She is quiet."

" It's okay," the kind bosses would say. "Here is extra money. Buy milk for the child. We know how hard your life is."

Life continued like this for one year and a half. Lina survived day by day. Then, she got pregnant again.

But Rico was rarely home. He was too busy enjoying his life. He didn't even notice Lina’s belly growing bigger.

His family, however, saw it. And they used it as an opportunity to hurt her more.

"Look at her stomach," they whispered loudly in the kitchen. "Her husband is never home. How can she be pregnant? That child is not Rico's."

"She is a w***e," others agreed. "She brings shame to our family."

The lies spread like fire. Lina was heartbroken, but she kept quiet. She thought it would end there. But she was wrong.

One day, she went to the city to look for Rico. She wanted to tell him about the new baby. And there, in a dark alley, she saw him.

He was holding hands with another woman. A woman with heavy makeup, a prostitute. And that woman... she was also pregnant.

"Rico..." Lina called out, her voice shaking.

Rico turned around. He looked shocked, then scared, then guilty.

"Lina... what are you doing here?"

"Who is she?" Lina asked, tears blinding her eyes. "And why... why is she pregnant too?"

Rico could not answer. He just looked down.

The other woman laughed arrogantly. "He is my man now. His family knows me. They accept me. You are just the past, Lina. Go away."

Lina felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. The man she loved, the father of her children, had replaced her. His own family accepted the mistress and hated her.

That was the final straw. Lina’s tears stopped. Her heart turned cold and hard like stone.

"I see," she said, her voice calm but terrifying. "So this is your plan. You want to destroy me."

She looked at Rico one last time.

"I will not stay in this house anymore," she said firmly. "I will leave. I will build my own place. I will raise my children alone. I don't need you. I don't need any of you."

She turned around and walked away. She left the hell behind her. She was alone, pregnant again, with a little girl holding her hand. But she was free. And she swore to herself that she would survive. No matter what.