I have never seen a man on my side

When I was 14, my father suddenly left my family for his mistress. My mother begged him to come back for a month, but he told her to forget it and for her to “stop being a baby.” He refused to even look at my mother, and he refused to even talk to my father. I don’t even think he talked to my younger brother.<br><br>When he left, he took my father’s car and his credit card. He used it to pay for his wedding, and my mother was in debt for years. My mother even had to sell her wedding dress for food, because my father had not left her anything to live on.<br><br>My mother went from being a happy and vibrant woman, to someone who constantly cried. She cried about my father, she cried about being fired from her job (my father had never let her work), she cried because she had no money to buy food for us. I had to babysit for my neighbors just to get enough money to buy food for my brother. She became obese, and I felt as though I was stuck being the parent and the son at the same time.<br><br>My father told my mother not to feud with his mistress, because he “still loved her.” My mother disproved of this, and she vowed to make sure my father knew that he could not come back. While my mother did go after my father’s mistress, she went after him just as hard. She took him to court multiple times, and she even went after him for child support.<br><br>Because my father did not pay my mother child support for more than a year, he was arrested. However, he was able to get out of jail by promising to pay. He was released from jail, and he never paid my mother child support. He ended up getting away with it, and he even ended up getting a promotion in his job. My mother later found out that he had paid his boss and the judge to let him off, and she was rightfully shitty about the whole thing.<br><br>Later on, my mother was able to start dating again. However, my father did not want that. He called and showed up to her dates, telling them that my mother was “a slut” and “a homewrecker.” He even went as far as to tell them that she was abusive, and that she slept around. He even showed up to her job, and he ended up getting her fired.<br><br>Despite everything he did to her, my father would still tell my mother that he loved her. He would go to church and talk about how God had forgiven him. He would call and leave threatening messages, and then hang up and act as if nothing was wrong.<br><br>No matter what he did, I never saw my father apologize. I never saw him sit down and listen to my mother, and I never saw him help her in any way. I never saw him admit that he was wrong, and I never saw him regret his mistakes.<br><br>I have never seen my father’s friends take my mother’s side. His friends called my mother a “bitch,” a “homewrecker,” and a “cunt.” They even called her a “slut” when they found out she was dating again.<br><br>I have never seen a man on my mother’s side. I have never seen a man admit that my mother was right. I have never seen a good man in my life.<br><br>When I was 19, I started university and I decided to study law. I became friends with a man named Brandon, who was also studying law. He was very kind and very understanding, and he was one of the only men who ever helped my mother.<br><br>Brandon is part of the reason why I am where I am today. Brandon is the reason why I decided to join WvP, and I am so glad I did.<br><br>Thank you to everyone who has supported me, and I am so thankful for WvP. I am so glad to be here, and I am so glad to be a part of this community.<br><br>Edit: Thank you so much for my sisters for their kindness. I just wanted to say that my mother is currently doing well. She is in a happy relationship with a kind and caring man, and she is very happy. My brother is also doing well, and he is studying to be a doctor. I am the one who is currently angry and bitter, and I am working on that. Thank you to everyone who commented and reached out, it truly means a lot to me. ❤️