Trapped in the Love of Stepchildren
Chapter 11's

Laura sat alone in the living room, trembling hands on her lap. A letter he received a few days ago was still lying on the coffee table. The letter was from her husband's family, they demanded that Laura separate her husband's stepson, Daniel.

Now, Laura felt trapped. He loved Daniel very much. The two of them have been together since her husband died and Daniel loves Laura very much. However, she cannot imagine life without Daniel, even if it means ruining her relationship with her husband's family.

Daniel walks into the living room, and sees the moody Laura. "What happened, Laura?” ask her in a soft voice.

Laura showed the letter to Daniel, crying as she hugged him tightly. "They threatened to take me to court, Daniel. They want to separate me from you."

Daniel couldn't believe it. "They can't do that.”

"But they can do that, Daniel. They have the power and money to do it. I don't want to face them in court" Laura said in tears.

Daniel grabbed her and rubbed her back. "Calm down, Laura. I won't let them ruin our lives. We'll figure out a way to deal with it."

"We're going to ask lawyers for help" Daniel said. "We will fight them in court. We won't just give up.”

—

But their problems are not just that. As time went on, they began to feel pressure from the neighbors around them. Some neighbors felt that their relationship was inappropriate, because Laura was Daniel's stepmother. They perceive their relationship as unnatural, and begin to put pressure and mistreatment on the couple.

Neighbors Laura and Daniel are indeed a big challenge for their relationship. They felt that the relationship between stepmother and stepson was unnatural and perhaps not good for the young Daniel. They view Laura and Daniel's relationship with a negative outlook and question their motivations and goals.

The neighbors often made disrespectful and condescending comments to Laura and Daniel, even when they were just walking around in the neighborhood. Some of them even dared to hold meetings and discuss the matter openly and sharply criticized Laura and Daniel.

Some neighbors even threatened to report their relationship to the authorities, as they felt that this relationship violated the moral values that exist in society. Laura and Daniel felt very depressed by the attitude and treatment of their neighbors.

One day, Laura and Daniel were sitting on the front porch when a neighbor came to them.

"You two are not worthy like this,” said the neighbor in a rude tone.

Laura and Daniel stared at each other, feeling annoyed and saddened by the attitude of their neighbors.

"Why are you talking like that?" laura asked, trying to stay calm.

"You are the stepmother of the child. You cannot be with him" said the neighbor.

Daniel couldn't hold himself back anymore and took over the conversation, "What's wrong with our relationship? We love each other and nothing can change that."

"No matter what you say, your relationship is inappropriate. This is not the nature,” said the neighbor in a louder tone.

“You think you can avoid the fact that your relationship is not normal? You don't know how detrimental your relationship is to the children around here" he said in a sharp tone.

However, the neighbors did not flinch. "You don't care about the kids here, do they feel uncomfortable with your relationship? You don't care about the moral and cultural values that are here" he said in an increasingly elevated tone.

Laura tries to calm the situation by apologizing and explaining that they did not intend to offend their neighbor. However, the neighbor remained dissatisfied and continued to speak in an increasingly elevated tone.

Daniel felt annoyed and discouraged by this situation. "I'm sorry, but you can't keep humbling yourself because of your negative views. We love each other and that is our right as human beings" he said in a stern tone.

The neighbor ignored his words and continued to maintain his negative outlook. Laura and Daniel felt disappointed and lost hope after the conversation.

Laura and Daniel were very upset by the attitude of their neighbors. They want to tell their neighbors that their relationship is something natural and there is nothing wrong with it. However, they also did not want to aggravate the situation by fighting.

—

Laura was very surprised when she came to her shop and saw that all the flowers and plants in her shop had been destroyed. He couldn't believe what he saw. All of his employees and customers in his shop also looked surprised and confused.

"They destroyed everything" Laura said in a trembling voice.

Daniel tried to calm him down. "Relax, we'll find out who did this" he said in a confident tone.

Laura felt hopeless and helpless. He could not understand why someone could do such a thing. He felt sad and angry at the same time.

A few seconds later, they saw several people approaching the flower shop. The men looked at Laura and Daniel with sharp and harsh eyes.

"You deserve this" said one of them in a cynical tone.

Laura could not hold back her emotions and started crying. He felt broken and helpless. Daniel tries to protect Laura and calm himself down.

"Please, explain to us why you're doing this. Do we have a problem with you?" ask Daniel in a firm voice.

The men seem unconcerned and have no desire to answer Daniel's questions. They continued to stare at Laura and Daniel with sharp and menacing eyes.

Laura felt very scared and insecure. He asked Daniel to leave the place.

—

A few days later, Laura and Daniel get a letter from a lawyer representing their neighbor. The letter warns Laura and Daniel to stop their relationship and avoid contact with their neighbors. Laura was devastated and felt that her life was no longer under control.

Daniel tries to convince Laura that they will go through all the obstacles and pressures together. She gives support and love to Laura, and promises that they will always support and love each other.

"Laura, don't worry. We're gonna get through this together. We will fight for our happiness and will not let the pressure of others destroy our love" Daniel said, hugging Laura affectionately.