My ex wife lied and took everything from me, so I paid her back in kind.

****

The judge slammed his gavel, marking the end of the court hearing, and the end of my life as I knew it.

My mouth hung open. Never in my most paranoid moments had I expected the divorce settlement to be this lopsided.

I turned to look at my ex wife, Brooke, in disbelief. She was giving me an arrogant smirk, enjoying my shock and misery. How? How could she be this sadistic?

It all started months ago. Everything had been picturesque, or so I’d thought. Brooke and I were happily married, with a three year old daughter. Then one day it all fell apart.

Thinking back, I should have seen the signs. I was the only one that ever initiated intimacy, and she rebuffed me more often than not. I was too blinded by love, and accepted her excuses without question.

When I discovered she’d been cheating on me, I felt betrayed, and wondered if I had done something to drive her away. I confronted her about it, and was ready to work on saving our marriage, but that was never an option.

As soon as I told her I knew about the affair, it was like she was replaced by a completely different person. Even the look in her eyes changed. I saw nothing but contempt and disgust.

She didn’t deny the affair, and she didn’t want to work on saving our marriage. She told me flat out that she hated me and if not for my six figure salary, I would be worthless and she would never have let me touch her.

She then dropped the first bombshell that ruined my life. My daughter Jennifer, precious little Jenny, was fathered by a different man. A man, Brooke said, that was far superior to me. He was taller, better looking, and better in bed. And most importantly, his salary was much higher than mine.

After that, she said she wanted a divorce, and would be taking Jenny and living with her real father. I was devastated. Even if I wasn’t her biological father, I still saw her as my daughter. I’d still bonded with her over three years, and still wanted to be her dad.

But what I wanted didn’t matter. I soon found out that Brooke spread all kinds of lies about me. She’d told her long time affair partner, Jenny’s biological father, that I was constantly hitting her and cheating on her. She’d told him that I was tightly controlling her finances, and that was why she couldn’t leave me to be with him at the time.

The most heinous lie was that I had touched my own daughter inappropriately. Just hearing that accusation made me taste bile. Unfortunately it stuck, as did the rest of her lies. I didn’t understand why she was being so cruel. Leaving me was one thing, but to go out of her way to ruin my life?

Ultimately it worked. She was awarded most of the shared assets, as well as hefty alimony. Because I was married to Brooke when Jenny was born, I was considered legally responsible for her, and so I was ordered to pay child support. Yet because I wasn’t the biological father, and the real father wanted to raise her, I was not given any visitation rights. And since that still wasn’t enough to satisfy Brooke, she had a restraining order against me based on her false accusations of what I’d done to Jenny.

I was ruined. My reputation was destroyed. My life was over. My friends shunned me because of the rumors Brooke had spread. I turned to drink to help me through the day, but it only compounded my problems. I ended up losing my job after too many missed days, or days where I showed up drunk.

My savings quickly dwindled, and I received a notice that my tiny condo, which I had bought after Brooke was awarded the house I’d paid for, was being foreclosed on. With no job, income, or savings, I wasn’t likely to find anywhere else to live. Homelessness was my next, and probably final, stop before the end of the line.

I wandered up to the rooftop, ready to call it quits. There was nothing left to live for. I couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if I wanted to wait around until Jenny was an adult and could make her own decision about having a relationship with me, she was so young that she probably wouldn’t remember me at all. Jenny would be growing up with her real father, so why would she need me? And no doubt Brooke was going to lie to Jenny her whole life and claim I’d done something heinous.

I stepped up to the edge. This was it. Brooke had utterly destroyed me, and she was going to get away with it. I wished I could make her pay, make her feel the hurt and betrayal I endured, but there was no way.

Right before I stepped off, a thought occurred to me. A crazy thought, but just maybe…

Maybe she could feel what my miserable life was like. By making her live it for herself.

I rushed back down to my condo, wondering why this hadn’t occurred to me before. Maybe because it was crazy hogwash, but I was willing to try anything at this point.

One of the many things she’d taken from me was my great grandmother’s brooch. I’d given it to her when I’d thought we were going to be together forever, and Brooke didn’t have any issues keeping that family heirloom from me.

But that might be her undoing, if my great grandmother’s stories are to be believed.

I tossed everything out of the closet until I found a box of her old possessions. Brooke had the brooch now, but the little paper that had accompanied it was still here.

Yes, it had the instructions.

I carefully set the paper down and began reading the words aloud.

“Emblem of my blood. Show me the way. Recall me to your presence. Cast the interloper away.”

The effect was instant. I felt lightheaded. Everything grew fuzzy and dark until I passed out.

When I came to, I knew something was different. I was sprawled in an awkward position on a luxurious couch, half my body hanging off.

No. Not my body. Or, at least, it wasn’t until just a moment ago.

I could already tell by the feel of the clothes, but I looked down at myself as I repositioned to sit on the couch.

I looked past the pale pink designer blouse with the telltale protrusion of large breasts beneath, to the expensive black skirt hugging the rounded hips, to the shapely legs encased in silky white stockings, all the way to the black pumps ringed with diamonds.

I looked around the room, which looked like a living room from an upper middle class house. It was unfamiliar, but I had a feeling I knew where I was.

I seemed to be alone for the time being. Perfect. Feeling exhilarated, I got up and walked around until I found a bedroom that had a full length mirror.

The person in the mirror was who I expected it to be. Brooke’s familiar face stared back at me with a look of fascination.

It actually worked. Great grandma wasn’t a crazy coot after all.

I looked down at my body again. Most of the unfamiliarity came from how the clothes fit and felt. Feeling the bra on my chest called attention to my breasts, and the underwear made me keenly aware that I no longer had my member.

I looked at my reflection again. Brooke was incredibly attractive, and had the sexiest body I’d ever seen. I, on the other hand, had been average to begin with, but had let myself go ever since my life started falling apart.

Now I could see that was how she’d manipulated me, and her new man, so easily. I’d naively believed that if Brooke had been with me despite being so much better looking, it was because she loved me as a person. Turned out she only loved my money.

I gave a triumphant smile as I ran both hands from my hips to my waist. I had to become a woman to pull this off, but it was a price I was willing to pay to give her karmic justice. If my understanding was correct, she would be in my old body right now. I only wish I could see the panic myself.

Not a minute later, the sound of a phone ringing came from another part of the house. I followed it and found a fancy house phone in the kitchen. It didn’t have a name on the display, but I recognized the number as my cell phone. I knew she’d blocked me on her cell, but had overlooked this apparently.

I smirked as I went to answer, but stopped. I noticed there was a button to record the call. I pressed it and picked up the call. “Hello?” I answered evenly in Brooke’s voice.

“What did you do?!” came my voice.

“You’re not supposed to be calling here.” I said in a stern tone. “You’re violating the order of protection.”

“Cut the crap! How did you do this?! Put us back right now!”

“What are you talking about?” My fake confusion was pretty convincing. “Have you been drinking again?”

Brooke unleashed a string of curses at me. I let her keep going for a while. When there was finally a lull, I put on my best upset voice and spoke. “Can’t you leave me alone? You’ve been abusing me our whole marriage and you still won’t let me be! Please, just leave me alone!” I hung up, then smiled to myself.

This was what she deserved. She ruined my life with her lies and betrayal. Let her feel the pain she’d created instead of me. She tried calling a few more times but I didn’t answer, prompting her to leave threatening messages.

I spend a while exploring and familiarizing myself with the house. Jenny was at daycare, even though Brooke has never held a job. She hadn’t done much childcare when we were together, and I guess that was no different now. I wondered if Brooke even loved Jenny, or if she merely saw her as a prop. I was beginning to doubt Brooke was even capable of loving anyone but herself.

A little while later, Brooke’s new boyfriend, Dillon, or I suppose her longtime boyfriend seeing as he was Jenny’s father, returned home. He had picked up Jenny from daycare on his way back from work, and I practically cried in joy when I saw her. It was the first time I’d even seen a glimpse of her in months, and I realized just how much I missed her.

“Mama!” Jenny said excitedly and reached out to me with both arms. That’s right, I was her mother now. I couldn’t be her father, but at least I was her parent again.

I scooped her up from Dillon’s arms, and hugged her close. Dillon leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. I suppose that was normal from his point of view, so I smiled back at him.

I hadn’t thought much of what my next step would be. Should I take Jenny and start over somewhere? Should I stay here and play house with Dillon? For now I just wanted to spend time playing with Jenny. I could think about my next step later, and I desperately wanted to make up for lost time with my daughter.

It wasn’t long until my blissful afternoon was shattered by a crash from outside. I scooped my daughter up and held her close as if to protect her, while Dillon went to the front window. “What the…”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Your ex.” I joined him at the window. My beat up and rusty old sedan with the faded red paint was in the front yard, partially through the gate.

My old body was struggling out of the driver side door, which was partially pinned shut from being up against the mangled gate. Had Brooke gone mad? I had been drinking a little before I swapped us, so maybe that was affecting her decision making.

She looked absolutely crazed in my old body. The hair and beard were unkempt, there was a protruding beer belly, and the clothes were worn out to the point of having stains and moth holes. She was yelling something unintelligible.

“I’ll handle this.” Dillon said pushing away from the window and making his way to the main entrance.

“No, wait.” I went after him and reached for his arm. “Let’s just call the police.”

“You call them. But first, take Jenny and lock yourself in the bedroom.” He put his hands on both of my cheeks and leaned in to kiss me on the lips. It was so sudden I didn’t even have time to react. “I won’t let him hurt you ever again.”

He looked into my eyes with such protectiveness and devotion that I actually felt myself blush, and my heart skip a beat. He seemed so soft spoken and gentle when he watched Jenny and I playing together, but now he seemed so confident and reliable. So…manly. I felt the urge to defer to him.

I nodded. “Okay, but please be careful. He looks more disturbed than I’ve ever seen him.”

I carried Jenny to the master bedroom and locked us inside. I went to call the police, but then realized I didn’t even know the address to this house. I searched around until I found a piece of mail, then made the call.

“Nine-one-one, where is your emergency?”

“It’s my ex husband!” I tried to sound panicked and afraid. “He’s violating the order of protection! He’s in my front yard right now! Please hurry!”

I let the operator calm me down and gave her all the information she asked for. After hanging up I went to the window, and was able to get a narrow view of that area of the yard.

Brooke in my body was yelling and pointing at the house. She was trying to get past Dillon, but he just shoved her back and away from the door. She continued her tirade, but I could tell Dillon just thought she was crazy.

Eventually Brooke got too aggressive and tried to shove Dillon aside, to which he responded with a punch straight to my old body’s nose. Brooke fell back, blood gushing from her nose. She began wailing as she clutched her face and kicked her legs on the ground as if throwing a tantrum.

The police arrived shortly after. I put Jenny in her room, activated the baby cam, and went out to meet with them. Brooke lunged at me as soon as she saw me, but was quickly subdued. She then tried to accuse Dillon of attacking her unprovoked, but I backed up his story that he was defending himself, as well as Jenny and me. Brooke’s earlier attempt to attack me certainly didn’t lend her any credibility.

To really nail her coffin shut, I played the recordings of the phone call and the threatening messages she left. As well, she was somewhat intoxicated, had crashed a car through the front gate, and was violating an order of protection. There wasn’t even a consideration.

Brooke hurled more insults and threats at me as she was forced into the back of the police car. I pretended to be distraught, with my face buried in Dillon’s chest, while he held me in a protective embrace and rubbed my back. It actually felt nice. I never had this kind of caring concern from Brooke.

I turned my head to give one last look at my old body as the police car pulled away. I smirked and gave her a wink, to which she looked freshly enraged. She pressed her face up against the window, her tears, snot, and blood painting a truly pathetic picture.

Then she, or I supposed it was he now, was out of sight, and hopefully out of my life for good.

Dillon put an arm around my shoulders and gently led me back inside. “Are you alright?” he asked.

I smiled at him. “I am now. Thank you, honey.” I excused myself and went to my daughter.

She was sitting on the floor playing with a stuffed unicorn when I came in. “Mommy!”

I smiled and knelt down next to her. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Let’s play! Mrs Unicorn is having a tea party!”

I played with her for about thirty minutes until I could see her getting sleepy. I performed an exaggerated yawn and stretch. “Oh, my. I’m getting a bit sleepy after all that delicious tea. What do you say we take a nap?”

“No!” she said groggily, then yawned. “I wanna play more.”

“Oh, but I think Mrs Unicorn is getting sleepy, too. And you know how she likes to nap with you.”

She looked at her stuffed animal like she was pondering the greatest mysteries of the universe. “Mmm, okay. If she wants to we can nap.”

I tucked her in and softly sang to her until she fell asleep, appreciating how much better my new womanly voice was for the job. I couldn’t help but shed a tear as I kissed her on the forehead and withdrew.

Back in the living room, Dillon pulled me into another embrace. I didn’t resist. I just let all my stress melt away, resting my head against his shoulder.

“How’s Jenny?” he asked.

“She’s fine. She doesn’t know what was happening.”

“And how are you?” I turned to him. I’d always held a bit of resentment for him because he was the one that stole Brooke away. But I realized that wasn’t quite right. Brooke had cheated because she wanted to. And she had lied to him about her situation. I’d found out that as far as Dillon knew, she was trapped in an abusive marriage and had wanted to leave. From his point of view he wasn’t breaking up a real marriage because she was there against her will. He was doing what he could to help her escape, and comforting her in the meantime.

I couldn’t really bring myself to stay mad at him. Brooke had lied and manipulated both of us. And he was not at all like I’d expected. He was kind, caring, and gentle, but also strong and protective.

And, he was the father of my daughter. I had to admit, he made a better father than I did, and I was starting to feel more suited to being a mother.

“I’m just relieved. I think it’s finally over.” I actually felt a tear at my own words. Brooke had indeed subjected me to a nightmare, and I was finally ready to believe I could be happy again.

Dillon noticed and pulled me in, placing a hand on the back of my head and gently stroking my hair. I just let all the pent up hurt out, and cried into his chest. It felt good. I felt safe and loved.

After a few minutes, my tears had dried, and I lifted my head to look him in the face. I don’t know if it was because I was in a female body now, or because I was so starved for affection, or because he had just comforted me. Maybe it was a combination of all of it. But looking at him stirred something in me, and I had a sudden and powerful urge to kiss him.

I didn’t deny myself, leaning in for a long tender kiss. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying it so very much.

After, I just stared at his smiling face. I was surprised again, by the fact I found him attractive.

Maybe I could go on living with Dillon. After all, he was Jenny’s father. She deserved to have a father in her life, and I deserved a supportive partner.

We kissed again.

I reminded myself, that I hadn’t just subjected Brooke to my miserable life, I had taken hers for my own. I had to stop thinking that I was pretending or impersonating. I was Brooke now. I was a woman. I was Jenny’s mother.

One of Dillon’s hands held the back of my head, while the other ran down my back to my butt.

If I was Brooke, then Dillon was my boyfriend. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be his girlfriend.

I felt a longing. My heart raced and, amazingly, I felt such an erotic sensation originating from between my legs.

No, maybe it would be very good to be his girlfriend, and maybe eventually his wife.

I broke the kiss and pressed my lips together.

I could have a happy family again. Maybe even a bigger family. I had always dreamed of giving Jenny a little brother or sister. Or two.

I traced a finger down the front of Dillon’s shirt. “Jenny is down for her nap…” I trailed off, giving him a naughty look.

His concerned look disappeared, replaced by a man with hunger. My heart skipped a beat and my eyes went wide. He put both hands under my butt and easily lifted me from the couch.

As he carried me towards the bedroom, I felt myself overcome with happiness at this new beginning. The nightmare was finally over, and a bright new future as a woman awaited me.

End

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