Rule #4: No mommy or daddy will commit to an arrangement on paper.

The ugly truth is, if your daddy/mommy throws you over for a newer model, there’s nothing you can do, legally (unless you cohabitate, in which case consult a local divorce attorney regarding common law marriage or ‘palimony’ statutes in your state). Your ‘arrangement’ is all about them, in the end, and they can throw up their hands and make it disappear in the blink of an eye.

If yours was a discreet affair, you can always threaten exposure, but blackmail is ugly and sometimes fatal, if what your mommy/daddy stands to lose costs more than a contract killing or months or years of harassment.

Breakups can and often do get ugly. You’re dealing with a human being, the most vicious and destructive species on the planet. Remember that.