It’s been two years since I last heard my daughter’s voice. Emily posts photos on social media, chats with friends, lives her life—but she doesn’t call or message me. She’s a grown woman now, with a two-year-old daughter and a husband, living in their own flat in Manchester. I’ve always been strict—with myself and everyone around me. Emily was no exception.
Being a parent means having high standards. I wanted her to do well in school, help around the house, take care of herself. And even now, with her own family, I can’t ignore her mistakes. When I visited, I’d notice the mess—clothes strewn about, dishes piled up, cupboards in chaos. “How can you live like this?” I’d ask, straightening her things on the shelves. Emily would sigh like a teenager and start tidying, just to get me off her back.
Her daughter’s growing up in a neglected room, dishes sit in the sink for weeks, and her husband, frankly, is useless. Who else but a mother would tell her the truth? But a year ago, everything changed. Emily stopped answering my calls. The night before, I’d mentioned how my niece’s little girl was already reading at three. Emily frowned and asked why I compared her child to others.
How could I not, when the difference was so obvious? That was our last conversation. Later, I found out she changed the locks and didn’t want to see me. I thought it was just a phase—she’d come to her senses and apologise. But time passed, and she stayed silent.
In August, it was my birthday. I waited for even a text, but Emily didn’t remember her own mother. The next day, furious, I called from a different number. “If you don’t want anything to do with me,” I said, “then get out of my flat!”
Six years ago, before her wedding, I’d put the flat in Emily’s name. Her husband earned peanuts, and I wanted to help—I could afford it. But now, after cutting me out of her life? Let her find somewhere else to live! Her reply was icy: the paperwork’s done, the flat’s legally hers, and no one can kick her out.
Am I really wrong? If she’s so independent, let her prove it by moving out! I gave her everything, and in return, I got nothing. My heart’s breaking, but I can’t forgive this betrayal.
