When a Husband Comes Back from His Mothers and Asks for a Paternity Test for Our Two-Year-Old Daughter: Not for Me, for Mum
One day, the husband returned from his mothers house, sighed, and suggested they take a paternity test for their two-year-old daughter: “Not for me, for Mum…”
“For six months before our wedding, she kept telling her son, ‘Dont marry her, shes not right for you!'” recalls Emily, thirty, her voice trembling with anger. “‘Too pretty, shell cheat on you!’ We laughed it off, joking that James shouldve married a crocodile to avoid any funny business. But now, were not laughing. Not at all.”
Emily doesnt consider herself a stunning beautyjust an ordinary young woman from a London suburb, well-groomed like many others. Slim, neatly styled, and dressed simply, shes always been particular about love and self-respect. Why her mother-in-law, Margaret, decided Emily was flighty and unfaithful remains a mystery. But this woman has turned her daughter-in-laws life into a nightmare.
Theyve been married four years and have a daughter. Emily is on maternity leave, her days filled with cooking, cleaning, and nappy changes. The only people she sees? Other mums at the park. But Margaret wont let up. She suspects Emily of cheating and spies on her like a bargain-bin TV detective.
“Shes always watched me like a hawk!” Emily sighs, her eyes glistening with tears. “Shed call to check up, turn up unannounced, try to control my every move. At first, I tried to laugh it off. Id tell James, and wed joke about it. But its exhausting! Ive snapped more than once, weve had rows. Shed calm down for a while only to start up again worse than before.”
The first scandal happened a few months after the wedding. Margaret showed up unannounced at Emilys office. No call, no reason. Just to check: “Does she actually work here? Or is she lying to her husband while running off with lovers?”
“I dont even know how she got in!” Emily fumes. “We have security, visitors have to sign in. I nearly fainted when the receptionist brought her over: ‘Someone here to see you.’ I asked, ‘Margaret, what are you doing here?’ And she said, ‘I wanted to see where you work.’ While scanning the room! Our office is open-plan, everyone at their desks. God forbid I had a private office…”
The receptionist, Sophie, later told Emily this strange woman had grilled her with endless questions. “How long has she worked here? Does she come in on time? Who does she talk to? Is she seeing anyone here? I told her you were married!” Sophie added, baffled. Emily was livid. That evening, she erupted at James: “Your mothers gone too far! Talk to her, this is insane! She nearly checked under my desk for a secret lover. Then again, who knows…”
James seemed to have a stern word with his mother. A fragile peace settled. Margaret called in the evenings, asked after them, sent over cakes. Emily hoped the storm had passed. She was wrong.
The next incident happened during her pregnancy. On sick leave, she was napping at home, phone off, when a racket startled her awake: banging on the door and relentless ringing. “I jumped up, thinking it was a fire!” she says. “I peeked through the peephole Margaret! Face twisted, hammering the door and ringing the bell like a madwoman. I was too scared to open it. I called James: ‘Get here now, I dont understand!’ He arrived in twenty minutes. The whole time, she waited outside…”
They shouted at Margaret. Emily threatened to call the police or a mental health crisis team if it happened again. “Keep her away from me!” she demanded. The calm returned temporarily.
Emily gave birth to a daughter, but her mother-in-law refused to even see the baby. The reason? In Jamess family, only boys were born. A girl, Margaret insisted, was proof of infidelity. “I didnt even entertain that rubbish,” Emily says. “I cut her off. James sees her once a month, without us. Good. Id never trust her with our daughter.”
The worst came later. One evening, James came back from his mothers, grim-faced, and suggested a paternity test. “Not for me, Emily, obviously!” he stammered. “Its for Mum. So shell finally stop! Shes driving me mad with this…”
Emily let out a bitter laugh. “For your mother?” Her voice shook with rage. “Admit it, you believe her nonsense! Shell never stop. Even with three tests, shed say we faked the results! I wont play her games, end of story.”
“Its just a test…” James pressed.
“Whats the point?” Emily stared at him, holding back tears. “I know who my daughters father is. Do you? If you need it, fine. But first, we divorce. I wont stay with a man who doesnt trust me!”
Her words landed like a guillotine. The trust between them was crumbling, poisoned by his mother. Emily felt on the edge of an abyss, unsure how to save their marriage from this madness.
