**Diary Entry**
*If Mum doesnt live with us, Im filing for divorce.* And he did.
A man who swears love and loyalty can turn into a stranger in an instantespecially when youre forced to choose between keeping your family together or saving yourself from ruin. Ive lived through it.
When I married Edward, we didnt have our own place. We lived with his parents in a cramped two-bed flat. It was tight but manageableuntil his stepfather came home one day and caught his mother, Margaret, with a younger man. A smooth talker with grand promises of new horizons and streets paved with gold. But he had one condition: *Sell the flat. Were moving to another city to start fresh.*
I tried to reason with Margaret. *Hes conning you. Youll end up with nothing.* But she brushed me off. *Youre just jealous. Stay out of it.*
A week later, we were on the street with our baby. The flat was sold, and we were kicked out. Edward took on two jobs while I juggled maternity leave and freelance writing at night. We barely scraped by on rent, but we pushed throughfor our future.
We wanted a mortgage, but fate handed us a break: my childless aunt passed away, leaving me a spacious flat in another town. Bright, airy, with windows overlooking a garden. With our savings, we fixed it up. For the first time in years, I could breathe.
Then, just like that, peace shattered.
One evening, as I washed dishes after dinner, there was a knock. Margaret stood on the doorstep, her face swollen from crying, eyes like a beaten dogs. *Love Edward he threw me out. Everythings gone. Just this suitcase left. Please help me.*
Edward and I exchanged glances. His face softened. He led her to the kitchen, poured her tea. I stood there, my chest aching. Id warned her, begged her not to be reckless. And she hadnt just ignored usshed tossed us out when we were still vulnerable.
Edward turned to me. *She cant be alone. We cant abandon her. Shes my mum.*
I clenched my jaw. *She threw us away like rubbish. And now you want her here? In this flat? Where weve finally started to heal?*
Margaret whimpered, *Edward, I cant sleep rough Please Ive learned my lesson.*
Then he said the words that cut me in half: *If you wont let Mum stay with us, Ill file for divorce.*
The room spun. I answered calmly, though my heart bled. *Then divorce it is. Because I wont live with someone who makes love conditional.*
**Lesson learned:** Blood ties dont excuse betrayaland sometimes, walking away is the only way to keep yourself whole.
