It just so happens that my sister and I share the same mother-in-law.
Everyone adored my husband, and he certainly had the gift of the gab. While he courted me, he also kept a flirtatious eye on my sister. When Edward discovered that my grandmother had left her flat to me, not Stephanie, he rushed to propose with all the charm of a game show host.
At that time, my sister was already pregnant (she was planning to marry Edward, aiming to tie him down in the most traditional way possible). Unfortunately, she ended up spinning a tall tale to her ex-boyfriend, assuring him the baby was hisjust to make sure she didnt end up without a bloke on hand.
Edward and I lived in a poky little place with my in-laws in Cheltenham. When their neighbours decided to sell off a patch of land, Edward convinced me to flog my flat and buy the land together. I naively agreed, and we had to take out a loan just to build a house.
My mother-in-law, of course, was a real treat. She nagged and bossed me around relentlessly, pampered her own daughter, and made sure I always felt like a lodger in my own home. When our new house was finally built, she knocked down the fence and let her pack of labradors into our gardenknowing full well I was terrified of them. She had to make it abundantly clear who was the real boss.
No matter how many times I begged Edward to have a word, hed sigh and tell me I was being dramatic.
Eventually Id had quite enough. I took the whole thing to court, hoping to get my share of the house and buy a separate flat. Turns out, my mother-in-law was listed as the sole owner of the property! No shared ownership for mehow they managed that swindle is anyones guess. And there I was, left without even a roof to call my own.
Meanwhile, Edward found out that my sister had been given a flat by our dad and saw a fresh opportunity. In true fashion, he tried to break up her marriage by dropping the truth bomb: he was actually the biological father of Stephanies daughter. I divorced him, naturally, and he did to Stephanie exactly what hed done to me.
All the while, my sister and I hadnt spoken. I only found out by chance later that she and Edward had got tangled up together. But once Stephanie realised shed also been duped, she suggested we team up.
Cue the neighbourhood investigation. After a few chats over tea with the neighbours, we discovered that mother-in-law and her darling son had already acquired five properties, thanks to a parade of gullible women. The routine: Edward brought the wife home, divorced her, and she ended up with nothing but heartbreak and a taste for strong gin.
We banded together with the other victims and tried to file a class action suit. Sadly, there was no one to sueEdward had scurried off abroad. Mother-in-law was left hustling in Cheltenham, now demanding that we hand over the kids, who she insists are her only grandchildren worth caring about.
She tried to strip us of custody, arguing neither of us had our own place. By then, wed sorted accommodation for ourselvessomething shed only managed to disrupt with her creative property manoeuvres in the first place. After the hearing, the court insisted that our children visit their grandmother, and we couldnt legally stop her from seeing them.
Worst of all, shes now turning the kids against us. Grandmas the hero and were the villains. Shes cheerfully undermined our peace, demands endless investigations, and even teaches the girls to lie about sneaking cigarettes or the occasional glass of wine. Now theyre giving ultimatums: if we dont buy them iPads, theyll call social services.
Ill take the grandchildren! Just you wait! she bellows, shaking her walking stick for dramatic effect.
So, what are we to do? How does one stand up to a mother-in-law with this many tricks up her sensible tweed sleeve? Shes done us wrong at every turnand just cant seem to let things lie.
