Walton Merritt

In a quaint town nestled in the Cotswolds, where honey-stone cottages stood side by side with emerald

In a quiet village nestled in the Yorkshire Dales, where winter winds howl through the cracks of old

Helen Whitmore, I’m Sophie, and this is your grandson, Oliver. He’s six. In a quiet town in the Cotswolds

Misha’s parents chose a bride for him based on status. And I—I became the enemy simply because I wasn’t

**Sunday, 15th October** I’ve always thought—naively, perhaps—that conflicts between a mother-in-law

HUSBAND LEFT, BUT THE MOTHER-IN-LAW STAYED… When Daniel walked out on me, it felt like the world

**Diary Entry** I don’t want to end up alone and unwanted in my old age. My son married ten years ago.

My name is Margaret Elizabeth, and I’m sixty-nine. I’ve got two sons, three grandsons, and two daughters-in-law.

For most of my life, I was merely a servant to my own children. It wasn’t until I turned 48 that I truly

**Diary Entry – 12th November** Now I’m seventy. Alone as a lone tree in a field. To my daughter