“So, was building that large house a waste after all?” exclaimed Barbara, visibly upset. “If that’s the case, then you need to return half of the cost!”
“I need to speak with you seriously,” the woman with a short haircut said as she sat across from Sophie. “There’s something you should know before you marry my son.”
The slim blonde stared at her future mother-in-law, having only met her a couple of times before.
“The thing is, if you want to be part of our family, you must understand that the most important people to Oliver are his parents!” Barbara announced proudly. “We don’t need a daughter-in-law who thinks she can boss my son around.”
“Am I bossing him?” Sophie interjected.
“Please let me finish! Have a little patience,” the woman retorted curtly.
Sophie immediately lowered her eyes, her cheeks flushing. She didn’t want to upset Oliver’s mother.
Their relationship was still fresh, and Sophie didn’t want to embarrass herself.
“So, here’s the plan,” Barbara continued. “As soon as Oliver gets married, we’re all moving into the house that’s nearly finished. We’ll live there as one big happy family!”
“Wonderful!” Sophie replied with a forced smile.
Barbara raised an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn’t anticipated that her future daughter-in-law would yield so quickly.
“I’m so glad you’re on board! I think we’ll become great friends,” Barbara winked mischievously at Sophie.
She immediately began to brag about Sophie to her son, praising her for being kind, intelligent, and caring.
Sensing that a bit of extra support wouldn’t hurt, Sophie made an effort to please Barbara even more.
She presented her with small gifts on special occasions as well as without reason, highlighting her affection.
A year later, worrying that her son and Sophie might not marry, Barbara started nudging him toward an important step.
“When are you going to propose?” she asked almost daily. “That girl will lose patience and walk away, and then you’ll regret it…”
After giving it some thought and deciding that his mother had a point, Oliver proposed to Sophie, who happily accepted.
The costs for the wedding were covered by the groom’s parents, which reassured Sophie that she had made a smart choice in her partner.
For the first three months, the newlyweds lived in a rented flat, and then Barbara excitedly announced that the house was ready for them to move in.
“Alright, pack your things, and we’ll gather our own!” Barbara joyfully informed her son and daughter-in-law.
“Why? We’re fine here!” Sophie frowned at the idea of living with her in-laws.
“Why not? We agreed that as soon as the house was built, we’d move in together!” Barbara replied, taken aback.
“Move in, who’s stopping you?” Sophie scoffed, having abruptly changed her attitude toward her future mother-in-law.
Barbara was so shocked by this response that she remained silent for a few seconds.
“Wait, you promised me,” the woman reminded her, keeping her composure.
“Who knows what I said back then? I’ve changed my mind, and I refuse to live with you!” Sophie stated firmly. “We’ll be living separately! By the way, since you’ll be moving out, Oliver and I will be taking over your flat.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous!” Barbara snapped. “You’re being unreasonable!” she added, angrily hanging up the phone.
Sophie listened to the dial tone for a couple of seconds before hanging up in confusion.
Just then, she heard Oliver’s phone ringing from the kitchen.
Listening carefully, she realized that it was Barbara calling Oliver to complain about her.
Half an hour later, after the conversation concluded, Sophie entered the kitchen.
From her husband’s expression, she could tell that he was quite upset and angry. Oliver looked at her and asked sternly:
“What’s going on?”
“What’s wrong?” Sophie crossed her arms defiantly.
“Mother called. She’s demanding money…”
“What? What money and for what?” This news caught Sophie off guard and shocked her.
“For the house. What did you promise her before we married? To live in it together?”
“Nothing,” Sophie replied, playing coy.
“You supported her idea about the house, didn’t you?” Oliver asked sternly.
“And so what? I agreed then, but I don’t want to now,” Sophie averted her gaze.
“Well, I didn’t support her plan because I thought it was nonsense! The house stood there for three years, and then she finished it after our wedding. Apparently, because of you!” Oliver gritted his teeth.
“She finished it, so what?” Sophie threw up her hands. “What’s the problem?!”
Before she could say anything else, Oliver’s phone rang again, and he made a quick move: he thrust his phone into Sophie’s hands and said, “You handle it!”
As soon as Barbara heard Sophie’s voice, she leapt into action.
“Return the money for the house!” she firmly demanded.
“What money? Are you out of your mind?” Sophie snapped back, irritated.
“Are you saying we built the house for nothing, all because of you?” Barbara protested. “Then you should return half the cost.”
“What half?!” Sophie ground her teeth in frustration.
“Five million! You owe me five million!” Barbara shouted over the line. “Otherwise…”
“What will you do to us? I didn’t sign any papers!” Sophie responded triumphantly.
“In that case, we’ll stop communicating with you!” Barbara threatened.
“Goodness! That’s fine!” Sophie smirked and ended the call.
Barbara began demanding money from Oliver, who had to fork over fifty thousand pounds each month.
“You’re going to pay off your debt in ten years at this rate!” his mother complained. “Either move into the house or increase those payments.”
Since Oliver couldn’t afford to increase his expenses, he agreed to his mother’s terms.
Sophie disapproved of this arrangement, leading to their separation six months later.
