“Are you saying we built this large house for nothing?” exclaimed Margaret, her mother-in-law. “Then you should return half the cost.”
“I need to talk to you seriously,” said the woman with short hair, sitting down across from Emily. “Before you marry my son, there are some things you need to understand.”
The petite blonde stared questioningly at her future relative, seeing her for only the third time in her life.
“Essentially, if you want to join our family, you must know that the most important people to Michael are his parents!” declared Antonia, puffing up with pride. “We don’t need a daughter-in-law who will boss my son around.”
“I’m not trying to boss him around,” Emily interrupted.
“Please let me finish! Have some patience,” the woman snapped.
Immediately, Emily lowered her gaze in embarrassment, blushing deeply. She didn’t want to upset Michael’s mother.
They had only recently started dating, and Emily felt it was vital not to disgrace herself.
“So, here’s the plan,” continued Antonia. “As soon as Michael gets married, we all move into the house that is nearly finished. We’ll be living together as one big happy family!”
“That’s wonderful!” Emily replied with a somewhat forced smile.
At her words, the woman raised an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn’t expected her future daughter-in-law to yield so quickly.
“I’m so glad you agree with us! I think we’re going to get along quite well,” Antonia winked slyly at Emily.
She then began to promote her to her son, praising how lovely, clever, and caring she was.
Sensing that some extra support wouldn’t hurt, Emily endeavored to please the woman even more. She brought her thoughtful little gifts, both for special occasions and just because.
A year later, worried that her son and Emily might not marry, Antonia began nudging Michael toward a significant decision.
“When are you going to propose?” she asked him nearly every day. “That girl won’t wait forever; she might leave, and then you’ll be regretting it…”
After some deliberation, convinced that she was right, Michael proposed to Emily, who joyfully accepted.
Michael’s parents covered the wedding expenses, and Emily felt reassured that she had chosen a suitable partner.
The first three months, the newlyweds lived in a rented flat, but soon Antonia excitedly announced that the house was ready for moving in.
“Right, gather your things, and we will gather ours!” she joyfully informed her son and daughter-in-law.
“Why? We’re happy here!” frowned Emily, who had no intention of living with her in-laws.
“What do you mean why?” Antonia was taken aback. “We agreed that once the house was built, we would move in!”
“Then go ahead, what’s stopping you?!” Emily scoffed haughtily, her attitude toward her mother-in-law suddenly shifted.
Antonia was so shocked by her declaration that she went silent for a few seconds.
“Wait a minute, you promised me,” the woman reminded her calmly.
“Who knows what I said back then? I’ve changed my mind, and I’m against living with you!” Emily replied sternly. “We will live separately! By the way, if you’re moving out, then Michael and I will move into your flat.”
“What? Not a chance!” Antonia gritted her teeth. “You fraud!” she added angrily before hanging up.
Emily listened to the busy signal for a couple of seconds in confusion before hanging up the phone.
As soon as she did, she heard Michael’s phone ringing in the kitchen.
She listened carefully and realized that Antonia was calling him to complain about her.
Half an hour later, when Michael finally finished the call, Emily entered the kitchen.
From her husband’s expression, she could tell he was upset and angry. Michael looked at his wife and asked sternly, “What’s going on?”
“What’s wrong?” Emily crossed her arms defiantly.
“Your mother called. She’s demanding money…”
“What? What money and for what?!” This revelation caught Emily off guard and left her somewhat shocked.
“For the house. What did you promise her before we were married?” Michael frowned. “To live in it together?”
“Nothing,” Emily decided to play dumb.
“You endorsed her plan for the house, didn’t you?” Michael asked firmly.
“And so what? At that moment, I thought it was fine, but now I don’t,” she replied, averting her gaze.
“Well, I never supported her plan either because I thought it was nonsense! The house stood for three years, but it was finished after we got married. It turns out that was because of you!” Michael clenched his teeth.
“Well, she finished it; so what? What’s the problem?!” Emily threw up her hands.
Before he could respond, Michael’s phone rang again. However, he made a clever move: he handed his phone to his wife, saying, “You handle it!”
As soon as Antonia heard her daughter-in-law’s voice, she launched into an attack.
“Return the money for the house!” she firmly declared.
“What money? Are you out of your mind?” Emily snapped irritably.
“So you’re saying we built the house for nothing because of you?!” Antonia complained. “Then you should return half the cost.”
“What half?!” Emily snarled through clenched teeth.
“Five million! You owe me five million!” Antonia shouted through the phone. “Otherwise…”
“What are you going to do? I didn’t sign any papers!” Emily retorted with glee.
“In that case, we’ll cut ties with you!” the mother-in-law threatened.
“Fine by me!” Emily smirked and hung up.
Antonia began demanding money from Michael, who had to pay her fifty thousand pounds every month.
“You’ll end up paying me back only after ten years at this rate!” Antonia complained. “Either move into the house or increase the amounts.”
As Michael couldn’t afford to raise the payments, he agreed to his mother’s demands.
Emily didn’t approve of this idea, so after six months, the couple ultimately separated.
