Alice froze when she heard her mother-in-law’s words. Her fingers loosened of their own accord, and the tray crashed onto the veranda floor with a deafening clatter. Shards of glass scattered in every direction.
George and Victoria Howard turned sharply. Fear flickered briefly across the older woman’s face before settling into feigned concern.
“Darling!” she exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “Have you cut yourself? Let me help!”
“Stay away from me,” Alice said, raising a hand. “I heard everything.”
She turned her blazing gaze to her husband. George sat with slumped shoulders, his head bowed, fingers nervously twisting the edge of the tablecloth.
“George,” Alice’s voice trembled with strain. “Do you have anything to say?”
“Alice, you misunderstood!” Victoria babbled. “We were only discussing—”
“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Alice cut her off sharply. “George?”
A heavy silence settled over them.
“Son,” Victoria tried again, stepping closer and resting a hand on George’s shoulder. “You wouldn’t abandon your own mother, would you?”
George lifted his head slowly. His eyes met Alice’s—what she saw there was pain and deep shame.
“Mum,” he said quietly, but firmly. “I love you. You’re my mother, and I’ll always care for you.”
Victoria smiled triumphantly, casting a gloating glance at her daughter-in-law. But George rose and continued:
“But I love Alice more. And I won’t do anything to hurt her.”
The smile slid from Victoria’s face.
“What are you saying, son?” she whispered.
“I’m saying it’s time for you to pack your things and leave,” George said steadily. “And not return until you’ve apologised to Alice and understood that nothing matters more than the family I’ve made.”
“Family?!” Victoria’s eyes widened in fury. “And what am I, then? The woman who bore you and raised you?”
“Mum,” George shook his head. “You tried to make me deceive my own wife and take away her home. This isn’t the first time you’ve tried to manipulate me.”
“She’s the one who’s changed you!” Victoria shrieked, jabbing a finger at Alice. “Turned my son against me! May you be damned!”
“Enough,” George raised his voice, and his mother fell silent. “I won’t hear another word. Apologise, or leave now.”
Her lips trembled.
“You’re choosing her?” she hissed. “Throwing your own mother onto the street?”
“You have a home of your own, Mum,” George said wearily. “And I’ll still support you, as I always have. But you’re not welcome here.”
With a sob, Victoria stormed into the house, and soon the slam of the door echoed through the air. Alice and George stood alone on the veranda amid the shattered glass.
“Forgive me,” George whispered, stepping toward his wife. “I should never have stayed silent. Should never have listened to her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alice asked softly. “You’ve been distant for days.”
“She wanted me to persuade you to sell the house,” George admitted. “Said she was lonely, that the place was too big for just the two of us. I didn’t know how to bring it up. Then she arrived and began pressing—saying if you refused, we had to act… one way or another.”
“You truly chose me over her?” Alice turned to face him.
“I love her,” George said simply. “But what she suggested wasn’t love—it was selfishness. I won’t be part of that.”
Alice stepped into his arms and let him hold her.
By morning, Victoria had left without a word. But peace did not return—the endless phone calls began.
“Mum, I won’t change my mind,” George repeated firmly. “I’m not abandoning you. But I won’t abandon Alice either.”
Gradually, the calls dwindled. George remained steadfast.
One evening, as he and Alice sipped tea on the veranda, he smiled—for the first time in what felt like ages, warm and unburdened.
“You know,” he said, looking at his wife, “I think we made it through.”
Alice nodded, squeezing his hand. The house was becoming their sanctuary once more.
