My mother-in-law is trying to tear my marriage apart. The saddest part is, my husband refuses to believe me.
When I first got married, I was the happiest woman in England. My husband was utterly wonderful; he respected me, and was always ready to lend a hand. Only my mother-in-law cast the faintest cloud over my joy. The moment I met her, I could see that she wasn’t particularly sharp.
She adored all things homely and insisted on having things her way. I soon realized that if we ever moved in with her, she’d smother me. So, we chose to let a little flat of our own in the outskirts of Cambridge.
Then, all at once, my father passed awayhe’d been fighting cancer. Suddenly I had a rambling old cottage in the countryside. My husband and I decided we’d leave the city and live out there instead. I’d always been fond of the land, and often dreamt of tending a sprawling garden. My husband seemed just as keen.
We’d barely settled into our new life when, out of the blue, my mother-in-law arrived. She announced that it was only right the house belonged to her. Calm as you please, she offered us a poky one-room bedsit in town in exchange for the whole cottage. Of course I refused. She flew off the handle, made a scene, and stormed out.
Before I knew it, my husband rang, asking why I’d treated his mother so badlyapparently I’d been shouting at her! It turned out she’d spun a web of nonsense about me. Now I lie in bed, caught half-awake, half-asleep, with wallpaper foxes running circles ’round my room, not knowing what steps to take or what words to speak to convince him of the truth.
