Ethan and I had just celebrated our wedding a few days ago. We hadn’t even gotten the marriage certificate yet, when his mom showed up with his pregnant sister and nephew, announcing they would stay at my house until the baby was born. I told Ethan to send them away, but instead, he and his mom locked me in my own room. I had just gotten out of bed and opened my bedroom door when I saw Dolores Cole, my future mother-in-law, sitting comfortably in the living room, smiling at me with a look of amusement. “Abby, not to be critical, but Ethan’s been gone at work for hours, and you’re just now waking up?” she said, her eyebrows slightly raised. “As a woman, you should learn to take better care of your husband. I noticed he left the house with just a piece of toast this morning. That’s no way for a man to keep his health. You should at least be getting up early to make him some proper breakfast, like a bowl of oatmeal or something.” I was already in a bad mood from waking up, and now she was giving me a lecture before I could even ask why she had come over so early in the first place. She just kept going without pause. But since we had just had the wedding, I reminded myself to be polite and keep things cordial. So, I swallowed my irritation and asked, “Dolores, is there something urgent that brought you here this morning?” She waved her hand dismissively and said with a smile, “Oh, nothing too serious. It’s just that Tiffany is pregnant, and I thought it would be better for her to stay here with you. It’s easier to take care of her here, and the hospital is closer.” Tiffany Cole, my sister-in-law, is three years younger than me, but she got married young and already has two kids — a three-year-old and another one on the way. Before I could fully process this, Tiffany waddled out of the guest room, leading her three-year-old son, Brayden, by the hand. “Good morning, Abby! Your house is really nice. The guest room is so big, it could fit all three of us comfortably!” she said with a grin. Great. Ethan and I had only just had the wedding, and now his whole family was moving in, trying to take over my house. “Shouldn’t you be resting at your own home, Tiffany?” I asked, trying to stay calm. “Isn’t your place closer to the hospital?” At this, Tiffany’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she glanced nervously at her mother. Dolores quickly jumped in to explain, “Her in-laws are out of town, so there’s no one at home to help out. We didn’t want to bother them. And besides, you and Ethan are both so busy with work, we thought we could help out around the house. We’re family, after all. What’s a few extra plates at the table?” Something about the way they were rushing to explain didn’t sit right with me. But I figured this was Ethan’s family’s problem to deal with, so I decided to let him handle it. Without another word, I retreated to my room and called Ethan. No answer. I sent him a text message, and after what felt like forever, he finally responded with, “I’m in a meeting. We’ll talk about it when I get home.” Not wanting to deal with his family any longer, I threw my phone down and locked my door, intending to focus on my work. But as soon as I sat down and opened my laptop, the blaring sound of the TV echoed through the house. The volume was at least twice what it should have been, and on top of that, I could hear Dolores and Tiffany laughing and chatting while they snacked. Then there was Brayden, running and jumping around the living room, making an absolute racket. The noise was giving me a pounding headache. I was just about to go out and ask them to keep it down when the doorbell rang.
It was Carter Hughes, the neighbor from downstairs, coming to complain. He had moved in recently, and I had borrowed his cart a couple of times to help carry packages. He seemed a little surprised when Dolores answered the door, but politely asked her to keep the noise down. To my shock, Dolores snapped, “This is my son’s house! We’ll do whatever we want. Who do you think you are to tell us otherwise?” Carter didn’t back down. “It might be your son’s house, but this building is shared by everyone. If you’re disturbing your neighbors, that’s your problem.” “If you think I’m in the wrong, why don’t you call the cops? Let’s see if they care about your petty complaints,” she shot back. “We can do whatever we want in our own home. Who are you to say otherwise?” The more I listened, the angrier I got. Not only had they moved into my home without asking, but now they were acting like they owned the place. And on top of that, this house wasn’t even Ethan’s — it was a wedding gift from my parents! I couldn’t take it anymore. If they got into a fight with the neighbors, it would be me who had to live with the awkwardness. So I stormed out of my room. Dolores immediately plastered on a sweet smile and pulled me toward Carter, claiming he was being rude and unreasonable. Carter, shaking his head in frustration, explained, “I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t sleep well last night, and I finally managed to take a nap when all that noise started. I was hoping you could keep it down, especially with the kid running around.” I opened my mouth to apologize, but Dolores yanked me back. “Seriously? You young people stay up all night and then expect the world to tiptoe around you during the day. You’re the one causing problems and blaming others,” she said, her voice full of disdain. “You think we should all rearrange our lives around your nap schedule? It’s the middle of the day! And what, should we stop a growing child from playing just so you can get some sleep? What’s he supposed to do, not grow taller because of you?” Carter’s face was turning darker with every word she said, and even I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I stepped forward to try and defuse the situation, but once again, Dolores pushed me aside and continued, “Look at you — grown man, no respect for your elders or the young. Did your parents raise you like this?” She had crossed the line, bringing his family into it. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I moved in to intervene, but Dolores gave me another shove. I staggered back a few steps before dramatically collapsing to the floor with a loud “thud.” And suddenly, the whole world went quiet.
Dolores, wide-eyed and clearly shaken, started waving her hands frantically. “I didn’t touch her! She fell on her own!” Technically, she was right. I had fallen on my own, but I wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easily. Dolores stayed frozen at the door, too scared to come near me. Carter was the first to step in, crouching beside me and pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to revive me. When I didn’t respond, he rolled up his sleeves and made a show of preparing to give me CPR. I opened one eye and winked at him. He got the hint and pressed on my chest a couple of times, just for effect. I gasped dramatically and “woke up” as if I had narrowly avoided some terrible fate. Dolores’ face changed in an instant. She grabbed Carter’s hand and thanked him profusely. Carter took the opportunity to say, “She might be fine now, but it’s possible she hit her head. She should probably rest quietly for a few days, just to be safe.” He emphasized the words “rest quietly.” Dolores nodded quickly. She might have been running her mouth earlier, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew she had pushed me, and now she wanted to avoid making things worse. She even asked me not to tell Ethan what had happened. Since I wasn’t really hurt, I agreed. Our little performance worked, and they finally quieted down for the rest of the day. But they still didn’t show any signs of leaving. I had no choice but to wait for Ethan to come home and deal with the situation.
The moment I heard the noise outside, I knew Ethan was back. I pulled him into our bedroom and told him flat-out: “You need to find them somewhere else to stay. I don’t care where, but they can’t stay here.” But instead of agreeing, Ethan took my hand and said softly, “My mom is getting older, and Tiffany is pregnant, with a little kid. We can’t just throw them out onto the street, can we? Just give it a little time. If you don’t want to see them, we can stay in our room. I’ll find them a place soon, I promise.” The more he spoke, the more I realized something was off. Why wasn’t Tiffany’s husband taking care of her? And why hadn’t Ethan even mentioned they were coming over in the first place? I snapped, “I don’t care! This house was a gift from my mom. Why should I be the one hiding in my own room? You’re my husband because I love you, but if you’re going to take their side and not care about how I feel, then maybe we don’t need to get that marriage certificate after all. You can move out with them.” Seeing me so upset, Ethan pulled me into a hug and started apologizing, his voice gentle. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll fix this. We’ve been together for eight years — we can’t let something small like this come between us, right?” “And besides, we’ve already had the wedding. We just need the certificate. If we call things off now, how will we explain it to our friends and family?” I pushed him away. “I don’t owe anyone an explanation about my marriage. You decide. If your mom and sister are still here tomorrow, you can pack your bags and leave with them.” Before we got married, I had made it very clear to him that each of us would be responsible for our own parents. I never believed in the idea that marrying into a family meant becoming part of that family. I was looking for a partner to walk through life with, not to take on the burden of an entire household. If this situation could be solved, fine. But if not, I wasn’t about to sacrifice my boundaries for his family. Ethan, realizing how serious I was, finally agreed. He stroked my hair and said, “Okay, okay, don’t be mad. I’ll talk to them and make sure they’re gone by tomorrow, okay?” I saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded. “Make sure they understand they can stay in a hotel for a few days. I’ll even help pay for it if we need to.” Ethan smiled, leaning down to kiss my forehead. “I know you’re doing this for us,” he said softly. “Good. I’m glad you understand,” I replied, lightly punching his chest. Ethan chuckled and left the room. Feeling curious, I quietly followed him and pressed my ear to the door to eavesdrop. But strangely enough, after several minutes, there was no sound at all. Even with the good soundproofing, I should’ve heard something. So I decided to crack the door open just a bit to get a better listen. But when I tried to turn the handle, it wouldn’t budge. Ethan had locked me in.
Ethan had locked me in the bedroom. The moment I realized what had happened, I didn’t even bother to think about why he would do such a thing. Instead, I pounded on the door with both fists. “Ethan! What the hell are you doing locking me in here?” “I didn’t ask you to kick your mom out onto the street! If you can’t afford to put them in a hotel, I’ll pay for it! What are you trying to pull here?” It sounded like Ethan was leaning against the door, because as soon as I finished speaking, I heard his voice, clear as day. “Abby, I’m sorry. I didn’t have any other choice.” “My dad got into trouble with some gambling debts. He had to mortgage the house, and now the debt collectors are after us. Tiffany’s in-laws kicked her out to avoid getting mixed up in it, too.” “I can’t just let my mom and my sister hide from debt collectors while I stay here living comfortably with you.” For a moment, I was speechless, stunned by the revelation. Suddenly, all their strange behavior made sense. But locking me in my room wasn’t going to solve the problem. So, I forced myself to stay calm and reason with him. “Ethan, your dad’s debt is his responsibility. If the debt collectors come to the door, we can call the police.” “If the amount isn’t too big, I can even help out. We can figure it out together. But locking me in this room isn’t going to fix anything.” There was silence from the other side of the door, but I could hear him breathing. “Open the door, Ethan. Let’s sit down and talk about how to handle this.” “You know I’m not the kind of person who would leave you to deal with this alone, right?” Normally, Ethan was smart enough to see reason by now. But what I forgot was that he had a mother who was anything but reasonable.
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