My future mother-in-law was always trying to control me.
At our engagement party, she pressured me to sign a contract guaranteeing I'd have a son.
My dad and I flipped the table.
I snapped, "Who's giving birth to a son? Who's guaranteeing it? Well, guess what? This wedding is off!"
After the breakup, I won 30 million dollars in the lottery, and our house was up for redevelopment.
Turned out, that dumping my ex could bring me good luck.
*****
The day before the engagement party, Erasmo Page told me his parents wanted to meet with me alone, and he specifically said I didn't need to bring my parents.
I was a bit puzzled, but I still went.
"Madeline, eat more celery. It's good for your health," said Erasmo's mother, Emma Page.
She picked up a piece of celery in my plate.
I frowned because she didn't use the serving kitchenware, and it seemed like she was trying to make a point.
I thought about it. Since she was an elder, it wouldn't be good to embarrass her.
I said, "Emma, I'll eat the celery, but it doesn't look like it's doing much.
"Erasmo, you should have more of it."
I ignored Emma's sour expression and piled a bunch of celery into Erasmo's plate.
Emma grabbed my hand.
She said earnestly, "Erasmo has never done housework. Madeline, you'll have to work hard from now on."
I smiled slightly.
I said, "Emma, no one is born knowing how to do housework. Don't worry, Erasmo is smart. He'll learn quickly."
Seeing that I wasn't playing along, she was furious.
I realized then that she was trying to test me. No wonder she didn't want my parents there. She wanted to see how much I would put up with.
I loved Erasmo, so as long as he treated me well, it would be fine.
Thus, I turned a blind eye to her odd behavior.
But just when things seemed to settle down, she started up again.
