Dad had tried to reassure me. She was my mom, after all. No matter what, during moments like these, surely she had my best interests at heart.
When we arrived at my parents' house, Mom greeted Louis quite warmly. I felt slightly relieved.
I thought Dad could have been right. When it came to moments that mattered, Mom really could be different.
But then, she spent the entire afternoon talking badly about me to Louis.
"Look, this is what Yvonne looked like in high school. She was so freckly and chubby. So tall, too. When she stands, she just towers over everyone else awkwardly."
Mom held up my high school class photo for Louis to see. At that time, I had gained quite a lot of weight due to academic stress. I'd even been bullied for my appearance.
Mom knew all that, yet she chose to turn it into a joke regardless.
Fighting back tears, I managed to say, "At that time, the workload was impossible to finish. After dinner, I'd go straight to my room to do my homework, and I wouldn't sleep until at least one or two in the morning. The doctor said my weight gain had been due to a hormonal imbalance."
Mom shot me a disapproving glance. "That's enough of that. You make it sound like you were some kind of top student."
She then turned to Louis and said, "You probably don't know this, but Yvonne was actually terrible at school. Did you know she almost got expelled from college?"
My voice cracked under the weight of pent-up emotions.
"All I did was fail one class. I passed my make-up exam the next semester."
This time, Mom did not respond. Instead, she continued rattling off more unflattering stories from my past. Dad tried to get her to stop several times, but to no avail.
For the rest of the afternoon, every time Louis showed the slightest hint of curiosity, Mom would launch into another one of my embarrassing stories.
I barely remembered some of the things she said, but no matter how much I questioned her and protested, she just kept on talking.
I spent the entire afternoon tense and restless, my nerves stretched taut.
By the time I walked Louis out to the parking lot, I was mentally preparing myself for him to break up with me.
However, as I turned to leave, Louis took my hand and said, "No matter what your mom says, I'll only believe what I see.
"Our wedding will go ahead as planned. Don't you dare think about leaving me."
My eyes stung with unexpected tears. This was the first time anyone had chosen to believe me despite my mother's words.
…
After the disastrous Christmas dinner, Louis noticed my lingering gloom and suggested that we go on a road trip for a few days.
We chose to go to a nearby small town.
The festive atmosphere here felt much richer. The food was also wonderfully fresh. Louis and I had a great time.
Two days before the end of the holiday break, I received a call from a distant relative.
"Yvonne, where are you right now?"
"Out," I replied.
"Wait, did you really go into hiding?"
I was utterly confused. "Why would I be hiding?"
Her voice grew anxious upon hearing my question. "Yvonne, you can stop hiding things from us now. You could have just told us you lost your job.
"We're family. We would have pitched in to tide you over. Why did you even take out an online loan?
"Look where that's gotten you now. It's Christmas and you're out there hiding from your creditors, unable to come home."
I almost fell over. I scrambled to explain, even sending screenshots of my employee ID from my work software to prove that I, in fact, did still have a job and had never taken any online loans.
She believed me reluctantly after reviewing everything I'd sent. Still, she urged me to call my mom.
My blood boiled upon hearing this.
Sure enough, Mom had been the one who'd spread this ridiculous rumor about me.
Before I could confront her, Mom called me herself.
"Do you have any idea how much you've embarrassed me? Why did you tell your aunt you're still working? That makes me sound like I've been spreading nonsense to everyone!"
I laughed coldly while clutching my phone. "Is that not what you've been doing, though?"
"They were the ones who asked me where you are! I didn't know, so I just said something random. I didn't think they'd actually believe me.
"Either way, can you blame me? I can't control what others think."
Listening to her righteous yet evasive excuses, I sighed deeply.
Of course, she was far from done. "Look, the economy's terrible right now. Who knows? You might actually lose your job one day."
