Ulric had always been a devoted son, so when he heard those words, all sleep vanished from him. “Mom, what’s wrong? Have you seen a doctor?”
On the other end of the line, his mother was crying uncontrollably. Ulric, now clearly flustered, urged, “Mom, tell me, what happened? Can you explain it properly?”
I immediately got up, thinking something serious had happened.
Through her sobs, Sanvnnah struggled to speak, and it wasn’t until Ulric’s persistent questioning that she finally admitted the truth.
She mentioned that, as she was getting older, she no longer trusted the doctors in their small town. She had been wanting to come see a doctor in the city where Ulric lived. It had become somewhat of a wish for her.
The phone was on speaker, so I could tell what Sanvnnah was really saying. It seemed like seeking medical attention was just an excuse—she simply wanted to visit Ulric.
Ulric turned to me, his eyes pleading silently.
After a long pause, Sanvnnah spoke again, her voice trembling. “I know, as I get older, people start to dislike me…”
Upon hearing that, Ulric’s voice grew urgent. “Mom, don’t say that.”
I stifled a yawn, finally understanding Sanvnnah’s true intentions. I gently patted Ulric's hand and said, “Why don’t we bring her over here? Let her see a doctor in the city. It’ll help put her mind at ease.”
At my suggestion, Ulric visibly relaxed. He hung up the phone and kept thanking me, praising my thoughtfulness. He said it wasn’t easy for Sanvnnah to be alone at home.
I understood completely and reassured him that it was nothing to worry about, urging him to get some rest since he had work the next day.
But that phone call had left both of us restless that night. Ulric was worried, and maybe I had a feeling something wasn’t right, because by morning, we both had dark circles under our eyes.
Looking back, everything changed after that moment.
Sanvnnah arrived on the morning of the third day. Ulric had an important meeting, so I took the day off to pick her up.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Sanvnnah’s attitude grew cold the moment she saw me at the airport. I explained that Ulric was busy with work, but she simply smiled faintly and said, “My son is so driven.”
Once we got her back home, the housekeeper had prepared lunch.
The meal I had cooked was barely edible. Before our marriage, Ulric had promised me that we’d have a housekeeper, so I wouldn’t be stuck in the kitchen all day.
However, the moment Sanvnnah laid eyes on the housekeeper, her expression soured. She pulled me aside. “Is this the housekeeper you hired?”
I nodded, but before I could explain further, I was bombarded with criticism.
She accused me of not understanding hardship, of wasting money on a housekeeper, and how it was a show of wealth.
I tried explaining that the housekeeper only came three times a week to clean and occasionally helped with cooking, but she wouldn’t hear it.
She seemed genuinely hurt, as if I had betrayed her in some way.
I managed to persuade her to sit at the table, but once she started eating, she complained about the blandness of the food and how it didn’t suit her taste.
In front of the housekeeper, she scolded me for a long time, and after the meal, the housekeeper refused to work anymore.
I could only apologize to her and then cleaned up the dishes myself.
That evening, Ulric got off work early. He had planned to take Sanvnnah out for dinner, the three of us together.
But once we got home, Sanvnnah refused to go out, insisting it was too wasteful and that we should eat at home instead.
In the end, we couldn’t argue with her. We made do with what we had at home, and after some effort, Ulric and I managed to prepare the meal.
Sanvnnah wasn’t satisfied again. She complained about Ulric working so hard, only to come home and cook.
Ulric kept giving me pleading looks, but I could only pretend not to hear them.
