The words weren't particularly sharp, but Charlotte panicked anyway.
Without a second thought, she snatched the ashtray off the table and hurled it straight at me.
I'd been expecting something like this, though, so I sidestepped just in time. The ashtray smashed into the hardwood floor, leaving a dent in the surface. I didn't need much imagination to picture what my skull would've looked like if I hadn't moved.
Adam was caught between two fires, and he knew it.
He was my son.
He could tell I was genuinely furious this time.
So he rushed over and grabbed Charlotte by the arm.
"Charlotte, calm down. She's still your elder."
Charlotte didn't calm down. If anything, the filth pouring out of her mouth got worse.
Adam turned to me.
"Mom, can you just stop talking for once? This whole thing is your fault to begin with."
"We changed the WiFi because we felt like it. You're the one who had to go and ask about it. You brought this on yourself."
I almost laughed.
But I didn't bother arguing.
"Sure. It's your freedom to change it."
"And it's my freedom to take back the house."
"When I feed a dog, at least it wags its tail. You two can't even manage that."
Charlotte couldn't break free of Adam's grip, so she swept all the fruit I'd brought off the table and onto the floor in one furious swipe.
"Who wants fruit from a dried-up old hag like you?"
"Adam is your only son. Everything you and Dad own is going to be his anyway. What's a basket of fruit? What are your little gifts supposed to mean?"
"If you really cared, you'd max out the limit on our supplementary credit card!"
"Acting like we wouldn't know how to spend money if we had it."
"I'm giving you ten minutes. Get out of this house. Stop being so shameless and learn your place!"
I truly didn't understand.
Where exactly had I been shameless? Where had I failed to know my place?
But I had no interest in arguing. I picked up my phone and called building management.
"I've got two ungrateful parasites in my home. Bring some people up here and clear them out."
Charlotte watched me make the call without a flicker of concern.
She marched into the bedroom, came back with a marriage certificate, and flung it in Adam's face.
"Listen to me."
"I married into this family to live the good life. You told me yourself that once I married in, every day would be easy and I'd have the final say in everything. I didn't sign up to be some doormat daughter-in-law."
"So here are your two options."
"One, divorce me. We go our separate ways, and you find yourself some pushover to be your wife."
"Two, put this old hag in her place and make her understand who the most important woman in this family really is."
I listened to every word.
I almost thought I'd stepped into some period drama.
The most important woman in the family? What did she think she was, lady of the manor?
But Adam, lovesick fool that he was, ate it right up.
He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"Mom, do you actually want me to be happy or not?"
"Fine, I was wrong today, okay? Just go. I'll fix the WiFi. And maybe don't come over for a while. Let everyone cool off. Alright?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Are you deaf, or just stupid?"
"I'm not here to figure out who's right and who's wrong. I'm telling you both to get out of my house."
When he saw that neither begging nor bargaining would work, Adam's temper flared.
"What is your problem?"
"Dad was an orphan. After you married him, you never had to deal with a mother-in-law for a single day. So why are you turning around and playing the wicked one with me?"
