After Layla inherits, her prospective mother-in-law sees dollar signs and gives her a list of gifts she \u201cowes\u201d the family. Layla has a lesson to impart. She gives them a lasting gift as betrayal and love shatter.
\nMy relationship with Jake was ideal.<\/p>\n
Until his mother revealed herself.<\/p>\n
After three years together, Jake proposed, and I was overjoyed. Our tiny life was lovely. We had a cozy apartment, an unshakable love, Cami the cat, and hopes of building something amazing.<\/p>\n
Then my granny died.<\/p>\n
It broke hearts.<\/p>\n
Grandmother was all I aspired to be as an adult. She essentially reared me, thus her loss hurt. But she always said she wanted to take care of me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLayla, my child,\u201d she said. Among my grandchildren, you\u2019re my favorite. You were my mini-me from birth. My girl, I\u2019ll always care for you. Even when I die.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she did.<\/p>\n
She left me $500,000.<\/p>\n
It surprised me. Of course not. I was unprepared.<\/p>\n
I had no idea what to do with that money. When Denise, my future mother-in-law, learned?<\/p>\n
She suddenly had many ideas. Not one involved me.<\/p>\n
It happened a week after Jake notified his family about my inheritance.<\/p>\n
Denise drew me aside during Sunday dinner at his parents\u2019 house with her usual lovely but calculating smile.<\/p>\n
I have something for you, dear. I realize your grandmother\u2019s death has been hard. Now is the time to move on. Layla, the sun shines,\u201d she cooed, handing me an envelope.<\/p>\n
I grinned, expecting a touching letter or family heirloom. A sentimental thing.<\/p>\n
Instead?<\/p>\n
It was list.<\/p>\n
No ordinary list. Demand list.<\/p>\n
Gifts I was Jake\u2019s fianc\u00e9e and expected to buy. Before I could be \u201cfully accepted\u201d by their family.<\/p>\n
Each ridiculous request made my stomach twist as I perused the page.<\/p>\n
A $10,000 Cartier bracelet: to show my love for my mother-in-law.<\/p>\n
Jake\u2019s younger sister gets a new automobile because \u201cfamily supports each other, and you know, Elena needs a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake\u2019s parents received a $20,000 loan to refurbish their kitchen before our wedding.<\/p>\n
Rolex for my father-in-law.<\/p>\n
A 10-person, fully-paid family vacation. Includes first-class flights.<\/p>\n
A $2,000 monthly \u201cfamily contribution\u201d to indicate I was \u201ccommitted to the well-being of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
My face burned.<\/p>\n
I laughed hesitantly as Denise cut the pecan pie for dinner. Elena scooped ice cream. Jake refilled the wine. My father-in-law searched for a toothpick.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re kidding, right? Just a gigantic prank?<\/p>\n
Denise inclined her head, smiling steadily.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, honey. You should expect this. You\u2019re marrying into this family, and we care for each other. Glad you got this chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucky?<\/p>\n
My granny died. This woman was acting like I won the lottery?<\/p>\n
What the hell happened?<\/p>\n
Her words sealed her doom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you love my son, do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
No argument. My temper didn\u2019t flare.<\/p>\n
I tried my hardest to smile sweetly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Denise,\u201d I exclaimed. \u201cTotally understand. You\u2019re right. Families care for families. Love to do this. For you and everyone. I might even give Jake gold cufflinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes sparkled with greed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you\u2019d understand, sweetheart,\u201d she added. Slice of pie, Layla. Enjoy!\u201d<\/p>\n
I took the pie, and we sat silently. Denise mentioned car models Elena could like. She promised to mail me bracelet links.<\/p>\n
I smiled the whole time.<\/p>\n
Later that night, I sat across from Jake in our tiny apartment with the envelope on the coffee table like a loaded g.u.n. Warm and content, Cami slept on the carpet.<\/p>\n
I accepted Denise\u2019s insane list. Smiled. Nodded. Acting as if everything made sense. But inside?<\/p>\n
I raged inside.<\/p>\n
And hurt.<\/p>\n
Since my granny, family, died. I was meant to mourn, honor, and learn to live without her.<\/p>\n
Instead, I sat with a demand list like I had won the lottery and not lost the last unconditional lover.<\/p>\n
Wanted to weep.<\/p>\n
Because of the list and because it proved something I didn\u2019t want to confess.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t consider me family.<\/p>\n
Not really.<\/p>\n
Because if they did, they wouldn\u2019t exploit my loss. They wouldn\u2019t profit from my suffering.<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, touching my temples.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said yes,\u201d I said hollowly. \u201cI promised your mom. You ate pie while sitting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake looked surprised and blinked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. That\u2019s good, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it?\u201d I laughed bitterly, breathlessly.<\/p>\n
Babe, you know my mom. He scowled, \u201cIt\u2019s mostly a gesture.<\/p>\n
I lifted my eyes to him. The gesture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what she called it too,\u201d I whispered. A show of my suitability for marriage. To indicate I value \u2018family\u2019. A gesture worth over a hundred grand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake moaned and rubbed his neck like I was frustrating. Like I was the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook,\u201d he replied calmly, infuriatingly. \u201cShe didn\u2019t mean it negatively. It\u2019s just\u2026 Your unexpected wealth is causing my parents to struggle.<\/p>\n
I recoiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not struggling, Jake,\u201d I said. Do you think I don\u2019t get nauseous thinking about where this money came from? That I wouldn\u2019t give up everything for one more day with my grandmother?<\/p>\n
Jake was decent enough to seem uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
I persisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your family had treated me like a daughter, I would have helped them. I would have spent my inheritance on important things. Dreaming of a kitchen renovation is easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake gazed at the ceiling.<\/p>\n
But Jake, it didn\u2019t happen. Your mother didn\u2019t love me. She brought a list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake inhaled and shook his head.<\/p>\n
Baby, you\u2019re overthinking. Simply old-fashioned. She wants to know you\u2019re family-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him, my grief and wrath merging into something sharp.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019re right. I overthink it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee?\u201d he breathed happily. \u201cNo big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Going to bed. Feed Cami fresh water in her bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n
I planned in my brain. In case this family requested a gesture, I would.<\/p>\n
The following days were spent preparing.<\/p>\n
Next Sunday, I brought gifts to Denise\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
She glowed with delight. She clapped like a child on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
One by one, I distributed boxes or gift bags.<\/p>\n
To her? A Cartier box.<\/p>\n
A plastic bracelet from the dollar shop was found inside, shocking her.<\/p>\n
To Elena? A toy car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought this was more your speed, Elena,\u201d I remarked pleasantly.<\/p>\n
Father-in-law? A false watch.<\/p>\n
For family vacation? Family bus tour booklet for a cheap city tour.<\/p>\n
And that $20,000 loan? A Monopoly \u201cbank loan\u201d card.<\/p>\n
Denise smiled no more.<\/p>\n
She snaps, \u201cWhat the hell is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nonchalantly batted my eyes.<\/p>\n
Symbolic gifts were my first thinking. Just a sign that I care about the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face reddened.<\/p>\n
This is not humorous. Not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Denise. I don\u2019t like how you make me feel like an outsider who must pay to join your family. I joined this family three years ago. You\u2019re treating me like a stranger!\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, Jake said.<\/p>\n
Baby, you\u2019re overreacting again! He sighed.<\/p>\n
I said \u201cNo, Jake.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not. Your mother pressured me to give them my inheritance. You didn\u2019t shut it down when it happened? Or when we discussed it at home? That tells me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I breathed deeply and dropped the last b.o.mb.<\/p>\n
Jake, don\u2019t worry about our engagement. Consider canceled. Cancel us. No more.\u201d<\/p>\n
People gasped.<\/p>\n
Denise appeared faint.<\/p>\n
Jake? Shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, what?!\u201d he gasped, waking up.<\/p>\n
I removed my engagement ring and placed it on the table.<\/p>\n
Jake, get someone else to fund your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then what? I left.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t weep.<\/p>\n
I considered it. Perhaps after three years of love, making a life, and saying yes to forever\u2026 That I\u2019d feel more than this peaceful numbness.<\/p>\n
But no. I felt exhausted.<\/p>\n
I heard the key turn in the door with half the boxes packed. I didn\u2019t glance up as Jake entered.<\/p>\n
Seeing the apartment froze him.<\/p>\n
His clothes, shoes, and gaming console were neatly packed into boxes I acquired from a garage sale on my way home.<\/p>\n
\u201cLayla,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
I folded another of his shirts, placed it on top, and closed the box flaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re back earlier than expected,\u201d I said. Denise didn\u2019t want you for dinner? She mentioned roast steak and potatoes before giving them their gifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2026what is this?\u201d yelling at the boxes, he was in complete terror. \u201cAre you\u2026?\u201d Are you evicting me?<\/p>\n
I finally looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cLayla, let\u2019s discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did talk, Jake,\u201d I groaned. I detailed what your mother did. I confessed my pain. You ignored it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t dismiss it! I believed we could go on. For a while, you may not attend family dinners. but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Really laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought I could forget your mother tried to extort me? That she profited from my suffering?<\/p>\n
He clutched his sides.<\/p>\n
OK, she got carried away. We don\u2019t have to toss anything out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inhaled deeply.<\/p>\n
Jake, stop talking. Loved you. Really did. But when you let your mother treat me like an ATM without defending me? That\u2019s when I realized I liked our dream more than our reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, Layla, stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was over.<\/p>\n
I pushed the last package into his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrash at mom\u2019s. Cami will stay with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recoiled.<\/p>\n
Jake ruined my phone for weeks. Apologies. Excuses. Pleading.<\/p>\n
His final message?<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom got carried away, but we can move on. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t reply.<\/p>\n
What about Denise? She attempted smearing me online. She labeled me a gold digger, etc.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t care. I didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
I bought myself a gorgeous mansion with my wealth that my hungry in-laws would never enter.<\/p>\n
I made the best investment ever.<\/p>\n
Inspired by true events and people, this work is fictionalized for creativity. To preserve privacy and enrich the story, names, characters, and facts were changed. The author does not imply any resemblance to real people, events, or places.<\/p>\n
From barabola.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After Layla inherits, her prospective mother-in-law sees dollar signs and gives her a list of gifts she \u201cowes\u201d the family. Layla has a lesson to impart. She gives them a lasting gift as betrayal and love shatter. My relationship with Jake was ideal. Until his mother revealed herself. After three years together, Jake proposed, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28608,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28607\/revisions\/28608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}