My motherinlaw suggested that we move into her house and rent out our flat. With almost no alternative, we agreed. As long as my husband was home, everyone was pleasant, but the moment he left the atmosphere shifted. I was immediately put in my place and wasnt even allowed near the refrigerator.
I often broke down in tears in front of my husband, trying to explain what was happening, yet he refused to believe me. He insisted his mother and sister would never act that way, especially when I told him they had smeared a sticky substance on my hairbrush. I cant say how long I would have lasted if that pivotal incident hadnt occurred.
Usually we left together in the morninghim to work, me to drop the children at kindergarten. That particular morning Paul felt ill and decided to stay home. I went out to run a few errands, and when I returned I ran straight into Marc, Claires boyfriend, in the entrance.
Hey, you, go fetch a beer right now!
Are you crazy? I asked, shocked.
What, you didnt get it? I said quickly! Do I have to repeat it?
My motherinlaw stepped out of the kitchen:
Thats it! Let her do something useful, that goodfornothing! And she should take out the trash too!
At that instant the bedroom door swung open and Paul appeared. A heavy silence fell over the room. My motherinlaw fled back to the kitchen, while my husband moved toward Marc, grabbed him by the collar and hurled him down the stairs, shouting that he must never set foot in the house again.
Claire tried to say something but only shrugged. My motherinlaw attempted to spark a quarrel, but Paul cut her off before she could finish. He immediately called the tenants and told them this would be their last month in our flat. Then he turned to his mother and sister and declared firmly:
**If, before the month ends, you utter even a single insulting word about my wife, consider that you have no son.**
A month later we moved back into our own flat, but the nightmare lingered for a long time. My motherinlaw and fatherinlaw disowned Paul, which didnt affect him at all; he even said he never wanted to see or hear of them again.
