My Mother-in-Law Charged My Mom Rent,So I Demolished Her HouseChapter 1
The day I gave birth, my mother rode eighteen hours on a hard-seat train from our hometown just to take care of me during postpartum recovery.
In one month, she lost ten pounds from exhaustion alone.
The moment my recovery ended, my mother-in-law walked through the door wheeling a suitcase behind her.
"Mrs. Henson, Prudence Henson is done with her postpartum recovery now, so it's time for you to head home. I'll be moving back in."
"Oh, and by the way, you stayed in my house for thirty days. That's three hundred a night for lodging and two hundred a day for utilities. You owe us fifteen thousand total. Cash or transfer?"
My mother froze, completely at a loss for words.
I stared at my mother-in-law in disbelief.
"The second I gave birth, you took off on vacation. My mother dropped everything and traveled all the way here to take care of me around the clock. She even paid for groceries out of her own pocket. And now you're charging her rent?"
Cornelia James didn't flinch.
"One thing's got nothing to do with the other. Your mother taking care of you is her job. But she stayed under my roof, so she pays."
I turned to my husband, certain he'd say something fair.
Instead, Seth James put on his most reasonable voice.
"Even brothers settle their debts. Your mother's an outsider. She should've expected to pay."
I didn't argue. I didn't cry. I transferred fifteen thousand dollars to them right then and there.
But that money wasn't for lodging.
It was tuition.
For a lesson they'd never forget.
——
The day I had the baby, Cornelia had shown up at the hospital with her suitcase already packed.
She recorded a short video of the baby, sent it to her group chat so her friends could fawn over her brand-new grandson.
Then she turned to me without missing a beat.
"Prudence, I made plans with the girls to go on a trip today. You and Seth will have to manage the baby on your own."
"I'll bring you back a souvenir."
I almost thought I'd heard her wrong.
Because ever since I married Seth, Cornelia had hounded me about having a baby. She swore up and down that all I had to do was give birth. With her around, I wouldn't have to lift a finger.
I believed her.
And what did I get?
The baby was barely out of me before she was on her way to the airport.