Dangerous Mother-in-law, Turbulent Marriage

"Yvonne, have you been arguing with my mother again?"

The question was expected; I knew Cathrine would try to manipulate me first.

"Darling, did she complain about me to you?"

Usually, when I asked, Jeremy's demeanor would immediately mellow, and he might even apologize on his mother's behalf. But today, he deviated from his usual self, interrogating me with an uncharacteristic harshness.

"How can you, in your youth, dare to speak to my mother with such audacity? She merely mentioned that you weren't taking proper care of Xavier."

The villain indeed cried out first. I didn't dwell much on Jeremy's peculiar behavior but recounted the events of the past few days, deliberately omitting my suspicions of Cathrine's infidelity.

However, on the matter of the stolen milk, I remained steadfast.

"You keep insisting that your mother acts in Xavier's best interest, so why would she swap his nourishment?"

After I posed this question, Jeremy fell silent for a long while before finally uttering a response.

"My mother is Xavier's grandmother. She would never harm him."

He was clearly evading the issue. His mother accused me of mistreating his son, and he believed her without question. Yet, when I accused his mother of the same, he refused to accept it. His mother was Xavier's grandmother, but I was Xavier's biological mother!

The fire I had been containing grew stronger until it became unbearable. I shouted at the phone.

"Do you believe your mother over me?"

I stubbornly sought an answer, but he offered only vague, dismissive responses.

"Yvonne, don't be upset; that's not what I meant."

"Do you believe what you're saying?"

After disconnecting the call, I was left with a profound sense of disappointment. Yet, when I saw my son peacefully asleep in his bed, I couldn't bring myself to consider divorce.

Marriage was a tangled web. I thought I had prepared myself adequately before walking down the aisle, but I must admit that I still couldn't navigate it with composure.

Yet, Cathrine was so shameless, devoid of any moral compass. Exploiting my supposed lack of filial piety, she adopted a child and raised him alongside Xavier in our home.