Sophia snatched the wedding ring.
«Sophia Margaret, you have no right to speak to us like that!» Emily leapt to her feet, cheeks burning with indignation. «Edmund and I are adults. Well live as we see fit!»
«Adults?» The older woman curled her lip dismissively. «Youre like children playing house! Renting a flat, no car between you, salaries barely covering beansand you dare speak of starting a family?»
Edmund sat with his head bowed, as if hoping to vanish from the crossfire between his wife and mother. What had begun as a civil supper had once again become a battlefield.
«Mum, we were only sharing our plans,» he finally interjected. «Were not asking for money or help.»
«As if you could!» Sophia threw up her hands. «Pennies in your pockets, yet you prattle on about babies! Wholl feed it? Clothe it? Raise it on air?»
Emily felt a lump rise in her throat. Three years of marriage, and every visit to her mother-in-law was an ordeal. Every decision scrutinised, every step judged. But today, Sophia had outdone herself.
«Well manage,» Emily said quietly, steadying her voice. «Were hardly the first to raise children in a rented flat.»
«Oh, of course youll manage!» Sophias tone turned venomous. «Especially since youve such a knack for solving problems by selling things, havent you, dear? Perhaps your parents house next? Sitting empty, as I recall.»
The blow landed like a gut punch. Emilys parents had died in a car crash three years prior, leaving her a modest semi-detached in Croydonthe last thread tying her to them, one shed refused to sever despite their struggles.
«Mum!» Edmund shot up. «Thats too far.»
«Too far?» Sophia blinked innocently. «I only mean your Emilys no stranger to parting with valuables. Or have you forgotten how she sold her grandmothers pearls to fund your honeymoon? Such extravagance!»
Emily bit her lip. True, shed sold the heirloom pearlsher choice, her sacrifice. But that week in Cornwall had been worth every penny: just the two of them, free from prying eyes and unsolicited advice.
«We should go,» Emily stood, gathering her handbag. «Thank you for supper, Sophia Margaret.»
«Running off so soon?» Her mother-in-law sighed. «But I made treacle puddingEdmunds favourite.»
«Another time,» Emily said firmly, fighting back tears.
In the hallway, as Edmund helped her into her coat, Sophia suddenly called out:
«Emily, dearlet me see your wedding ring. Its been ages since Ive properly looked at it.»
Emily frowned. A bizarre request, especially after such venom. But she extended her left hand, the slender gold band gleaming on her finger.
«No, take it off,» Sophia tutted. «I want to check the hallmark.»
Reluctantly, Emily slipped off the ring. Sophia examined it under the lightthen clenched it in her palm.
«This was my mothers,» she said coldly. «A family heirloom. I lent it to Edmund for the proposal, but clearly, that was premature.»
«What?» Emilys stomach dropped. «Edmund, tell her»
But Edmund stood thunderstruck, gaze darting between them.
«Mum, give it back,» he croaked. «Its Emilys now.»
«No, darling.» Sophia pocketed the ring with finality. «Heirlooms stay with family. Ill give it to the bride who truly becomes one of usnot some self-centred little upstart.»
Tears spilled down Emilys cheeks. Three years of bending over backwards, enduring barbs and meddling. And now thisthe last straw.
«Edmund,» she turned to him, voice shaking. «Say something.»
Pale and paralysed, he stammered, «Mum, give it back. This isnt… this isnt right.»
«Not right?» Sophia smirked. «Whats not right is a wife turning a son against his mother. Dragging him into squalor instead of living in our perfectly good house in Chelsea. Filling his head with nonsense about babies you cant afford!»
«Enough!» Emilys fear ignited into clear, white fury. «Edmund, Im leaving. Now. Choose: come with me or stay here.»
She flung open the door without looking back. Her pulse roared in her ears. Was this the end? Would their marriage shatter against Sophias granite certainty?
Edmund caught her on the stairwell, grasping her wrist.
«Emily, wait! Dont be rash»
«Rash?» She whirled on him. «Your mother just stole my wedding ring! The symbol of our marriage! And you stood there mumbling about whats ‘not right’!»
«I was blindsided,» he ran a hand through his hair. «You know how she is. Shell calm down tomorrow.»
«Its not about the ring, Edmund.» Emily pulled away. «Its that she disrespects me, our marriageeven you. And you let her.»
They emerged into a drizzly October night. The bus ride to their rented flat in Lewisham passed in silence. Emily stared at raindrops slithering down the window, her naked finger feeling oddly weightless. Shed never removed that ringnot for dishes, not for cooking.
At home, Edmund switched on the kettle while Emily sank onto their second-hand sofa, knees drawn to her chest.
«Emily,» he knelt beside her. «Ill fix this. Tomorrow, Ill get your ring back.»
«And if she refuses?»
«She wont,» he said weakly. «And if she does… well buy a new one. A better one.»
«Its not about the ring,» Emily repeated. «Its that every visit, Im made to feel like some temporary inconvenience. And today proved it.»
Edmund sighed. «Shes just… set in her ways. She loves me. Wants whats best.»
«Wants control,» Emily corrected. «She cant accept youve built a life without her.»
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the click of the cooling kettle.
«Ill talk to her,» Edmund finally said. «Properly this time.»
«Youve said that after every row,» Emily whispered. «Nothing changes.»
«This time will be different.» He clasped her hands. «I promise.»
She wanted to believe him. But something had fractured when Sophia took that ringlike the last shield protecting their fragile union had shattered.
Dawn found Emily at the kitchen table, tea gone cold. Edmund kissed her forehead before work:
«Ill see Mum today. Youll have your ring tonight.»
She nodded, though her gut told otherwise.
The workday crawled. At her accounting firm, she misfiled invoices twice, drawing a reprimand. Colleagues glanced at her bare left hand but mercifully asked nothing.
That evening, Edmund sat shell-shocked at the table.
«She wont give it back,» he said hollowly. «Says her decisions final.»
Emily sat opposite him. «And what did you say?»
«I told her it wasnt fair, that the rings yours.» He rubbed his face. «We rowed. Badly.»
«And?»
«And nothing.» He spread his hands. «Shell only return it when shes certain our marriage is… solid.»
Emilys chest tightened. «Certain how?»
«That you wont…» he faltered. «That you wont pull me away from the family.»
Emily stared. Three years of tryingand this was the verdict: an interloper, stealing her mother-in-laws precious son.
«Edmund,» she said quietly. «We need to talk.»
He nodded, eyes downcast.
«I cant do this anymore. That ring? Its not about gold. Its about her refusing to see me as family. Refusing to see us as real.»
«Shes old-fashioned,» he pleaded. «Give her time»
«Three years isnt enough?» Emily stood abruptly, fetching a duffel bag from the closet. Hands trembling, she packed essentials.
«Where are you going?» Edmund trailed her, panic rising.
«To Hazels. I need space to think.»
«Emily, please» He caught her hands. «One more chance. Ill make her understand.»
She studied himthe man she loved, now weeping openly.
«One chance,» she relented. «But Im still going.»
He nodded, wiping his eyes. «Ill prove our family comes first. I swear.»
At the door, she turned:
«You know what hurts most? Not losing the ring. Her thinking Im unworthy of your familys precious heirloomlike Im just some… placeholder in your life.»
«Youre not,» he said fiercely. «And Ill prove it. To both of you.»
Outside, rain needled her face as she trudged to the bus stop. Her finger still felt naked, but now the absence seemed less like loss and more like… possibility.
Edmunds text buzzed in her pocket: *Ill make this right. Love you.*
She didnt reply. Words meant little now. Only actions could mend what Sophia had broken.
As the bus carried her away, Emily watched Londons lights blur through rain-streaked glass. Whatever came nextreconciliation or ruptureshe knew this: no one would ever again take what was rightfully hers. Not a ring. Not her dignity. Not her right to be loved without conditions.
