I took my mother into my home, and my wife gave me an ultimatum.
You think you know someone inside out. You share joys and sorrows, plan the future together, and you trust that, come what may, theyll always stand by your side. Then fate puts you to the test, and you realise that the person you believed to be your soulmate is, in truth, someone entirely different.
Love, family and a flat that was never ours
When I first met Eleanor, I was convinced she was the woman Id spend my life with. She was tender, attentive, full of verve, and in her presence I felt happy and whole. Our romance blossomed swiftly within a year we were married.
After the wedding we faced a crucial choice: where would we live? Renting in London was dear, and buying a house seemed a distant dream. We searched for the best compromise until my mother made an offer that felt like a godsend.
She owned a flat in Notting Hill, inherited from her own parents, and said we could move in rentfree, allowing us to save for the future. It was the perfect opportunity. Eleanor and I were delighted. My mother even handed over her savings so we could refurbish the flat and arrange it to our taste. She asked for nothing in return she only wanted our happiness.
For a while everything fell into place.
Until the day our world fell apart.
My parents had been married nearly forty years. Id grown up seeing my father as the model of responsibility and loyalty, certain he would never abandon his family.
Then the day came.
My father sat opposite my mother and, without a flicker of emotion, told her he was leaving. Simply that. He had found someone else younger, more striking, bursting with life.
I will never forget the expression on my mothers face. Her hands trembled, her lips tried to form words, but her voice caught in her throat. The man she had loved all her life had just tossed their decades together into the rubbish bin. She could not bear it.
A few weeks later she suffered a stroke.
Even now I can picture that night: the telephone ringing out of the dark, a nervous doctors voice, the wail of an ambulance echoing off the brick walls. Then the hospital, white walls and my mother lying still, helpless, eyes pleading for aid.
I knew I had no choice. I had to bring her into my house.
I will not live with your mother!
That evening I returned home convinced Eleanor would understand. After all, she was my mothers daughterinlaw. She had given us everything a roof over our heads, her savings, all her love. How could we now turn away from her?
But Eleanors reply shocked me.
I will not live with your mother! she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
I stared at her in disbelief.
Eleanor she has nowhere to go. She is ill. She needs us.
Find her a care home! I never signed up for a life with an old, ailing woman.
Her words struck my gut like a punch. I searched her face for even a hint of compassion, a flicker of doubt, but found none.
Eleanor, she isnt a stranger. Shes my mother the very woman who gave us this flat. Do you really want to leave her alone?
She didnt blink.
I married you, not her. If you bring her here, Im moving out.
It was not a request. It was an ultimatum.
The decision that changed everything
For three more nights I lay awake, weighing every option, seeking a middle ground. The truth was plain. Eleanor had already made up her mind. And if she could so easily turn her back on my mother, what would she do if the roles were reversed?
So I decided.
The day before my mother was due to leave the hospital, I packed Eleanors belongings and set them by the front door.
When she came home and saw them, she laughed bitterly.
Seriously? You choose your mother over your own wife?
I met her gaze and said evenly:
I choose the person who has never left me.
She looked surprised, perhaps thinking I would crumble, beg, plead for her to stay. I did none of that.
That night Eleanor left our flat, slamming the door behind her.
The next morning I fetched my mother and brought her home.
Who cheats once, will cheat again
The first months were hard. Doctors appointments, rehab, sleepless nights haunted by fear for what lay ahead.
But you know what? I never once regretted my choice. I learned a simple truth: anyone who can turn away from you once can do it again.
My father deserted my mother.
My wife wanted me to abandon mine.
Now I live with my mother. She is slowly regaining strength; each day I see more life returning to her eyes.
And I know I made the right decision. Because family isnt just the person you share a bed with. Family is the one who never abandons you no matter how hard the road.
What do you think? Did I act rightly? Or should I have fought for my marriage, even if it meant leaving my mother alone?
