One Dinner, One Disaster: Mother‑In‑Law Sold My House

From what the man revealed, I gleaned that it was Melissa who had sold him the house, and they were even relatives.

As I suspected, Melissa had indeed stolen the property deed from my suitcase.

I immediately called her. "Who said you could sell my house behind my back?" I demanded.

Instead of feeling even the slightest bit guilty, Melissa sounded smug when she answered, clearly delighted that she had gotten one over me.

"So what if I sold it? You refused to pay for Christmas dinner and even talked back to me. I simply thought I needed to teach you a lesson!"

"That's my premarital property! It has nothing to do with the Zink family! What you did is theft! It's illegal!" I screamed back, so incensed that my whole body was shaking.

"Illegal?" Melissa scoffed and began spouting her twisted logic. "You're my son's wife, which means what is yours is his, and what is his is mine! How is it illegal to sell what belongs to me?

"Either way, I already sold the house and received the money. Did you seriously think I wouldn't know how to handle that spoiled, rich girl temper of yours?"

I tried to keep my patience and hold back, yet Melissa kept pushing my buttons. Since it was pointless to argue with an unreasonable woman like her, I decided drastic measures were needed and called the police.

When I arrived at the police station closest to their home, Melissa was already throwing a fit.

The instant she spotted me, she lunged forward and tried to slap me. "You bitch! How dare you call the police!"

Shawn also rushed over, his lips twisted into a scowl. "Jennifer, that's my mom! How could you be so heartless?"

I didn't even hesitate as I shoved Melissa away before levelling a cold stare at Shawn. "You didn't even make a peep when your mom made things difficult for me at the Christmas dinner. Now, she's stolen my property deed and sold my house, and you suddenly have the guts to criticize me?"

His expression darkened further at my words.

Melissa kept yelling that she wasn't a thief and that what she sold was simply her own property.

Not wanting to waste any more breath on them, I showed the police the documents proving the house was my premarital property. If I were to pursue the matter, then Melissa would have to face legal consequences.

Melissa knew nothing about the law, and neither did the relative who bought the house. They both thought that the deal was done as long as they had the property deed. They had no idea that there were legal processes one had to go through when it came to buying and selling a house.

Thus, their transaction was invalid, and the house was still mine. If I didn't pursue the matter, Melissa wouldn't need to go to jail.

Realizing that, Shawn pleaded with me desperately, saying that his mother was already old and couldn't possibly be able to handle a prison sentence.

At first, I ignored him, but then he fell to his knees before me. After he swore that he would never let me be humiliated again, I reluctantly agreed to let the matter go.

Even so, I still decided to move out of our marital home. I needed some space to think about whether it was necessary my marriage to Shawn was worth saving.

…

Upon returning to our marital home, Shawn clung to my suitcase and apologized nonstop.

"I really didn't know Mom would do this," he said. "She knows that she was wrong now. If you don't want to go back there, we can just not go next time. Honey, please! Don't be like this, okay?"

I didn't waver. All I did was tell him that I wouldn't divorce him if Melissa had truly learned her lesson and stopped making things difficult for me. In any case, what I needed right now was some space.

Following that, Shawn tried to prove his sincerity through his actions. Every day, he would drove me to work and picked me up afterward. He would also cook for me.

Life was peaceful for a while. It seemed like Melissa really had stopped her campaign against me.