My MIL came into our new $800k house, yelled, I’ll kick you out if you complain—it’s my son’s house!

The Hidden Layout and a Final Decision

This kind of situation is not new. Whenever she visits she often finds a reason to ask for money which she then tends to squander with Anna Mason’s sister.

While the idea of supporting family sounds noble what happens here feels more like extortion. This dynamic shifts when Mason gives them money out of kindness.

Still I’ve never been fond of his mother’s or sister’s demanding ways. Mason once told me that after his father passed away his mother and sister’s behavior became quite selfish.

His father who died when Mason was in high school used to manage the finances carefully. With his absence there was no one left to oversee their spending which included freely using the life insurance money.

Anna works part-time and earns a modest salary which makes their financial situation precarious. This is often her excuse for showing up at our door claiming life is tough or she needs a break and wants to travel.

She is subtly hinting at needing money from Mason. Before I married Mason it seemed he was constantly at the mercy of his mother’s demands.

There was a dependency there a reliance on the care she provided after his father’s death. But since marrying me Mason has begun to see their true colors.

Even though they frequently ask for money Mason has been making a concerted effort to refuse recently. He started to assert himself more with his mother in response to her spiteful comments.

“Like you don’t like me do you or why should I be nice to such an uncharming daughter-in-law.” Mason stood his ground.

“Just because you’re my mother doesn’t mean you can speak badly of Nancy didn’t she just answer your question honestly?” “You’re taking Nancy’s side!” his mother exclaimed shocked.

“What are you talking about I think you’re in the wrong here Mom.” “That’s so unfair!” she retorted her voice full of indignation.

“Surely Nancy must have poisoned your mind against me poor thing you were such a kind child before we got married.” “I’m telling you that’s not the reason I’m saying this because I truly believe it,” Mason responded firmly, taking his mother by surprise.

She wasn’t used to being contradicted like this. With a frustrated expression and biting her lower lip she finally said “fine” and left abruptly.

“Nancy I’m sorry I always make you feel uncomfortable,” Mason apologized once his mother had departed. “No it’s okay hey you stood up for us this time,” I reassured him.

“Once we build our own home we’ll be further away maybe then we can minimize our interactions with your mom and sister.” “Yeah that would be a relief,” Mason agreed sounding genuinely grateful.

The location we were considering for our new home was quite far from our current apartment which would also be more convenient for our commutes. Currently our apartment was about four train stations away from Mason’s parents house.

The new house would be three times farther and require several transfers. The route from the station was also complicated so unless we gave them the address they likely wouldn’t be able to find it.

This move seemed like a perfect opportunity to distance ourselves from the frequent and often uncomfortable family interactions. Later we submitted our floor plan ideas to the construction company and 3 months later construction began.

About 8 months after that our dream home was completed. We managed to carve out some time from our busy schedules to pack.

A few days before the move I received a call from my mother-in-law. I was in the middle of packing so I put her on speaker phone.

“Hello,” I greeted. “Nancy when are you moving you bought a house right I want to live with you,” she blurted out her voice unusually high-pitched catching me off guard.

In the background I could hear Anna my sister-in-law chuckling. “That’s great we can make Nancy work for us every day Mom you came up with a good idea,” she snickered.

Do they think I can’t hear them? It was clear they were planning to freeload off our move imagining an easy life at our expense.

Honestly I had no intention of living with them and I believe Mason felt the same way. However discussing our new house with them might have led them to assume we’ll be living together.

The idea that my dear Mason could be colluding with them worries me. But I am determined not to let them dictate our lives.

It seems like they’re trying to manipulate the situation to their advantage. If that’s their plan I’ll have to be one step ahead.

I informed them of our moving date and immediately my mother-in-law and Anna responded with their plans. “We’ll come to your apartment in the afternoon on that day take us with you in the car and arrange the movers for us too,” they demanded then hung up.

Of course I had no intention of fulfilling their demands. Before I could discuss this with Mason I turned around to find him already standing there.

“Mason were you listening I was about to take a break and talk to you about this.” “Was that Mom on the phone just now?” he asked.