“Oi, why arent you opening the door?” “Because I dont want to! Guests should warn people before dropping by, and they definitely shouldnt go rummaging through cupboards, fridges, and wardrobes.” “What dyou mean, you wont? Thats my mum! Shes here to see me!” “Well, go and meet her then! Just not in my house.”
“Honestly, Emily got on so much better with my mum.”
“You know, if I start listing all the ways my ex was better than you, well both end up embarrassed.”
“Though Im not so sure about myself,” interrupted Natalie nervously, wiping down the kitchen counter. “If you two were so happy with Emily, whyd you break up with her?”
Victor turned away, offended, and glared out the window.
“You already know the story”
“Exactly. So dont bring up your precious Emily again,” Natalie snapped. “Or Ill be your next ex.”
She was dead seriousready to take drastic measures.
Shed met Victor almost a year ago through mutual friends. She even knew Emily, though not well. Emily had been the one to introduce them, then vanished off the radar a few months later.
One night, after a few too many drinks, Victor confessed hed caught Emily cheating. Hed even cried about it.
Back then, Natalie found it sweeta man unafraid to show his feelings, who valued love. Something clicked inside hera pang of sympathy, a need to comfort him.
She realised later that “something” was probably maternal instinct, not romantic attraction. But at the time, it was enough to start a relationship.
At first, everything was lovely. Hed meet her after work, drive her home, send sweet texts every day, and ask if shed dressed warmly enough. She felt cared for.
Then came the first red flaga message from Emily herself.
“Hey. Heard youre seeing Victor. Not my business, but be careful with him. Him and his mum? Theyre a package deal.”
Natalie noted it but brushed it off. Love conquered worse obstacles, right? Just because things went badly with one woman didnt mean history would repeat itself.
“Thanks for the heads-up, but well figure it out,” she replied, keen to end the conversation. It felt disloyal to Victor.
Victor, though, had no such concerns for her comfort.
When his mum, Margaret, first turned up unannounced, Natalie stayed calm. Maybe they just didnt realise how awkward it was. Maybe Margaret just worried about her son and wanted to see who he was living with.
She sent Victor to greet his mum, threw on some clothes, tied her hair up messily, and stumbled outsleepy, puffy-eyedto meet her potential mother-in-law. Who was already rifling through the living room drawers.
“Ah, everythings a mess,” Margaret said with a condescending smile. “No wonder your socks never match. Natalie, after breakfast, Ill teach you how to fold clothes properlyno creases, no lost items.”
Not even a “hello.” Natalie was stunned. A stranger casually digging through her underwear in her own home felt beyond rude.
But snapping back early in the relationship seemed wrong, so she bit her tongue.
“Oh, love, those under-eye bags!” Margaret tutted. “You need cucumber masks. Or better yet, get your kidneys checked. My friend once”
Natalie nodded along, pretending interest in strangers ailments while longing to crawl back into bed. It was 8 a.m. on her day offshed stayed up late, planning to sleep in.
No such luck.
Margarets visit dragged on till evening. Natalie endured endless “advice” on flower-watering, bathroom-scrubbing, and spoon-polishingeven got some hands-on practice. She felt squeezed dry.
And Victor? Didnt lift a finger or hint they might want privacy.
“Your mums always this full-on?” Natalie asked carefully that night.
She wasnt against family closeness, but some boundaries wouldve been nice.
“Yeah. So? She just wants to be friends,” Victor shrugged. “Emily and I used to live with herit was lively. Now shes lonely.”
“Hope we wont be living as a trio” Natalie sighed.
“Whats your problem with my mum?” Victor tensed. “Emily got on great with her.”
Natalie stayed quiet. Emily was eight years youngerprobably the type to butter people up. No doubt she knew all Margarets friends by name, their medical histories, and how to iron sheets just right.
But Natalie hadnt signed up for that. Life had taught herthe fewer outsiders meddling in a relationship, the better. Victor disagreed.
“Mums just sociable. Gets on with everyone.”
“Not everyone wants that,” Natalie almost said, but didnt.
It got worse. Margaret returned the next morningearly againto inspect the fridge.
“Chicken eggs? I only ever cooked quail eggs for Victormuch better for men,” she declared. “These shelves could do with a wipe You eat off them, you know.”
“I dont lick the shelves,” Natalie thought.
“Ill clean them later, Margaret,” she said. “We were hoping to relax today. Its the weekend.”
Victor, of course, was still fast asleep while she entertained his mother.
“Nonsense! Weekends are for cooking and cleaning,” Margaret said briskly. “Fetch the sponge. Next weekend, Ill teach you Victors favourite meat pies. Youll love them!”
Natalie froze, arms crossed. Running errands for this woman two days in a row? No.
“Margaret, maybe take my number? Call before visiting. I might have plans next weekend.”
“Call? I cant just visit my own son?” Margaret looked wounded.
“Of course you can. But your son lives with me now. Itd be nice if we all considered each other.”
“Emily never minded,” Margaret sniffed.
“Well, my exs mum never turned up at dawn. She brought cherry pies, though. Fancy the recipe?”
Margarets face darkened. Wrinkles deepened. Fury flashed in her eyes.
“Think carefully, dear. The nightingale wont out-sing the lark in our family.”
She left, but the bitterness lingered. Natalie didnt know what to do. Victor wouldnt listen, his mum treated their place like her own, and Emilys ghost haunted their relationship.
“Emilys stuffed cabbage was better Her mum taught her,” Victor might muse over dinner.
“Get her to teach you, then.”
She suspected Margaret would poison Victor against her but avoided the topic. She just wanted it gone from her life.
The next month passed quietlyno visits. Then it started again. Natalie woke to the doorbell. This time, she refused to answer.
Rude? Maybe. But was it polite to ignore her hints and barge in uninvited?
Five minutes later, Victor stumbled outsleepy, annoyed, furious.
“Why wont you open the door?”
“Because I dont want to! Guests warn people firstand they dont snoop!”
“What? Thats my mum!”
“Then go meet her! Not in my house.”
The row that followed probably reached the neighbours. Victor accused her of rejecting his mumand by extension, him. Margaret yelled through the door, demanding entry, ringing his phone.
Finally, Natalie issued an ultimatum.
“Thats it! Either you explain what guest means and send her home, or were done!”
Victor chose the latter.
Natalie wasnt heartbroken. Theyd never even married. Maybe it was for the best. A man glued to his exs memory and his overbearing mum? No thanks.
Months later, she got unexpected newsVictor had a new girlfriend. A mutual friend filled her in.
“We work together. She moved in with him and his mum but already wants out. Asked to meet you,” the friend grinned.
“Oh?”
“Apparently, according to Margaret, youre perfect. Beautiful, strong-willed, a great cook.”
“Are we talking about the same Margaret?”
“Guess she only likes the ones who escape Victor,” the friend shrugged.
From then on, Natalie listened more carefully to gossip. She still trusted her own judgement but didnt ignore warnings.
And she steered clear of men obsessed with exesor their mothers.
Life with those “mummys boys”? No thanksMum always comes first. Fine in moderation, but this? No way.
What dyou reckonam I right? Drop your thoughts below!
