I welcomed my mother into my home, and my wife gave me an ultimatum.
We think we truly know someone, sharing joys, sorrows, and future plans, believing that no matter what, theyll stay loyal and supportive. Yet life can test that belief, and suddenly we realize the person we love may not be who we thought.
Love, family, and an apartment that wasnt ours
When I met Camille, I thought I had found the perfect partner. She was beautiful, gentle, and full of life. In the first months our bond was intense. We quickly decided we wanted to spend our lives together, and a year later we were married.
After the wedding, the obvious question arose: where would we live? Renting in Paris was prohibitively expensive, and buying property seemed out of reach. We explored several possibilities until my mother presented an unexpected offer.
She owned an apartment in the 11th arrondissement, inherited from my grandparents. She offered us to live there rentfree so we could save and build our future.
It felt like a golden opportunity. Camille and I were overjoyed. My mother even spent all her savings on renovating the place, turning it into a true home, asking for nothing in returnjust our happiness.
For a while everything was perfect.
Until everything collapsed.
My fathers betrayal and my mothers downfall
My parents had been married for nearly forty years. My father had always been a role modela man of principle and values, someone you could rely on.
That changed one night.
He waited until my mother was sitting opposite him and, without hesitation, told her he was leaving.
Just like that.
He had met another womanyounger, more attractive, more sparkling.
I will never forget the expression on my mothers face: her vacant stare, trembling lips, shallow breathing. The man she had loved all her life had discarded her as if she no longer mattered.
The shock was too much for her.
A few weeks after his departure, my mother suffered a stroke.
I still picture that day as if it were yesterday: the ringing phone, the frantic voice of the doctor, the dash to the hospital, the unbearable anxiety. Then the image of my mother lying in a bed, unable to speak, eyes pleading for help.
At that moment, only one thing mattered: I had to bring her home.
I dont want your mother living with us!
That evening, returning home, I was convinced Camille would understand. After all, she was my motherthe woman who had given us a roof, who had sacrificed everything for us. How could we abandon her now?
But Camilles reaction was chilling.
I refuse to let your mother stay here!
I stared at her, stunned.
Camille She has nowhere to go. Shes ill. She needs us.
Then find her a nursing home! Im not a caregiver. I wont ruin my life for her.
Her words pierced me like a knife.
I searched her eyes for any hint of compassion, hesitation, a spark of humanity. There was none.
Camille, she isnt just an old, sick woman. Shes my mother, the one who gave us this house, who did everything she could to help us. Do you really want to abandon her now?
She didnt even blink.
I married you, not her. If you bring her here, Im leaving.
It wasnt a discussion; it was a threat.
The decision that changed everything
The next three days were agony. I turned the situation over and over, seeking a solution, a compromise.
The truth was clear.
Camille had already made her choice. If she could so easily turn her back on my family, what would happen if I ever needed help?
So I decided.
The night before my mothers return, I packed Camilles belongings and left them by the door.
When she came back and saw the suitcases, she burst out laughing.
Are you kidding? You choose YOUR MOTHER over ME?
I looked her straight in the eye and replied calmly:
I choose the only person who never abandoned me.
I saw doubt flash across her face. Perhaps she expected me to beg, to give in.
I didnt.
She stormed out that night, slamming the door.
The next morning I went to fetch my mother and brought her back home.
One who betrays once will betray forever
The first months were tough: medical appointments, rehabilitation, sleepless nights watching over my mother.
But you know what?
I have never regretted my choice.
I learned an essential truth: anyone who can turn their back on you once will do it again.
My father abandoned my mother.
My wife wanted me to abandon mine.
Now I live with my mother. She is slowly recovering, and each day I see a glimmer of strength return to her eyes.
I know I made the right decision.
Family isnt just the person you share a bed with.
Its the one who stays by your side even when everything falls apart.
What do you think? Did I make the right choice, or should I have fought to save my marriage even at the cost of leaving my mother?
