When my grandmother left me $50,000, I thought it was the fresh start my husband Jason and I needed after years of heartbreak and infertility struggles. But little did I know, his mother Sharon had her eyes on my inheritance.
“It finally happened,” I said softly, still trying to wrap my mind around the moment.
Jason looked up from his phone, half-interested. “What did?”
I held the letter close to my chest. It was a simple piece of paper, but it carried so much weight. “The money came through. Grandma’s inheritance—fifty thousand dollars. We could finally start looking for a house.”
We’d been married for five years, and they hadn’t been easy years. Infertility had tested us—rounds of treatments, countless doctors, and the endless emotional rollercoaster of hope and heartbreak. It was hard not to feel like everything we wanted was always slipping just out of reach.
But now, with the inheritance, it felt like we could finally move forward. We could leave behind the constant disappointment and start fresh.
The next morning, I made the mistake of mentioning the inheritance while we were visiting Sharon, my mother-in-law.
“Fifty thousand?” Sharon repeated, her eyes lighting up in a way that made my skin crawl. “Well, isn’t that something! What a blessing.”
“It really is,” I said cautiously. “We’ve been wanting to buy a house for so long, and this will help us finally get there.”
“Oh, a house, sure.” Sharon smiled, but there was something sly in her expression. “That’s wonderful, honey. But, you know…” She trailed off, smoothing a strand of her over-bleached hair behind her ear. “Jason and I were just talking the other day. I’ve been thinking about getting a little facelift. You know, tighten things up a bit.”
I forced a smile, hoping to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters. “Oh? You’ve been saying that for years.”
She gave me a knowing smile. “Well, it feels like the right time now. And I deserve it, don’t I?”
“You look great, Sharon,” I said politely, hoping that would end it.
That evening, Jason was unusually quiet, his face buried in his phone. I could tell something was weighing on him, but I didn’t want to push. He’d always had trouble standing up to his mother, and I knew these conversations about her facelift were probably stressing him out.
Later, I walked past the living room and overheard him on the phone, his voice low and careful.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll handle it.”
A few days later, I found Sharon sprawled on our couch, flipping through a glossy magazine filled with photos of women who didn’t look a day over thirty.
“Hey, Sharon,” I greeted her, forcing a smile.
She barely glanced up. “Oh, hi, sweetheart. Just doing a little research. It’s about time I did something for myself.”
I glanced at the headline on the page she was reading: “The Best Facelift Clinics Near You.”
I nodded slowly, fighting the uneasy feeling settling in my stomach. “Jason’s okay with this?”
“Oh, Jason thinks it’s a great idea!” she said, grinning.
My chest tightened. Something was definitely off.
That night, Jason came into the kitchen while I was washing dishes, looking far too pleased with himself.
“Guess what?” he said, leaning on the counter.
“What?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“Mom booked her facelift! Next week.”
I froze, my hands still in the warm water. “You’re serious?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. She’s really excited.”
“You didn’t think to discuss this with me first?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Jason gave me an annoyed look. “It’s not like we’re paying for it.”
I felt a wave of relief, but it was short-lived. Something told me it wasn’t that simple.
A few days later, as I was going through some papers at the dining table, I saw it: the bank statement.
My hands trembled as I scanned the page.
A $10,000 withdrawal.
From my inheritance account.
Jason walked in just as I set the paper down, my hands shaking with anger.
“You took ten thousand dollars?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.
Jason looked at me like I was overreacting. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” I repeated, my voice rising. “That was for our house, Jason!”