Chapter 3 - The First Warning
The first warning came six months after our wedding.
Marta visited while Thomas was traveling.
She entered the kitchen, looked around, and said, “This place has improved since he bought it.”
I thought I misheard.
“Since who bought it?”
“Thomas.”
“He didn’t buy it.”
Her expression hardened.
“Of course he did.”
“I owned it before we met.”
She stared at me as if I had insulted her son.
Then she laughed.
“Thomas told me you helped with the deposit.”
I corrected her.
She refused to believe me.
That evening, I called Thomas.
“Why does your mother think you bought my apartment?”
He sighed.
“She exaggerates.”
“She said you told her.”
“I probably said we bought it.”
“You did not.”
“It’s just language, Sophie.”
“It’s ownership.”
He became defensive.
“Why does it matter what my mother thinks?”
Because people act differently when they believe something belongs to them.
I did not say that then.
I wanted peace.
Thomas promised to clarify it.
The next time Marta visited, she said nothing about the apartment.
I assumed he had handled it.
In reality, he had only told her not to discuss money with me.
Later, I learned he said:
“Sophie is sensitive about the fact that I paid more.”
That lie did more than preserve his pride.
It made me look dishonest.
Marta began treating me as though I were claiming credit for her son’s success.
She commented on my spending.
She questioned why I redecorated “Thomas’s kitchen.”
She asked whether I had permission to replace the bedroom carpet.
Each time, I answered calmly.
May you like
Each time, she looked at me with growing suspicion.
Thomas stood between us and pretended the conflict had nothing to do with him.
