They were halfway through their meal, chatting about work and weekend plans. Suddenly, Mike asked, in a very casual tone, where she kept the deed and the title documents for the condo. Laura stopped eating and looked at him, confused.
She asked why he needed to know that. Mike started stammering about “organizing paperwork” after the wedding. Laura shut him down immediately: those documents only come out if you’re selling, and she wasn’t selling.
Mike claimed he just “wanted to be prepared,” but Laura noticed how his hands were shaking. She put her fork down and demanded he stop the games.
She accused him of having an unhealthy obsession with her property. Mike sighed, pushed his plate away, and decided to be honest. He admitted that Eleanor was “suffering” in her old apartment and “desperately needed” to be closer to family.
Stuttering slightly, Mike suggested they give Eleanor one of the spare bedrooms in the condo. Laura felt the floor drop out from under her. She flatly refused to turn her home into a boarding house for a toxic mother-in-law.
Mike couldn’t understand the refusal. He started mapping out the rooms: a master for them, a nursery for the future, and a “suite” for his mom. When she said “no” again, he tried to guilt-trip her, saying he couldn’t “abandon his elderly mother” to live in a “bad neighborhood.”
Laura pointed out that he could visit her, help her with bills, and bring her groceries, but she wasn’t moving in. Mike accused Laura of being “heartless,” and she countered with “common sense.” The rest of the dinner was silent and cold.
After paying the bill, they walked back to her building. Not a word was spoken. At her door, Laura dodged his attempt at a kiss and went inside.
Leaning against the door, she listened to her own heartbeat. For the first time, she realized that marrying Mike would be the biggest mistake of her life. The next morning was grey and rainy, matching her mood.
She sat with her coffee, waiting for Mike to reach out. He didn’t. He was clearly playing the “silent treatment” card. Laura didn’t care; she was done with the manipulation.
It wasn’t until evening that he called, sounding exhausted. He suggested they meet at a coffee shop to “talk things through,” claiming he hated fighting. Laura reluctantly agreed.
They sat in a corner booth. Mike tried to justify his mother’s behavior as her “need to control things” because she loved him. Laura pointed out that he was the one letting her do it.
He went back to his script about “filial duty” and how Eleanor had “no one else.” Laura tried to explain that they needed boundaries if their marriage was going to work. Mike nodded, but his eyes were vacant; he was just waiting for her to stop talking.
The evening ended with another cold goodbye. When Laura said she needed “space to think about the wedding,” Mike panicked. He started talking about the deposits they’d paid, the guests who had already booked flights, and the “embarrassment” of a cancellation.
Laura told him that plans can always be changed and walked away. Back home, she felt a strange sense of peace. The idea of calling it all off felt like a weight being lifted.
The next week was a game of cat and mouse. Laura barely answered his calls. Meanwhile, Eleanor started calling her directly again, playing the “dying swan” card. She complained about her “failing heart” and hinted that it was Laura’s “sacred duty” to provide her with a comfortable place to spend her final years…
