His Wife,their Daughter

Meet the In-Laws

Things gradually go back to normal and they are much closer than before. At first he is unhappy that she chooses to work for her dad but as the paychecks come in and she takes over some of the home expenses like groceries, he ceases to complain and helps around the house with the chores and their baby. Life couldn't have been better than that. It is perfect.

Unfortunately, the tranquility does not last long and another series of drama begins in the form of a seemingly harmless invitation to a meeting organised by the in-laws. She tries to find a way out of it because she has been having an ominous feeling since they received the invitation but he reminds her that she has been specially invited and off they go.

She tries to be outgoing and involve herself in everything going on.She meets someone cooking,she offers her assistance and all of a sudden,she is abandoned in the kitchen and made to do the rest of the cooking in a kitchen that she's not familiar with and with kitchen appliances that she can barely operate. Next she serves a plate of food to a brother-in-law and he tells her that his wife will serve him and she should eat the food she has served. She abandons the food and leaves the kitchen for them. Little slights here and there, trying to make her feel unwanted and unwelcome. She looks at her husband and he ignores her,joking around with his brothers and their wives. At that moment she ceases to exist in his eyes. She feels less than a nobody.

She sits on her own and waits for the meeting to start. Her husband doesn't sit with her until one of his brothers says "sit with your wife".Her face burns with shame but she refuses to be shaken. No one will make her lose her cool and react. She feels they are pushing her to act on her anger so they can say that she has no manners. At that moment, she remembers the words of her dad warning her that her husband's family does not like her , and she smiles to herself. She is ready for them.

She hears whispering to her right and looks up only to catch the eyes of the sister-in-law who was whispering with her husband and his brother, the day she came visiting with her family. This woman does not care that she can hear her and says quite loudly " look at this small girl, looking fresh and getting fatter. She is busy spending my brother's money".When she hears those words she gets up and walks to the balcony. She is literally vibrating with anger and barely restraining herself from landing a heavy slap on the insolent woman's cheeks."Her brother's money?",she asks herself.
"All the money I spend is mine. I use my money to take care of myself".
She begins to regret allowing her husband pressure her into going."I should have stayed home and caught up on my sleep. Anything else is better than this",she continues.

Minutes go by and she doesn't go back. She hears her name and looks back to see her husband standing at the entrance and asking her to return."What are you doing here?",he asks.
" I can't stand to be there right now. Your sisters-in-law are saying bad things about me", she replies.
He begs her to go in so that it won't reflect badly on him and she does.

The meeting begins and she starts to get bored only for someone to mention that the wives in the family treat one another like strangers. On hearing that,she hisses in her mind and says to herself " please I value my peace of mind and sanity. I do not need that drama".
Before she understands what is happening,the sister-in- law that seems to have it out for her says "yes I agree,especially her" and she points at me. "This small girl does not like visiting people".On hearing the word 'small girl' being said again I'm seeing red only to hear someone laugh. The laughter sounds so familiar. I look at my husband and see him laughing. The look on my face stops him immediately but the damage is done. He has done the unthinkable. He has made a mockery of me in front of his family instead of defending me and protecting me from them. The meeting wraps up shortly after but I hear nothing and see nothing. All that keeps ringing in my mind is the sound of his laughter.

I refuse to stay longer than necessary so someone packs food for my husband and we leave as I refuse to step another foot into that kitchen. I say nothing to him because I am itching to do damage at that particular moment. As we get close to the house I say to him "You laughed. She called me a small girl and you laughed".
"Do you know how insulting that sounds?Instead of you to tell her not to call me that again,you opened your mouth and laughed", she continues
"And you were angry that I did not defend your family in front of my dad".
"Bravo babe,I'm so proud of you",she says sarcastically as they drive into the compound.
He says nothing,he simply opens the door and goes inside. She stays in the car and screams out her anger and frustration.
" No one will break me. I am stronger than this",she says to herself.
She goes into the house and keeps to herself,speaking to her husband only when necessary. He tries to go close to her several times but she jumps away. She simply can't bear his touch at the moment. He acts as if he has done nothing wrong.
As for the troublesome sister-in-law,she never visits again and that is a very wise decision on her part.

Only two chapters left and I will wrap up this story. Thank you readers for being so accommodating.

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