I used to think my life was fairly solid.
As a financial executive with a well-paying career, I had the independence I had always desired.
It seemed like I had everything under control until I realized the truth about my husband, Matt.
Matt and I met eight years ago on a hiking vacation organized by our mutual friends. He was the type of man who could captivate an audience without even trying.
We remained friends for two years, messaging back and forth, meeting for coffee on occasion, and sharing details about our lives. He had a flair for insisting on his way of doing things, whether it was the restaurant we chose for lunch or the weekend arrangements we planned.
Three years after that hiking trip, Matt and I married. Sure, he may be frustrating at times, particularly when it comes to money. He would frequently borrow small amounts from me, promising to repay me after his next salary.
But marriage revealed a different side of Matt, and I wasn’t ready for it.
I gradually understood his mother, Linda, played a significant part in his life. She was extremely protective of Matt.
And Matt? When there was a disagreement, he always stood behind his mother. I despised how he continually dismissed my concerns as overreactions.
When I asked him why he prioritized her thoughts over mine, he replied, “She’s my mom, Demi. She’s been there for me my whole life. I can’t just ignore her.”
Honestly, his remarks hurt. I always let such things slip, hoping that things would improve. I hoped Matt would grow out of his pattern of putting his mother first and learn to balance his priorities.
However, the fissures in our relationship grew wider as time went on. Looking back, I should have noticed the warning flags with Matt. He had a taste for high-end items but never seemed to spend his own money on them.
Meanwhile, Linda, his mother, was another story altogether.
She had a knack of making me feel inadequate for her darling boy. What irritated me the most was that she always found flaws in the gifts we gave her.
It didn’t matter how hard I tried. Linda always found a way to criticize.
Then there was Matt’s financial behavior.
His borrowing tendencies continued after we were married. They became worse.
The night everything changed began like any other. Linda had been feeling ill.
“She hasn’t eaten anything all day,” he said, his brow furrowed with concern.
That evening, we were due to meet with a real estate agent to finalize the purchase of the property we had been renting for the previous five years.
It was intended to be a watershed event for us. We had been working for this desire for a long time. I couldn’t wait to sign the paperwork and name the place ours.
“She hasn’t eaten all day, Demi,” he repeated, his tone sharper this time. “I’ll take care of her. Can you bring her some of your lasagna? You know how much she loves it.”
“What about the house?” I asked. “We need to finalize everything tonight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, brushing me off. “We can do it another day.”
I trusted Matt, even if the arrangement made me uneasy.
I recall getting into my car at 6 p.m., with the lasagna still warm. Matt informed me that he had a work meeting that he needed to attend, so he could not accompany me.
My phone buzzed around 20 minutes after I left the house. It was Sarah, my lawyer. She never called after work unless it was urgent.
“Hi,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Go back home. NOW,” she shouted into the phone.
“What? Sarah, what’s going on?”
“It’s Matt,” she said. “They’re at your house… with a real estate agent. You need to get back immediately.”
“What do you mean ‘they’?” I asked, already turning the car around.
“Matt and Linda,” she said, her tone clipped. “They’re signing paperwork to put the house in Linda’s name.”
“What the heck?”
“Just get back home now!” she said before hanging up.
Matt was standing in the living room, clutching the papers he’d been hiding from me. Linda was standing next to him, and she didn’t appear to be sick.
“What is going on here?” I demanded.
Matt stepped forward. “Babe, listen—”
“No,”Sarah interrupted, entering the room behind me. She must have followed shortly after I informed her I was ready to return home. “Let me spell it out for her since you clearly can’t be honest.”
Linda folded her arms, and her lips curved into a condescending smirk.
“It’s simple,” she said. “Matt has always been my son first and I need to protect what’s his. You can’t trust everyone these days, you know.”
I was speechless.
“But that’s not all,” Sarah interrupted. “I did some digging after the agent flagged this deal. Linda’s been planning for Matt to marry someone else. Her friend’s daughter. They were going to push for a divo:rce, leave you with nothing, and move forward like you didn’t even exist.”
“Save it,” I snapped, shaking my head. “You don’t deserve my forgiveness, and you certainly don’t deserve me.”
Sarah assisted me in filing for divo:rce, and Matt’s betrayal made it easy for me to get what I was owed. Matt received items such as a light and a blender despite his comically little money donations.
Six months later, I worked with the same agent to purchase a new home. This time, it was all mine, and I didn’t have to share with a greedy man like Matt.
