My Entitled Parents Demanded That I Give Them My New House — My In-Laws Suddenly Stood up for Me

When Carina’s parents kick her out after high school, she has no choice but to navigate her way around life. Years later, after making a success of her life, and her wedding is around the corner, she reaches out to them, only for them to storm into her life, trying to take ownership of what she has worked so hard for.

“Carina,” my mother said, opening a packet of biscuits. “You’re going to regret not going to medical school.”

“Mom,” I replied. “My brain doesn’t work like Jade’s; she’s the doctor in the family, not me.”

A packet of biscuits | Source: Midjourney

“I don’t see why it can’t be the both of you,” she sniffed, dunking a biscuit into her lukewarm tea. “Why do you even waste your time with computers? Those machines are not going to make your life comfortable.”

This wasn’t anything new. My parents hated that I loved computers, and when school was out in the next few months, I was going to be off to college, studying IT.

A girl sitting with a laptop and headphones | Source: Midjourney

“Who cares about cyber security, Carina?” my father asked while he sat down with a pork chop. “Saving people’s lives, honey. That’s what success is. Not playing on computers.”

“Cyber security is how your important details are protected, Dad,” I would always say, rolling my eyes. “It’s how countries keep their people safe.”

Pork chops on a plate | Source: Unsplash

“It’s not good enough,” my mother said from the sink.

After graduation, my parents made me leave the house.

“You’ve chosen this path,” my mother said when I bought my IT textbooks. “So you’re capable of taking care of yourself.”

A pile of books | Source: Midjourney

“I don’t think that’s fair, Mom,” I retaliated. “You let Jade live at home for her whole degree.”

“Yeah, well, she was learning how to save lives, Carina,” she said.

A woman looking through a microscope | Source: Pexels

Fast forward 13 years. I’ve got a successful career, a beautiful house, and the most caring fiancé, Mark, I could have ever asked for.

“Are you sure that I should invite my parents to the wedding?” I asked Mark as we took a walk one evening.

“Yes, darling,” he said, taking my hand. “Why wouldn’t you? I’m so proud of who you are and where you’ve come from. You’ve done all of this on your own.”

A couple holding hands | Source: Pexels

“But they’ve been such horrible people, Mark. I mean, they kicked me out of their home when I got into college. I had to work as a dog groomer to make enough money to cover the rent for my tiny apartment,” I said.

“Yes, I understand that,” my fiancé said diplomatically. “But you’ve made it now. And you’ve made it without them. Look, honey. Our home is yours; it’s in your name, and I love that for us.”

A person grooming a dog | Source: Pexels

Eventually, I gave in. The excitement of our wedding planning made me realize that I was proud of myself and where I had come from.

“I did it without their support,” I told Mark as I fried bacon for us one morning. “So, I’m going to invite them.”

Mark smiled at me while he poured milk into his coffee.

A person pouring milk into coffee | Source: Unsplash

“Good, this is a big moment for us,” he said.

When my parents and sister arrived, they were stunned by my house. They assumed that I was renting a room of the house. Of course, they didn’t think that I was capable of something bigger and better than that.

A beautiful home with a large garden | Source: Midjourney

“Carina! You own this entire house?” my father asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Yes, Dad,” I said, wheeling my mother’s suitcase in, they seemed to think that they were spending the night. “I worked hard for this.”

A suitcase in a living room | Source: Midjourney

“Wow, I didn’t expect this,” my sister said, looking around.

“So, I thought that we could do dinner at a restaurant tonight, and then come home for dessert and coffee. You guys can spend time with Mark and my in-laws.”

They were going to be over at any moment, the first meet and greet almost underway.

But that’s when the entitlement kicked in.

A beautiful living room | Source: Unsplash

My mother’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the living room, taking in my television and other things.

“You know, Carina,” she declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. “We deserve to live in comfort after all we’ve done for you.”

Then, she promptly sat down on the couch.

An older woman sitting | Source: Pexels

“Mom, what are you talking about?” I was incredulous. “This is my home. I bought it with my own money. You did absolutely nothing for me after high school.”

“But we’re your parents,” she insisted. “We should live better than our children. It’s our right. It’s the only right thing.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said, my voice rising. “Jade still lives with you because you wanted to baby her after her night shifts. And me? You didn’t care. This isn’t my responsibility.”

An older woman looking around | Source: Pexels

My father stepped in at this point, crossing his arms.

“After everything we’ve sacrificed for you, this is the least you can do.”

“Jade needs a place to stay, too,” my mother said.

“Jade is an adult,” I snapped. “She made her choice to live with you, just like I made my own.”

An older man | Source: Unsplash

I felt bad that I was speaking about Jade in this way, especially because she was sitting on the couch and looking at my plants.

But my sister had chosen my parents when they kicked me out. She barely kept in contact with me, only stopping to text me on my birthday or Christmas morning.

A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Unsplash

At that moment, the door opened, and my future in-laws walked in. I had always been close to them, wanting to find parental figures in Mark’s parents.

“We’ve been hearing this entire conversation from outside,” Tom said.

“Carina’s achievements are hers,” my future mother-in-law, Carol, said firmly. “She’s worked hard for this, and she deserves every bit of it.”

A smiling woman holding a bouquet of flowers | Source: Pexels

My mother turned to her, eyes blazing.

“Who the hell are you? We have rights to this house; she’s our daughter.”

Carol didn’t flinch; she stood with her arms folded, a smile playing across her face.

“Why did you remember that only now? Where have you been all these years? Being her parents doesn’t mean that you can take credit for her hard work. Carina has earned this.”

An angry old woman | Source: Pexels

My parents were stunned into silence, and Jade couldn’t even look up.

“Carina invited you to celebrate her wedding, to celebrate the union of her and our son. To join our families. She did not invite you to berate her and have her hard work claimed,” Tom said.

“She owes you nothing but respect because you raised her, but that doesn’t mean giving up her home,” Carol said.

A young mother and daughter | Source: Pexels

“But we’re her family,” my mother said, clearly not expecting this level of pushback.

“Only by blood,” Mark said, stepping into the house. “Family supports one another. They don’t tear you down. And that’s what you’ve done to Carina for years.”

“You should be so proud of your girl,” Carol continued. “She’s done so much for us. I am so proud of her. Tom, too. She’s the daughter that I wanted all along.”

A smiling man | Source: Pexels

Mark found his way to me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I looked at my parents, seeing the dawning realization on their faces.

“I love you, I do,” I said. “But this is my life, and you’ve only been in it again for five minutes, and you’re already demanding things of me. Is that fair? I’ve worked too hard to let anyone take that away from me.”

My father sighed heavily.

An elderly man looking down | Source: Unsplash

“We didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“Then respect my choice,” I said gently. “Be present for my wedding, but after that, you can go your own way again.”

After the confrontation, my parents seemed to understand, if only a little.

A bride holding a card | Source: Pexels

When we left to the restaurant, everyone was subdued, except for Mark and my in-laws. I didn’t see a point in canceling the dinner because of the confrontation.

We sat down to eat, everyone lost in their own thoughts while Carol made comments about seeing me in my dress.

“Mark, you’re in for such a treat. Carina looks beautiful in that dress,” she said, digging into her salmon.

I smiled at my future mother-in-law. I always knew that she loved me, but her comments of the day had truly made me realize just how much.

A bride with wedding dresses | Source: Pexels

I was lucky. I had gotten lucky with Mark, but even more so with his parents.

I watched as my mother’s face fell when Carol went on, talking about the dress fitting. But I didn’t have it in me to make her feel better.

After dinner, we left the restaurant, parting ways with my parents and sister.

“We’ll see you at the wedding,” my father said, getting into the car.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

A man sitting in a car | Source: Pexels

Let’s see what happens at my wedding.

What would you have done?

If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you:

Claire just wants to be the glamorous mother-of-the-groom—but when she realizes that her daughter-in-law has her own plans for the wedding, she steps back to focus on her own outfit, only for there to be a fight between her and Alice on the big day. Alice claims that Claire has destroyed the wedding by stealing her dream dress, while Claire sees nothing wrong in her actions. Who is wrong?

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

My Husband Traded Our Family of Four for His Mistress — Three Years Later, I Met Them Again, and It Was Perfectly Satisfying

Three years after my husband abandoned our family for his glamorous mistress, I stumbled upon them in a moment that felt like poetic justice. It wasn’t their downfall that satisfied me. It was the strength I had found in myself to move forward and thrive without them.

Fourteen years of marriage, two wonderful kids, and a life I thought was solid as stone. But everything I believed in came crashing down one evening when Stan brought her into our home.

It was the beginning of the most challenging and the most transformative chapter of my life.

A woman standing in her house | Source: Midjourney

Before this happened, I was immersed in my routine as a mother of two kids.

My days were a blur of carpools, homework help, and family dinners. I lived for Lily, my spirited 12-year-old, and Max, my curious 9-year-old.

And though life wasn’t perfect, I thought we were a happy family.

A couple walking on the beach | Source: Pexels

The thing is, Stan and I had built our life together from scratch. We’d met at work and had instantly connected.

Soon after becoming friends, Stan proposed to me, and I had no reason not to say yes.

Over the years, we went through so many ups and downs, but one thing that stayed firm was our bond. I believed all the bad times we spent together had strengthened our bond, but I had no idea how wrong I was.

Lately, he’d been working late. But that’s normal, right?

A man using his laptop | Source: Pexels

Projects piled up at work, and deadlines loomed. These were just the sacrifices of a successful career. He wasn’t as present as he used to be, but I told myself he loved us, even if he was distracted.

I wish I knew that wasn’t true. I wish I knew what he’d been doing behind my back.

It happened on a Tuesday. I remember because I was making soup for dinner, the kind Lily loved with the tiny alphabet noodles.

I heard the front door open, followed by the unfamiliar sound of heels clicking on the floor.

A close-up shot of a woman’s heels | Source: Pexels

My heart skipped a beat as I glanced at the clock. It was earlier than usual for Stan to be home.

“Stan?” I called out, wiping my hands on a dish towel. My stomach tightened as I walked into the living room, and there they were.

Stan and his mistress.

She was tall and striking, with sleek hair and the kind of sharp smile that made you feel like prey. She stood close to him, her manicured hand resting lightly on his arm as if she belonged there.

Meanwhile, my husband, my Stan, looked at her with a warmth I hadn’t seen in months.

A man standing in his living room | Source: Midjourney

“Well, darling,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension as her eyes swept over me. “You weren’t exaggerating. She really let herself go. Such a shame. She’s got decent bone structure.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Her words sliced through me.

“Excuse me?” I managed to choke out.

Stan sighed like I was the one being unreasonable.

“Lauren, we need to talk,” he said, crossing his arms. “This is Miranda. And… I want a divorce.”

A woman in a black dress | Source: Midjourney

“A divorce?” I repeated, unable to process what he was saying. “What about our kids? What about us?”

“You’ll manage,” he said in a clipped tone as if discussing the weather. “I’ll send child support. But Miranda and I are serious. I brought her here so you’d know I’m not changing my mind.”

As if that wasn’t enough, he delivered the final blow with a casual cruelty I hadn’t thought him capable of.

“Oh, and by the way, you can sleep on the couch tonight or go to your mom’s place, because Miranda is staying over.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

A worried woman | Source: Midjourney

I felt so angry and so hurt, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Instead, I turned and stormed upstairs, my hands shaking as I grabbed a suitcase from the closet.

I told myself to stay calm for Lily and Max. As I packed their bags, tears blurred my vision, but I kept going.

When I walked into Lily’s room, she looked up from her book. She immediately knew something was not right.

“Mom, what’s going on?” she asked.

A girl reading a book | Source: Pexels

I crouched down beside her, stroking her hair.

“We’re going to Grandma’s for a little while, sweetheart. Pack a few things, okay?”

“But why? Where’s Dad?” Max chimed in from the doorway.

“Sometimes grown-ups make mistakes,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “But we’ll be okay. I promise.”

They didn’t press for more, and I was grateful. As we walked out of the house that night, I didn’t look back.

The life I had known was gone, but for my kids, I had to keep moving forward.

A woman standing in her house | Source: Midjourney

That night, as I drove to my mother’s house with Lily and Max fast asleep in the backseat, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. My mind raced with questions I didn’t have answers to.

How could Stan do this? What would I tell the kids? How would we rebuild our lives from the ashes of this betrayal?

When we arrived, my mom opened the door.

“Lauren, what happened?” she asked, pulling me into a hug.

But the words stuck in my throat. I just shook my head as tears streamed down my face.

A woman crying | Source: Pexels

In the days that followed, everything became a blur of legal paperwork, school drop-offs, and explaining the unexplainable to my children.

The divorce was swift, leaving me with a settlement that barely felt like justice. We had to sell the house, and my share of the money went toward buying a smaller place.

I got us a modest two-bedroom home. A home where I wouldn’t have to worry about getting betrayed.

A dining table in a small kitchen | Source: Pexels

The hardest part wasn’t losing the house or the life I thought I’d have. It was watching Lily and Max come to terms with the fact that their father wasn’t coming back.

At first, Stan sent child support checks like clockwork, but that didn’t last.

By the six-month mark, the payments stopped altogether, and so did the phone calls. I told myself he was busy, or maybe he needed time to adjust.

But as weeks turned into months, it became clear that Stan wasn’t just gone from my life. He’d walked out on the kids too.

A woman standing near a window | Source: Midjourney

I later learned through mutual acquaintances that Miranda had played a significant role in this. She had convinced him that staying in touch with his “old life” was a distraction.

And Stan, ever eager to please her, had gone along with it. But when financial troubles began to creep in, he didn’t have the courage to face us.

It was heartbreaking, but I had no choice but to step up for Lily and Max. They deserved stability, even if their father couldn’t provide it.

Slowly, I began to rebuild—not just for them, but for myself.

A woman working on her laptop | Source: Pexels

Three years later, life had settled into a rhythm I cherished.

Lily was in high school now and Max had taken his love for robotics to the next level. Our little home was filled with laughter and warmth, and it showed how far we’d come.

Our past no longer haunted us.

At that point, I thought I’d never see Stan again, but fate had other plans.

A woman standing in a room | Source: Midjourney

It was a rainy afternoon when everything came full circle.

I had just finished grocery shopping and was juggling bags in one hand and my umbrella in the other when I noticed them. Stan and Miranda were seated at a shabby outdoor café across the street.

And it looked like time had not been kind to either of them.

Stan looked haggard. His once-tailored suits were replaced by a wrinkled shirt and a tie that hung awkwardly loose around his neck.

His hair was thinning, and the wrinkles on his face were proof of his exhaustion.

A close-up shot of a man | Source: Midjourney

Miranda, still dressed in designer clothes, looked polished from afar, but up close, the details told another story. Her dress was faded, her once-luxurious handbag scuffed, and her heels worn down to the point of fraying.

Upon spotting them, I was unsure whether to laugh, cry, or keep walking.

But something kept me rooted to the spot. I guess it was curiosity.

As if sensing my presence, Stan’s eyes darted up and locked with mine. For a split second, his face lit up with hope.

A man smiling | Source: Midjourney

“Lauren!” he called, scrambling to his feet and nearly knocking over his chair. “Wait!”

I hesitated but decided to approach, carefully setting my groceries down under the awning of a nearby storefront.

Meanwhile, Miranda’s expression soured the moment she saw me. Her eyes flickered away as if avoiding a confrontation she knew she couldn’t win.

“Lauren, I’m so sorry for everything,” Stan blurted, his voice cracking. “Please, can we talk? I need to see the kids. I need to make things right.”

A man talking to his ex-wife | Source: Midjourney

“Make things right?” I asked. “You haven’t seen your kids in over two years, Stan. You stopped paying child support. What exactly do you think you can fix now?”

“I know, I know,” he began. “I messed up. Miranda and I…” He glanced at her nervously. “We made some bad decisions.”

“Oh, don’t blame this on me,” Miranda snapped, finally breaking her silence. “You’re the one who lost all that money on a ‘surefire’ investment.”

“You’re the one who convinced me it was a good idea!” Stan shot back at her.

An angry man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

Miranda rolled her eyes.

“Well, you’re the one who bought me this,” she said, gesturing to her scuffed designer bag, “instead of saving for rent.”

I could feel the tension between them. It felt like years of resentment were now bubbling to the surface.

For the first time, I saw them not as the glamorous couple who had destroyed my marriage, but as two broken people who had destroyed themselves.

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

Finally, Miranda stood, adjusting her faded dress with a look of disgust.

“I stayed because of the child we had together,” she said coldly, her words directed more at me than at Stan. “But don’t think for a second I’m sticking around now. You’re on your own, Stan.”

With that, she walked away, her heels clicking against the pavement, leaving Stan slumped in his chair. He watched her go and didn’t once stop her. Then, he turned back to me.

“Lauren, please. Let me come by. Let me talk to the kids. I miss them so much. I miss us.”

A man talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney

I stared at him for a long moment, searching his face for any trace of the man I had once loved. But all I saw was someone I barely recognized. A man who had traded everything for nothing.

I shook my head.

“Give me your number, Stan,” I said. “If the kids want to talk to you, they’ll call. But you’re not walking back into my house.”

He flinched at the finality in my tone but nodded, scribbling his number on a scrap of paper.

A worried man | Source: Midjourney

“Thank you, Lauren,” he said. “I-I’d be grateful if they call me.”

I tucked it into my pocket without looking at it and turned away.

As I walked back to my car, I felt a strange sense of closure. To be honest, it wasn’t revenge. But it was the realization that I didn’t need Stan to regret his choices for me to move on.

My kids and I had built a life full of love and resilience, and no one could take that away.

And for the first time in years, I smiled. Not because of Stan’s downfall, but because of how far we had come.

A woman standing outdoors | Source: Midjourney

If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: Between her dying father and a sick child, a pregnant Penelope thought she’d seen life’s worst… until she saw a message from her best friend on her husband’s phone: “I’m assuming since there hasn’t been an angry pregnant lady on my doorstep, you haven’t told her about us?”