I met my husband during a late-night university mixer—he had a warm smile and kind eyes, and we clicked instantly. Within months, he proposed, and we married in a magical ceremony beneath fairy lights in my mother’s backyard.
But the romance quickly faded. He stopped making an effort. I worked full-time, yet he treated me like his housekeeper—distant, dismissive, and entitled. His mother, Patricia, made things worse. She dropped by uninvited, hurled subtle insults, and judged everything I did. He never defended me—he even laughed along.