3 True Scary Stories of Betrayal by Fake Friends

[Music] when I entered High School I met someone named Stephanie the person who had become my everything for over 10 years I was a lonely shy child and Stephanie managed to make High School super fun we had other friends but at the end of the day it was always Stephanie and me we decided together to go to the same University and study business because she said that that would open many doors I thought it was a good idea and the universe was on our side because we managed it we got to shareid dorm our first

year there and moved off campus for the other 3 years when we graduated I thought it would be a good idea for us to have our own place so we could experience adulthood for the first time but we needed jobs for that so we both started looking Stephanie got an interview at a nice company a few weeks after graduation she got the job and Managed to recommend me I was encouraged to apply in a month later I was working at the same place and I really felt like we were sisters through and through we found

studio apartments on the same street and they were reasonably priced Stephanie said that we could be independent and still be there for each other and this was a great idea for most of my life I couldn't believe that I had been so lucky to find my best friend but but this new living and working Situation came with some changes I had longer hours than Stephanie because our roles were slightly different it's hard and boring to explain but I had to stay an hour more almost every day at first Stephanie waited for me so we could

take the subway together but the rush hour crowds were rough to manage eventually Stephanie decided to leave promptly at the end of her day and run errands she always checked on me though and I always sent her a message or a quick Emoji when I got home the thing is I had something then that I didn't have since high school time to myself I could go to the grocery store alone which is where I met Curtis I'm a little quirky so I was never interested in dating much when everyone else was and I only remember

having a two- we boyfriend back in high school and sharing a few kisses with randoms at University and it was nothing book boyfriends were all I needed to keep me satisfied in that sense if you Know what I mean Curtis was different though our c bumped in at the supermarket kind of like a romcom actually and he flirted with me pretty blatantly he looked like the man in my books and I just jumped at him figuratively not really because we spent that first night together you know I've always believed shy girls are only shy because

they haven't met the one they want in the end it wasn't a one night stand he wanted something more and he Lived close by and I was completely in so it took a while for me to notice that I hadn't seen Stephanie in almost 3 weeks and she was actually waiting for me after work one day and told me so and I'm so sorry for being so callous just texting and sending memes was not enough but she asked me what I was doing that day and I told her about Curtis to say that she was

shocked is sort of an understatement when I told her how serious things were going she was even More surprised and worried I assured her that everything was okay I liked him very much but I wasn't stupid either however I couldn't go out with her at night because he and I had plans already she didn't like that and wasn't afraid to tell me we had discussed this while growing up how we never wanted to be the kind of women who forget about their friends when they get boyfriends I told her this wasn't the same because I

had made plans with Curtis before Stephanie Said that we never needed plans before but I told her to start making them otherwise we would spend days without seeing each other I was acting cheerful during this conversation but I could tell that she wasn't entirely happy she sighed and said that we were going out the next night and I had to promise to tell her everything I thought that was an excellent idea the next day during our hangout I told her all I knew about Curtis everything that wasn't private But she asked even more she wanted

to know where he lived exactly where he worked his height his astrological sign his birthday I was confused but told her what I knew Stephanie asked me to find out the rest and I said I would because we were probably seeing each other in a few days we agreed to go to a new restaurant and Stephanie asked which one and I answered not thinking anything of it and believe it or not she showed up on our date Uninvited Curtis and I were already sitting at our table and she just stood there and the silence was

awkward so I looked at Curtis biting my lip he got my queue and invited her to sit okay I didn't like that and the next day at work she came into my cubicle and asked if we could have a girls night at my house soon I Lov that idea because I was trying to think of ways to tell her that showing up at the restaurant was not cool but I was still unsure if it was a Big deal or not seeing as we've known each other forever we had our girls night it was fun and

fatty and full of laughs I brought up the whole date crash and she skirted over the subject until I sort of Let It Go whatever I thought I didn't want to upset or hurt her by telling her that she was actually third Wheeling Stephanie's dating life was complicated I didn't know much but she went out with many guys at University and she said That it was the time to experiment in a way I thought that she was the opposite of me who just didn't care I never saw the faces of the men that she met

and if she slept with them she did it at their dorms or their Apartments what I knew was that she hadn't been serious with anyone either technically I was the first to have a stable boyfriend but a few days after our girl's night I noticed that Curtis hadn't texted or called since the last Time we saw each other the day before that girl's night he didn't reply to my messages and I was starting to worry I thought about calling Stephanie but I didn't want to Curtis and I and whatever went down with us seemed private

it also seemed stupid to panic after only a few days so I waited I decided to clean my apartment to pass the time and that's when I found it there was a shoe box under my bed I didn't keep any shoe boxes at all my parents were practically Hoarders and I had promised myself to throw out everything I didn't need but this one was small like the kind for children's shoes I took it out and almost discarded it but something told me to look inside that was confusing I saw a cloth napkin smudged with food

an old tube of red lipstick some hair and a vial of some black liquid the interior smelled like incense the kind that kind of gave me a headache I didn't remember having this trash but I grabbed the napkin and noticed the new restaurant logo we hadn't eaten there since Stephanie crashed our date I never took this napkin which meant that only two people were capable of making this box and putting it under my bed a flash of something passed through my mind my two we boyfriend from high school we broken up and I was bummed

in my room when Steph came to visit with ice cream and cookies at that Time I dropped a cookie accidentally and it rolled under my bed while getting it back I found a sock that smelled like the shoe box and I remember not being able to tell what it had inside Stephanie took it before I could look further and told me not to worry about it because I was wallowing in depression not really but fine and she threw it away or took it home I didn't care so The Shoe Box had to come from her

not Curtis I had a strange feeling And took a picture I eventually found a forum online and almost immediately people told me not to touch it too late I guess but okay they said it was witchcraft the bad kind I don't know what that meant but someone went into further detail and I was shocked by what she told me without me explaining anything about my life this user wrote asking if I had a boyfriend and if so I was probably having problems with him because that Box had the intention of breaking us up I replied

that I hadn't talked to my boyfriend in days and I think I knew who had done this she told me that I needed to confront whoever did it and throw those items away after I wasn't sure if I believed any of this but I took the box with me to work and during lunch I went to find Stephanie I asked her to come to the bathroom with me for a second and she smiled as we were walking she asked if Everything was okay with Curtis and her little comment made my hackles rise like she already

knew we went into the bathroom and I checked if it was fully empty and I took the shoe box out of my purse demanding to know what she did Stephanie denied knowing anything about it but I knew she wasn't a good liar I knew her or thought I did for years I even mentioned the sock she transformed before my eyes but Turned to only look at me through the mirror I don't know why I can only describe this moment as like that scene in The Little Mermaid where Ursula is Vanessa but in the mirror she

looks like Ursula not as obvious but the way Stephanie's face contorted in this sort of restrained anger was not normal for her she was a bubbly outgoing woman usually then she took the box from my hands and threw it in the trash after she went back only staring At me through the mirror and said fine I did it what are you going to do about it I backed up and tried to make her look at me for real but she wouldn't so I just stared at her through that mirror I asked her why she did

something like that because I actually looked it up and people told me that it was Voodoo or whatever and she started deflecting and asked if I had broken up with Curtis I hadn't because I hadn't talked to him in a while and she just started to laugh That same same creepy laugh okay maybe it wasn't as dramatic as Ursula but I swear it seemed that way she said it was over for me and him and that I had to remember that she was my best friend and I was hers and she really dug into that

phrase you're mine and I just stepped back I had no idea what was going on or what she meant but before I could back away any further she grabbed my hand her face did turn to me this time but for some reason she couldn't looked directly At my eyes and her fingers started to move across my Knuckles almost in a caress but not quite because I was trying to pull away I asked her to stop to look at me and talk like a normal person she was freaking me out I don't know if I was

yelling I probably was but Stephanie wouldn't stop she tried grabbing my other hand but I avoided it until my back hit the wall I heard a small whisper come from her mouth you're mine you won't leave Me she did finally take my other hand and did the same strange knuckle caress thing almost like she was counting each one slowly but that caress started turning painful she was pushing her fingers into the indentation between each knuckle pushing hard I couldn't speak although I wanted to cry out from the agony of the pain I was just sort

of Frozen with my back against the tiled wall I had no idea what would come next I didn't even know if I was crying in That moment or not all of this was just so insane freaking me out this was not Stephanie someone walked in the door in that office bathroom was Extremely Loud and like a spell breaking everything just snapped back into reality I almost felt like it had been a vision because I just blinked and Stephanie was at least four Paces away and finally looking directly in my eyes and she just smiled and

said that we would talk later and left But we didn't in fact talk later I waited because I was still hurt confused and curious but Stephanie ignored me from then on and asked for a transfer from work after that and she just cut me off fully from her life after and I still have no idea why look I know anyone else would have just cut her off first but she was my best friend before that day all of this was so strange and I couldn't understand anything and as crazy as it sounds the Night of

our bathroom face off Curtis actually called me and apologized for not texting sooner he got spooked about us moving too fast but snapped out of it that day and wanted to make it up to me I find it hard to believe that this was all because of the box or whatever Stephanie was doing to me in that bathroom anyone would easily explain it away as some coincidence and I think of it like that but sometimes I still Wonder Maybe Also if Stephanie felt like I was hers why did she cut me off like that and

not getting closure is just terrible especially because the mirror stare Still Remains fresh in my mind and the pain in my Knuckles hasn't left since that day I still miss my best friend [Music] you need to be careful with some of the nicest people you've ever met the one person in my life who just came in and fit perfectly into my friend group was Also the most disturbing man I've ever encountered however it was thanks to him that I understood a few things about life and how easy it is to fall into a strange crowd

I had a large group of friends consisting of three women and five men including me we met during high school and stayed friends because we all went to the same nearby College my other groups of friends said that was lucky because most people lose touch with their old school buddies once life gets In the way I like that I still had them because they represented easier times in my life being around them felt like I was eating comfort food the worries about the future and current responsibilities disappeared when I was with them and we were

all in our mid 20s and although some of us dated and introduced new partners those people weren't exactly part of the gang as you say no one could really join us until one of my friends Richard introduced us To a guy named Francis Francis was his friend from work and the most charismatic guy in the whole world it wasn't a blatant class clown in your face Charisma but just this infinite confidence and the way he spoke that made you feel like you were the only person in the room I like women but there were times

when I questioned it around him he would always be touching you not rudely but with a hand on the shoulder or a nice pat on the Back he formed a connection instantly and we all liked him more than any other new person so Francis began joining our little Hangouts more often it was refreshing eight friends from high school tend to repeat the same anecdotes over and over until they die of boredom but Francis had fantastic Tales of getting in trouble from the age of 10 running away from his parents until the police found him sneaking

out to see his girlfriend whom his parents hated and Tons more stories we were all engrossed and it wasn't just what said it was what he did with what he learned from each experience Francis told us that his rebellious days stopped in college when he met some inspiring people and he started looking at life as an opportunity to support others he said that everyone should help each other as much as they can and that was a nice thought sure but most of the time people were too busy or too tired to do favors So easily

but Francis wasn't one of our female friends Hannah was fired from her job for trying to file a complaint with HR about her handsy coworker and we texted that in the group chat and I wrote that we should find a lawyer to sue the company I discovered then that Francis had been added to the group with the little popup message saying Francis is typing he told Hannah not to worry because he knew some people and could get her a new job and he came through And Hannah had a job less than 2 weeks later with

a higher salary in actual benefits once she settled into the job she wanted to forget about her old one and we supported her decision not to pursue legal matters Francis was the hero of our group at that point when another friend Tina needed to move he brought over some of his other friends and helped her so no one would spend a dime I couldn't help because I have a bad back but that was impressive of him And there seemed to be a million scenarios like this and it seemed like Francis had helped us all out

at one time or another and we had only known him for a few months but he became our go-to person the one we depended on the most and this meant that despite being the new one in the group he actually kind of took on a leadership role Francis picked wherever we went and in the beginning we didn't care because it was just a nice break from the routine To eat new food or check out a new spot but something rubbed me the wrong way one evening when Hannah mentioned craving our usual Hangouts buffalo wings but

Francis had seen something and wanted to support a local Vietnamese shop I also wanted wings but I didn't want to go against Francis at that that moment not because of anything consciously I just somehow felt bad that here was this guy trying to support a small restaurant and we wanted to go to Our usual franchise spot in the end we went with francis's choice and it was fine the food was exotic and aromatic but no offense it wasn't something I could enjoy all the time and Hannah wasn't happy and I tried to make her laugh

telling her that we had eaten Wings a million times and it was nice to spice up our choices and Francis was right about helping shops locally she cheered up and we forgot about it and I only remember thinking something was Strange then because of everything that happened later life from our group went on as usual the third female friend Ellen introduced us to her boyfriend and he was a nice guy but like I said earlier we weren't the best at welcoming people so we knew that we wouldn't see him often Partners boyfriends and girlfriends were

kind of kept at arms length but the next thing I knew Ellen had broken up with the guy they were together for only two months which was Strange because Ellen was a very serious person she didn't get into relationships unless it was for the Long Haul she vetted these guys for a while before calling them boyfriends I asked Richard what happened with Ellen when Francis took us to a strange Brazilian barbecue with karaoke and while everyone was singing Richard told me Ellen broke up with her guy because of Francis I asked her if she liked

him and If they were together and Richard told me it wasn't like that Francis had caught Ellen's new man checking out too many other women in the club and he knew some people who knew him he wasn't the good guy he seemed so Francis talked with alen and a few weeks later she had broken up with him Richard said that he was glad that Francis had caught that about this guy because Ellen didn't deserve to get her heartbroken but I wasn't comfortable with this whole story I said that Francis probably shouldn't have meddled and should

have just let things take their course and Richard told me no way and he was even more glad that someone in the group cared about the girls so much to actually protect them and so far Francis had protected and helped them out the most I guess I thought he liked one of them but it didn't seem likely because he didn't really hit on them during our Hangouts and Richard saw me kind of scoff and Told me that I had to be grateful to Francis too and I knew that I guess and a few weeks before

this conversation my parents' basement flooded and we discovered that their home in didn't cover it Francis managed to find people who worked for almost nothing and he got everyone else to help cover the funds my family needed I told Richard that he was completely right and I was so grateful to Francis despite all of my concerns and this must have been the Reason why I and everyone else agreed to the next outing that Francis suggested we were at our friends Ali's house when Francis announced that we had to save one weekend for his special annual

glamping trip I boo dud because I hated nature Hannah was on my side but the rest of the guys Richard olly Julian and Zach told me that I owed Francis Francis said no one owed him but the trip was something that he did every year and he would be eternally grateful To have his friends there this time I was nervous I couldn't exactly refuse after he put it that way and I looked at Hannah Ellen and Tina who all kind of just Shrugged none of them really wanted to it wasn't like us but our other

friends were already on board and finally I just said glamping it is then and a few weeks after that party we set off on a 3-day two night glamping trip I had bathed myself an insect repellent and bought more just in case and we Arrived at the spot Francis picked after 5 hours of driving it was remote enough to smell the pine trees but other people were there too and that made me feel much better however my idea of glamping was much different than francis's this place had tents but they didn't look glamorous at all

the rinking dink beds looked dangerous particularly for my back and the only bright side was that we had a little building nearby with actual toilets and Showers the girls whined to Francis about his concept of glamping but he told them this was much nicer than what real camping entailed and he even picked this place because of the bathroom building just so they could be more comfortable now looking back I see this as sort of a deflection whenever we had something to say Francis pointed out how nice and accommodating he was it was an extremely effective

method of keeping us in line I Remember thinking later after everyone picked their beds and settled their stuff Francis gathered us all around the not yet lit campfire as it was still daylight he said that he always liked to start his trips with a little prayer to the heavens I didn't know that he was religious and asked him about it and Francis just chuckled and said that he was only spiritual but he wanted all of us to join in and so we did and it Started out serious enough although I knew some of the men

thought that Francis was kidding and then we made it into a joke you've seen that Sandra bolock movie with Betty White right and we did that and foled around jumping all over our glamping spot it was the first time that I had relaxed since I got in the car earlier I was one of the drivers because I had an SUV but I saw francis's expression he was let's just say disappointed and I Can't say that he was angry because he didn't say a word and went into his tent after finishing his little prayer while the

others remained kind of just messing around I didn't want to pay him any attention anymore so I just laughed and sort of twirled around with Hannah some more I was surprised at how much fun we had that night though we ignited the campfire ate hot dogs and Zach told us some scary stories and Francis added a few more Tales from his adventures which I wasn't sure were true then but I really didn't care I wasn't so worried about mosquitoes because my cinella candle had actually worked after everything I slept like a baby but early the

next morning Francis told us that we were going on a deep hike into the woods I asked if some of us could skip because walking was awful for my back pain but after last night everyone wanted to be adventurous so they roped me into it it took hours of hiking before we reached a Very nice little waterfall Francis told us to stop there I said the water looked freezing so he could didn't ask us to jump in that I wouldn't do it and I sort of said this jokingly but I was being honest and I

had to put my foot down Francis sort of just stared into my eyes and said you're going in that water we all are right now take off your clothes I laughed I told him that's pretty funny but no I wasn't doing that And then he said I had no choice I had to do it everyone had to do it because that's what we came here for I again said no thinking that maybe he was still joking and Hannah stepped to my side saying no too olly joined francis's side though and started calling us chickens suddenly

everyone was taking sides without any prompting Hanah Ellen and Tina joined me not just because the water looked too cold to swim in but also because they Didn't like the idea of getting naked in the woods yes Francis meant everyone had to get naked and we had been friends for years but not that kind of friends we went to the beach and saw each other in bikinis and shorts and that was it and Francis had all the men on his side though except for me and they were dead serious and everything got real quiet for

a moment before Hannah said that enough was enough she was sort of chuckling awkwardly and started walking Away in the direction that we came from but Francis took her by the arm and pulled her back very roughly he told her that she couldn't leave and that he had gotten her a job and helped when things got tough so she had to trust him I wasn't comfortable with that phrase it was more of his manipulation and I said it was time to cut this out because we wouldn't do it it wasn't funny and the best compromise

was for us to just go and the rest of the guys could do Whatever weird stuff naked that they wanted to Francis looked at my male friends and made this sort of headshake like when you're asking what are you waiting for and suddenly all the guys sprung into action they surrounded all of us and started pulling at our clothes taunting us and I can't describe what that was like as a man so I can't even imagine what it felt like for Hannah Tina and Ellen I fought Oli off and helped the Women and I was

incredibly livid with all of them Francis hadn't touched a single one of us he was just waiting with his arms crossed like some father waiting for his kids to do what he ordered and the rest of the men were just laughing and sort of waiting for something while we stared at them in just shock and hurt in that moment I didn't recognize any of them I heard Ellen sniffling Tina had her arms wrapped around herself and Hannah was Putting her jacket back on I don't remember who took it off of her but I knew our

long run his friends had at that moment come to an end in one second Francis clapped and shouted they need some encouragement to follow us huh I don't know what in the universe he came to that conclusion after seeing our faces but the men started undressing the girls all instinctively turned away and huddled together and Francis took off his clothes and I'm Talking fully nude here he started jumping around yelling but also making these sort of monkey noises and all the other dudes echoed him I literally felt like I was in the Twilight Zone because

all these dudes had just gone completely primitive theyan R around us making us get closer and I was just trying to cover the girls from them but I was also scared out of my mind suddenly Francis got on a rock and started chanting his own name over and over again and once Again all the other guys followed chanting his name the forest was just filled with their shouts until Francis told them to jump into the freezing water I still couldn't tell if this was some insane joke I was slack jawed while watching all of them

as they cannonballed without a second thought but then all these women were just crying behind me Francis got down from the Rock and came to me in all of his Nakedness and his expression was nothing like the guy who had rush to help us all before they had this sort of Pride and his signature confidence but it was all Amplified and sprinkled with a touch of outrage that we were denying him whatever he wanted he said he was going to ask us to join him one last time and if we didn't we would never be

welcomed around him again it took all my strength to tell him that we weren't doing it and he spit on my hiking boots and just ran Off to jump in the lake while the other men cheered I turned told the women to hold hands and use my phone to find our way back we heard them calling us all back jeering for us but we didn't listen we kept going until we got to our camp I just urged them all to pack their things because we were leaving immediately and they agreed we got into my car

and we drove off and that ride back home was insane alen and Tina were sobbing while Holding each other in the back seat meanwhile I could feel my hands shaking on the steering wheel because I was trying not to break down and just get everyone home safely Hannah put a hand on my shoulder and started rubbing it and we were talking and about an hour later the car was mostly silent at that point and Hannah just asked softly what are we going to do what what was that and I just shook my head I had

no Idea I didn't know if those weirdos were all on LSD or drugs or what and Ellen asked if we should go to the police and say something because yeah they technically were assaulted I didn't know much but I told her that we could do anything they wanted and as the women talked about their options I just started to cry I was blubbering telling them how sorry I was that I couldn't protect them better and Hannah was the voice of reason in That moment she told me it wasn't my fault it wasn't any of our

faults it was that weirdo Francis and our other friends Tina made it clear that she was never going anywhere near any of them again and we all agreed to that I didn't want to see them either no matter how close we had all been for our whole lives they had changed none of that should have ever happened Hannah convinced the other girls to stay at her house and she invited me but I wasn't Sure they wanted a man around that night instead I offered to pick them up the next day and take them to the

police if they wanted in the end they didn't because Hannah called her cousin a lawyer who said that the police probably wouldn't do anything to them it would just look like a harmless game with friends going skinny dipping but I joined them for lunch at Hannah's house the next day which was a Sunday and we discussed things further I got to air Out all all I felt about Francis and how he had started making me uncomfortable they felt the same way and told me some more stuff how we often showed up at Tina's new house

unannounced and stayed way longer than he should have he was never inappropriate so she didn't have the heart to tell him to leave Ellen talked about her breakup with the guy Francis didn't like it turns out Francis talked with her new boyfriend behind her back and got him to break up with her She just told Richard and the others the same story to hide that and she didn't want to tell us the truth because everyone seemed to like Francis so much and I'll be honest I was angry with her in that moment if she had

been truthful perhaps we could have done something but I didn't say anything and by the end of that lunch we all agreed that our friend group was pretty much done it was bittersweet but it was the right thing for everyone I went home not Knowing when or if I would see any of them again because we all just needed some space that evening Richard called me I didn't answer we had all left the group chat but I blocked them individually too Ollie came to my door but I wouldn't open it either Francis came knocking a

few days later and this time I got real close to my people and told him to just get out of there or I'd call the police I also told him the women would do the same and that he was A psycho who needed to leave our lives for good I didn't expect him to do what I asked but he did the rest of the guys stopped trying to communicate eventually and they didn't reach out to the girls either as I expected we all lost touch I had other friends so I was never truly alone and

I had some trouble for a while after that trip but I worked it out and thankfully my life is pretty solid Ellen managed to get back together with that boyfriend and I actually saw That they're getting engaged according to her Instagram Hannah quit the job Francis got her and just moved abroad somewhere and she's the one that I actually texts the most but it's not that frequent Tina's doing good too and just settled into a new house with her partner as for the men I don't hear from them whenever I get curious I remember that

hike and I stop myself from checking their socials but I've heard about Francis he's become some sort of Motivational speaker on social media and people in our area seem to know of him I try to ignore his Fame as best I can for my own Mental Health I have no idea what came over all of them that day I still have the theory that maybe they were on drugs or something some of them experimented from time to time but just how insane they acted that day it just doesn't make [Music] sense I thought I had

hit the lottery When I met my boyfriend's family his mother was so nice and welcoming from day one she immediately wanted to include me in family traditions although I was still just a girlfriend back then my boyfriend's father was a little quiet and a typically manly man but he was nice enough to everyone it felt beautiful and things only got better when my boyfriend proposed I invited my mother-in-law along with my mother and sisters for Almost every event that I was having as the bride she cried when she saw me in my dress at the

fitting and I can't describe the kind of speech that she made at the wedding and those were some of the most beautiful words anyone has said to me in my entire life my own mother told me that I was the luckiest girl alive to find such wonderful in-laws because my paternal grandmother was I guess a raging lunatic in short she was never our Grandma because she hated my mother so much but as it stood my future children if and when I decided to have them would have both sets of grandparents so my mother was so

excited for me I should probably give everyone some fake names to make things a little clearer here and keep things relatively Anonymous I'll call my mother-in-law Lucinda and my husband Eric and you should also understand that we're Caucasian an American family and this happen this Century obviously no one was really religious my husband's family were Protestant Catholics but not really churchgoers and my family only attended church for weddings and really in short there was no special clashes or really any signs of what would come next I can't say that there was any evident flip of

the switch because it all happened so gradually I was the literal frog in a pot of slowly boiling water as I like to Say aric and I went on our honeymoon to the Bahamas and had a wonderful time we talked about nothing and everything at the same time one thing I made clear is that I was considering graduate school so I wanted to wait a few years before we started having any children we had only discussed these things in general terms but after marriage you have to set a few ground rules to really let each

other know which direction you're going in and Eric was completely Supportive he said it was a wonderful idea to wait and we could save money for the future get a better house Etc amazing I thought when we got back from our trip we settled into our daily routines as a married couple I should have noticed at that point what I didn't when we were dating or you could say that it started at that time but I began cooking all the meals and Eric got sloppier than ever we only lived together for a year before we

Were married and he was never really that sloy he liked cooking for me but in this sort of New Normal he was leaving things around not washing dishes telling me when he needed laundry done and what I needed to make him for dinner and I know that was a red flag right away but you don't notice this stuff when you're still rotting the high of a wedding in honeymoon I was working too and researching how and where to apply to graduate school how much money we would Have to spend and if I could juggle it

with my job and by the end of that first week back I was completely exhausted and Sunday I was looking forward as sleeping and just sort of rotting in bed all day instead Eric dropped the bomb on me that his parents were coming for lunch so I needed to get the house ready I asked him why he didn't tell me sooner and he replied that he thought he did and anyway this will be our weekly routine now he said Excuse me I asked what he meant by that and he said that his mother had decided

that we needed to have a weekly lunch or dinner because she didn't want us to lose touch with daily life I told him I would have been fine with that if only he had discussed it with me earlier and I'm tired from that crazy week previously Eric said that if I didn't want to do it I should be the one to call his mother and tell her that was so angry and honestly I loved Lucinda so Much that I wouldn't dare do such a thing I got up from bed and told Eric that if we

were working so hard on a Sunday he had to help and he agreed Lucinda and her husband we'll call him Anthony arrived after I spent the entire morning making a nice lunch and what did Eric do he mowed the lawn I guess that was something but anyway we sat down to lunch lucenda wanted to know all about her honeymoon and we laughed telling her stories and such after lunch Eric and his father went to the back patio to drink and talk I didn't like that because it left me with all the dishes luckily I had

Lucinda who volunteered to help and I thanked her gladly and I felt comfortable enough to talk to her about the few things that I was currently dealing with I told her that her son was becoming sloppier than he'd ever been and she just sort of laughed and said something along the lines of that always happens to men when They get married I asked her what she did to change that and she looked at me funny she didn't understand why I wanted to change that she told me I simply had to follow along because I was

married and becoming a wife meant taking care of my husband I laughed I honestly and truly thought that she was kidding in that moment and there was no way this amazing woman was telling me something so 1950s she had to be joking when I looked at Her again she wasn't laughing with me Lucinda was staring me dead in the face and I kind of lost my breath for a second from how creepy it was I'm not kidding she said and showed only a little annoyance as she continued she said it was her job for years

to take care of her husband and she also asked if I was looking down on her I immediately shook my head I couldn't believe that she would interpret my laughter that way but I also explained That I was working just as hard as him and that we should be sharing the household responsibilities and everything that entails Lucinda grabbed my arm and squeezed a little too hard for Comfort but not enough for me to complain in the moment and she says this marriage and when you have kids it'll be harder and you have to prepare for

that I want my grandkids to grow up in a good home I tried to loosen her fingers and Said that was fine but Eric and I had discussed kids and we wouldn't be having them anytime soon the arm squeezing got painful this time she asked what I was talking about and I told her that Eric and I had agreed to wait because I was going to grad school finally she let my arm go and threw the dish plate that she had been helping me dry onto the sink actually jumped at the noise she told me

I Couldn't wait to have children I was getting too old I guess 28 is old and I needed to start having children immediately or they would come out and I won't write this but she used the RW and other not so nice terms then she went into a lecture about women prioritizing the wrong things according to her a career wasn't important for a woman What mattered was family only besides I already had a college degree and a good job why would I need anything else I had Accomplished everything and it was time to focus on

the future now don't get me wrong I wasn't being persuaded by this very Antiquated rant but I was in such shock that she would say these kind of things to me one reason I mentioned our country race and religion and more is that I understand people in other places still have these sort of expectations in their society but not in modern America I thought not the one I grew up in or the one I Thought I was marrying into yet I was so stunned that I just sort of took it and when Lucinda finished her

rant she went to grab the dish plate again but I lowered my voice to something very soothing and asked her to sit down I served her some tea and got back to work to finish the dishes when I picked up her empty cup she gently took my arm again and said don't tell Eric any of this these are wife worries he doesn't need to Know screw that I thought I sat Eric down that night as soon as his parents left which took way longer than I expected and lunch almost turned into a nightmare I was

worried about having to make them dinner but I also told my husband that I wasn't going to put up with any of this attitude and I didn't sign up to be a housewife I was going to advance my career and he was going to be my partner not a child that I had to take care of if he couldn't do that I Thought that we might have to get divorced and he panicked and he apologized and said that he hadn't noticed what he was doing and he was sorry well good I thought but I needed

more than just apologies I wanted a real change in him and this did work and following that conversation Eric went back to being the partner that he had been before marriage the problem was of course Lucinda my mother-in-law whom I really couldn't talk to like I did with My husband I agreed to Sunday lunch every week just to keep the peace but Lucinda began to show up more often it was always after I had arrived from work on the first surprise visit she knocked and I opened and let her in not so gladly but what

could I really do she came to show me something under the guise of welcoming me more into the family it was a cookbook a copy of the one all the women in their family had at home it was very nice but she made me Cook one of the recipes that night and she stayed and she didn't help at all Lucinda said that I had to learn on my own because she wouldn't be there forever Eric arrived and we sat down and she left without helping to clean up another day she showed up with my father-in-law's

shirts to teach me how to sew buttons another time her lesson was a special way to do laundry that left things softer and better and I was kind of losing my patience with her I Told Eric and he said he would have a talk with her and later she wanted me to come over and at first it was different because she was buttering me up she fed me cookies and showed me old photo albums of Eric as a child I knew this was a sort of persuade me to have kids type of day and I

just sort of nodded and smiled but one night was terrible for me I don't remember if I had a bad day at work or if I was just feeling awful but When I saw that Lucinda was waiting for me I just knew that something would happen I tried to hold it in and led her inside the house listening to her happy chatter about some friend of hers who had just become a grandma she looked at my house and told me that I needed to start vacuuming more often because it was getting too Dusty and I

said that I would soon she started making sniffing noises and said that I Needed to do more cleaning too because the house smelled musty I stepped into the kitchen for some water and she followed there were honestly like two dishes in the sink that I hadn't clean that morning because I was running a little late and Lucinda started clicking her tongue and shaking her head she said something like dear it's your responsibility to keep the house in shape I'm coming here more often I need To train you and that was it I spit out the

gulp of water that I had just taken and coughed for a while before I could start speaking or really shouting but I did and I told her there was no training me I wasn't a dog I wasn't a made two dishes and a little dust doesn't matter and her son didn't marry me to get live-in help that he could sleep with I admit that I was very rude and kind of hysterical and to be honest I expected a little push back Lucinda should have Gotten just as crazy with me and I thought that she would

scold me for raising my voice and go into another 1950s rant but she didn't I saw her face become completely stoic and her mouth was tightly shut and her nostrils were flaring only a little then she left the kitchen and got out of my house I would have followed and apologized but I was too tired I was sure that I would see her later Obviously and we could just have that conversation I considered that Eric probably never spoke to her about our agreement perhaps lucenda would call him crying about the way that I spoke to

her I look forward to that to this open communication you know but my husband got home kissed me and we went about our night as normal as ever he was tired but he helped me with the dishes was affectionate and we went to bed on great terms all right I thought Lucinda wanted To keep these things between us and maybe that's why she had asked me not to tell Eric about these wife worries but the next morning I decided to apologize when she came over and we could sit down and talk lucenda didn't come and

she didn't answer any of my calls I asked Eric if everything was all right with her and he said that he talked to her and everything seemed fine I gave her a few days before I decided to go to her house my father-in-law answered the door And said Lucinda wasn't feeling too well so I left and then I have to admit that I didn't try harder I got busier at work and with the upcoming deadline for grad school Eric and I were happy at home so Lucinda kind of just slipped into the back of my

mind also my boss was supervising everything I did more than usual for some reason months passed and things were a little sad for me because none of the schools that I had applied to accepted me and I was pretty bummed Out around that time Eric got busy at work too life you know and before I knew it it was now Thanksgiving and we were going to Lucinda's house she was hosting the extended family and I hadn't seen most of them since the wedding and so to be nice and a little kiss ass I cooked an

apple pie from the recipe book that Lucinda gave me I brought it in and she wrinkled her nose and said something snarky like she didn't think that I wanted to be a maid and a cook I let it Go because she obviously was still angry at me the issue later was that almost everyone at the party avoided me at first I thought that I was just imagining things but people stealthily left rooms whenever I was around a few conversations stopped when I stepped out of the kitchen onto the back porch throughout the evening Eric didn't

even notice but I was getting more concerned after dinner while everyone was still outside I managed to Corner Lucinda in the kitchen I apologized for yelling at her and went through my list of excuses and justifications and I blame myself entirely just to get on her good side Lucinda put down a tray of empty drinking glasses on her kitchen counter and turned to me and she started thanking me for the apology but it was too late I had shown her that I wasn't good enough for her son but she was going to make sure that

I changed that soon she said I asked her what she was Talking about Lucinda crossed her arms and insisted that I would be arranging my attitude soon lucenda was never a scary person but the way she looked at me she wasn't the woman who had cried at seeing my wedding dress I held my ground though I said that I wasn't going to change and what's more Eric loved me the way I was she smiled and chuckled all very condescendingly Lucinda said that he didn't love me fully right now because He needed a real wife just

like his mother I had a chance to become that type of wife with her help but I had squandered it which gave her no other choice but to intervene what intervene how and Lucinda came out with the entire truth she said that she had called all my schools because my husband told her which ones I had applied to and made sure to speak very badly about me she also found out my boss was married to her aunt's friend Called him too she said soon you won't have school or work so you only will focus on

Eric that's your purpose and I really couldn't believe it our thing happened months ago and never in my wildest dreams would I have suspected anything like this I asked her why she was telling me because I could easily expose her wrongdoings to the family and she laughed at me again the sort of little Huff sound and asked who would believe me and I knew this was the Reason people were avoiding me that day she had said something to turn the family against me and they were only being polite for Eric's sake except it was obviously

more than that as she smugly started telling me Lucinda told everyone that I was alienating her from her son she told me that Eric barely visited her because I didn't allow it and that I wanted to make him have a vasectomy so we would never have kids it was insane it was diabolical Really and nothing like the woman I had known I think Lucinda had been waiting to tell me her plans like a villain in a movie who details his entire plot right before killing the hero because she just sighed happily after she was done

it was insane though I was barely breathing thinking what would be her final blow and would I even survive all of this but I guess I did but Eric and I didn't as soon as we got home I just broke down I was sobbing and snot was coming out of My nose in a dis disgusting display and after a while I realized that Eric wasn't very comforting to me he had sat on our couch and crossed his arms and he looked so much like Lucinda and his next words were an echo of what she said

and I didn't want to hear it but I did Eric told me that I should have listened to his mother and he thought that I'd be a great housewife just like her and that it was my duty to become What I was meant to be and that meant that he had wanted all of this although he hadn't said a thing and had supported me before when he was done practically scolding me I asked why he had taken my side the times that I had talked to him and Eric thought that I would come around to

what really mattered he said also he hoped that getting me pregnant might help but he shut up and just stood I don't think he meant to tell me that Part though but he did and I don't know precisely what he was doing about my birth control but I believed him capable of anything at this point either way I knew things at that moment were over but I had one final question for him did you and lucenda plan for all of this together and Eric didn't answer but he got that same stoic look just like his

mother's I can't describe it very well but his silence just made me violent I lunched at him Slapped him as hard as I could now I know I was wrong I know I shouldn't have l hands on him but I told him to get that look off of his face immediately I was repeating myself but I told him more like screamed at him in no uncertain terms that it was not some perfect housewife to be bullied around and that's not what we had planned and out of nowhere a slap came back at me logically I

knew it was payback Because I had done it first but the pain that radiated from my cheekbone all the way down to my toes was nothing like I had ever felt felt before I wanted to fall back down on my butt and SOB some more but the look of hatred in Eric's eyes stopped me in my place I wondered if he would hit me more but he shook his head and just left for the night I don't know whether I had been stupid not to leave earlier as soon as his mother started acting weird but

I Wasn't going to be an idiot any longer I came from a family full of strong women who would tell me to walk away but it was just so bittersweet the entire last year of my life the dream wedding honeymoon and family that I had started to make was over I packed my bags and was ready to go in less than an hour Eric returned as I was readying my car and I braced for something but we were outside and we only stared at each other before he gave me a Parting Shot Saying you'll never

find anyone like me and of course he was right I found someone even better and guess what as time went on ironically I am a stay-at-home mom but I have a real partner who wants me to be a real parent and husband once he gets off of work and I did go to graduate school and I hope to get back to my career once the kids are older oh and I quit that job almost immediately and I am sad to report that I do believe Eric and Lucinda found Themselves a little Cinderella to exploit but

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