A Dirty Game
It happened again. She’d missed her cycle, and she couldn’t explain how it’d happened. The first time it happened, it almost gave her a heart attack. She and her husband were always careful, you see.
The second time was also a heartstopper. But this time, the third time, she knew something was off.
Someone was playing a dirty game here, and she needed to find out who it was before it was too late.
Three Weeks Of Marriage
But it wasn’t like she didn’t want to have kids. She just didn’t want them now. She and her husband discussed this extensively, agreeing they needed to get their lives in order before becoming parents.
They’d only been married for three weeks, and the woman was still in her mid-twenties. The way she saw it, she still had some time before she needed to consider bringing a child into the world.
But it seemed someone else had other ideas.
The Third Occurrence
The woman only knew something was wrong after the third time her mother-in-law came over. Although she loved her mother-in-law to the moon and back, she knew how controlling and overbearing the woman was.
She’d considered the possibility that this was her doing, even though she couldn’t understand how she was doing it.
It would make sense the moment she and her husband checked the camera footage.
An Ordered Life
Laura Thompson had always lived an ordered life. She’d long been the kind of person to plan everything out and stick to the plan. So far, her methods had never failed her.
By twenty-six, she’d cleared grad college, worked a great sales gig at a big corporation, and moved into her dream apartment.
But even though she had all these achievements under her belt, she knew something was missing.
Her Views On Love
For someone as accomplished as Laura, one thing had always proved elusive. Although she’d been brought up by both her parents, who were and are still very deeply in love and had witnessed all her siblings find their soulmates, she’d never quite believed in the whole institution of love.
To her, a heart was an organ made up of four chambers meant to pump blood. It wasn’t meant to bother itself with jobs such as decision-making.
That role was meant to be for the brain. This view had held for two and a half decades. But soon, it changed.
A Freight Train
Laura didn’t see it coming. The change hit her like an anvil, leaving her breathless and wanting more. She’d met a man who completed her in so many ways.
He made her feel special, made her laugh, and made her consider a life of romance and partnership.
The dates were perfect regardless of where he took her, and before she knew it, she’d fallen hopelessly.
A Believer
Laura never believed in love. But Ben changed this for her. And when she finally believed, she loved desperately and fiercely. She loved him like a timer was ticking under her feet, warning that she only had a few moments with him before the earth gaped and swallowed her whole.
For someone who had always thought with her brain, she couldn’t move when her heart wasn’t the one making the decisions.
She loved him, and when he asked her to marry him, she couldn’t say yes faster. If only she knew what she was getting herself into.
The Perfect Man
Everything about Ben was perfect, from him as a man to the people he surrounded himself with.
He was a man of good stock: a hardworking individual with a great view of the world, a kind and gentle heart, and a ferocious protectiveness to those he held dear.
Among this number was his mom, Esmeralda, a woman who would change Laura’s life forever.
A Great Mom
Esmeralda was like any mom in the world. She was protective of her son and wanted nothing but the best for him. Luckily for Laura, Esme loved her like she was her own daughter.
She constantly called to check in and drove by every weekend just to see Laura.
She was great, and Laura always counted her lucky stars for her. But all this changed the moment she and Ben tied the knot.
Boundaries
Esmeralda had once been a woman who respected boundaries. But just as Laura and Ben touched down from their honeymoon, she came bursting through the front door with her demands.
She had a folder full of family pictures and baby names in one hand and an assortment of ‘Ben’s’ toddler clothes from twenty-seven years ago. She said one thing that put terror in Laura.
Her Demands
“I want grandkids!” Esme said, barely able to control herself as she took off her jacket, hat, and shoes.
She threw her effects, except the shoes, on the couch and hurried to Laura, checking her womb.
It goes without saying that Laura was beyond embarrassed by her mother-in-law’s brazenness. Even more mind-boggling were the words that followed.
No Filter
“I know what happens at honeymoons,” Esme remarked, standing back with her hands on her hips. “I had my own honeymoon, and his father couldn’t stay away. We had Ben—”
“Mom!” Ben had to cut in, his cheeks flushed to match Laura’s. He let out a half-nervous, half-embarrassed chuckle and led his mom to the chair.
“We just arrived, okay? Can you let us change our clothes, at least?”
Make Yourself Comfortable
“Oh, right. Of course, my dear,” Esme answered. But she settled in, showing the newlyweds they were stuck with her for the night.
Sliding her baby file onto her lap, she got even more comfortable by pulling her legs onto the cushions before perusing the pages.
She needed to know if they’d conceived or not.
Her Hopes
Laura had hoped to spend the night after her honeymoon with her husband, reminiscing on their adventures across South East Asia, where they’d gone to celebrate their start as a married couple.
Instead, she found herself seated next to Ben, listening to her mother-in-law talk about grandchildren.
She watched Esme go through her file page after page, showing every member of her extended family and telling their stories. The older woman had no idea that Laura and Ben had already reached an understanding.
They Had Plans
Laura and Ben had already made plans when it came to kids. They wanted to wait for a bit before doing it.
Laura was still in her mid-twenties, only inching toward twenty-seven, and Ben was barely twenty-nine.
Both of them wanted to be in their thirties before they started trying for a child. When they shared this with Esme, the older woman was livid.
Heartbreak
She started spewing stories about why it was important to have kids while young, but while Laura understood her views, she simply couldn’t abide by them. She still had a lot of setting up to do before she became a mom.
Ben, too, had a few things in his career he needed to straighten out before he could become a dad.
They shared this with Esme, and Laura saw heartbreak in the woman’s eyes for the first time. She should have known this matter was far from over.
It Happens
Laura was confident this issue was behind them. She and her husband had talked to their mom for a few hours about why they couldn’t have kids yet, and Esme seemed to have listened and accepted it.
But two weeks later, Laura missed her first cycle. Usually, she’d get head-splitting cramps, which would almost render her immobile for a day or two.
She was shocked when her calendar informed her she should be in her cycle, and yet the pain was barely there.
Flabbergasted
Laura was flabbergasted. She couldn’t have been pregnant. She and Ben had wards in place to prevent such an occurrence. They were always careful. Her mind started racing as she wondered what she’d done wrong.
She started fearing the implications of a pregnancy. What would her husband say? Clearly, he’d insist it wasn’t his. He might have even accused her of being unfaithful! Laura choked back a cry.
To The Store
She rushed to the local store and bought a pack of pregnancy tests.
The first she took in the store’s bathroom, and when it read negative, she hurried home to take a few more. But they all came out negative.
But Laura couldn’t let out a sigh of relief. Not yet. All these tests could have been defective. She knew her body and believed it more than plastic sticks with tiny lines on them. She needed a more thorough test.
Nervous
Was she possibly just reading too much into the negative tests? Maybe they were accurate.
She made sure to buy the most expensive tests that she could. Could it be that the results were correct?
Laura was a bundle of nerves. Her emotions were all over the place. It made her even more worried now. What if her being so emotional was because she was pregnant?
Not The Right Time
How could this be happening? She was so careful. If she was pregnant now, it would ruin all of the plans she and Ben had.
They had planned to save a bit more money before having a child, and they wanted to spend more time together as a married couple first.
It just wasn’t the right time for this to happen to them.
The Suspicions Grow
As days passed without any concrete answers, Laura’s suspicions only grew stronger.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was tampering with their contraception, deliberately trying to force them into parenthood before they were ready. But who could it be?
She considered all the possibilities, turning them over in her mind like pieces of a puzzle. The more she thought about it, the more her head spun with possibilities.
Not Making Sense
No one had come into their house to do something like that. It didn’t make sense. She was being paranoid.
Maybe she had just forgotten to take her pills. She had been busy, and it must have slipped her mind a few times.
It was perfectly normal. However, she was so precise when it came to taking the contraception that she just couldn’t believe that it was she who had missed it. But one day, something truly unsettling happened.
Time Out
It was a casual Saturday afternoon, and Laura had spent the day with her sister. She tried to act casual, but on the inside, her mind was racing.
She hadn’t mentioned anything to Ben or anyone else in her life. She was too afraid.
That day, she decided to leave the house to get her mind off of things, but little did she know that Esme had decided to visit her son. That was the day Laura discovered something truly disturbing.
The Signs
She spent the morning shopping with her sister before the pair decided to have a quick lunch. But when the waitress placed the cheeseburger in front of Laura, something truly bizarre happened.
As the smell of her favorite food reached her nose, Laura began to feel sick to her stomach, her heart dropping in the process. All the signs were there. Was she pregnant?
But how could this have happened? She decided to go home instead, but she was about to walk in on something mortifying.
Home Early
As soon as Laura stepped through the front door, she spotted her husband. He was sitting on the couch, his feet kicked up.
At first, everything seemed normal. “Hey honey, you’re home early,” he said, but that was when her stomach twisted.
“I’m going to be sick,” Laura declared as she ran down the hallway and toward their bedroom, but she had no idea what she was about to walk in on.
Going To The Bathroom
Ben shouted something after her, but she didn’t hear him. She was too focused on the terrible feeling that had washed over her.
She rushed to their bedroom’s en suite bathroom, but as soon as she stepped into the bedroom, she heard something strange.
The bathroom door was closed, and she could hear sounds coming from inside. Suddenly, her nausea disappeared and was replaced with confusion.
Someone Inside
Who on earth was inside their bathroom? She slowly crept closer and pressed her ear against the door.
She could hear cabinets opening and closing, followed by the sound of someone fidgeting with what sounded like some kind of medication.
But if Ben was in the living room, who on earth was inside of their bathroom? Her heart dropped; she had to see what was going on in there.
Who Was It?
The second she heard what sounded like a cabinet closing, she decided to open the door.
She placed her hand on the handle and swung it open, her heart pounding in her chest. For a moment, she wondered if someone had broken in.
But why would they snoop through her bathroom? But when the door swung open, she couldn’t believe what she saw.
Esme
Esme was standing in front of the bathroom cabinet, cleaning supplies in hand. She slowly turned to face Laura, a smile on her face.
“Laura! You’re home early,” she said casually. But why on earth was she going through their cabinets?
“Aw, dear. You’re so pale. Looks like someone is feeling a little sick,” she said with a wink and stepped past Laura. “I was just cleaning the house for you,” she said. Something about it didn’t seem right.
It Didn’t Seem Right
Emse walked out of the room casually, leaving Laura standing in the middle of the bathroom, beyond confused.
Something just didn’t seem right, and she had to get to the bottom of it. Laura immediately opened the cabinet, but she was not ready for what she would find.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which confused Laura. She was certain that Esme had been snooping through her thing. But then she saw it.
Different
As soon as she spotted her birth control, she could tell that something was different.
It wasn’t where she usually kept it, and something about the packaging just seemed off. She grabbed it and inspected it closely. That’s when she saw something truly bizarre.
The packing was loose and seemed to be glued back together. Her heart dropped. Was it possible that her mother-in-law had been messing with her birth control?
Where Is She?
Laura’s blood was boiling, and she knew she had to confront her mother-in-law. She grabbed her birth control and rushed to the front of the house.
As soon as she stepped into the living room, Ben stared at her, confusion in his eyes.
He could tell that she was furious. “Where is your mother?” she asked. When Ben told her that the old woman had left already, she wanted to scream.
Confrontation
“What’s going on?” Ben questioned, confused by the visible anger behind his wife’s eyes.
He saw what she was holding in her hand, and that only confused him further.
“She’s tampering with my birth control! Look at this; she glued it back together! I’m telling you, she’s replacing my pills with something else,” she told her husband and passed him the packet.
Not Out Of The Ordinary
Ben stared down at the small packet in his hands, but he didn’t seem to see what she saw. He looked closely at the packaging, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him.
“I think it looks fine, honey,” he said, but Laura was convinced that he was wrong.
“I heard her in our bathroom! She was going through the cabinets. Why else would she be going through our things like that?” she questioned, but she could tell that Ben didn’t agree.
His Thoughts
As far as Ben was concerned, he was certain that his mother wouldn’t do something like that. Esme would never disrespect them like that. Laura could see the doubt behind his eyes.
“Honey, I don’t think my mother would do something like that. Look, it’s been a long day, and you’re not feeling well. I think you should take a nap, and then you’ll feel better,” he said.
Laura had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
Feeling Ill
She left the room and went to lie down on the bed. But she couldn’t stop thinking about what she had found.
Why else would her mother-in-law leave right after she caught her in the bathroom? It didn’t make sense.
As she lay on top of the bed, she began to feel sick again. She couldn’t help but wonder if her mother-in-law had been swapping out her birth control. What if she was pregnant?
She Had To Know
She thought back to the pregnancy tests; she was certain that they had to be invalid. She needed to know if she was pregnant or not.
That afternoon, she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was consumed by what she had seen and the terrible feeling in her gut.
She thought for hours on end about what she would do next. All she knew was that she needed to know the truth immediately.
Once And For All
There was only one more thing left for Laura to do.
It would settle this matter once and for all. She couldn’t take it anymore. It bothered her to no end.
She needed to get a professional’s opinion. There was no way she was going to carry on without getting another test. She needed to put her mind at ease.
She’s Afraid
Laura drove to the hospital and got a check-up. The results came out as negative. She’d been so shook that she could barely even talk. She couldn’t even be intimate with Ben throughout the week, fearing she might fall pregnant.
The month dragged by slowly. But soon, Laura got her monthly cycle. She grinned through the discomfort, thinking what happened a month before was a fluke.
She had no clue she was being watched.
Esme’s Visits
As before, time ticked by, and the following month came. Esme, who had been around the neighborhood, visited Laura and Ben and insisted on making dinner. Laura had eaten the woman’s food on several occasions and knew just how good it was.
She agreed to Esme’s request and handed her an apron.
Dinner was great, and after a few hours, Esme left. But it happened again about a week later when Laura should have been having her monthly cycle.
The Same Pattern
As Laura felt the familiar signs of her period approaching, she couldn’t shake off the creeping anxiety that had settled in her gut.
It was like déjà vu, the same pattern over and over.
However, it seemed like history was about to repeat itself. Anxiety came flooding over Laura again as she felt the same feeling as she previously had.
Once Again
This couldn’t be true. She felt the same symptoms once again. How could this possibly be happening again?
After everything that she went through. She promised herself to be extra careful this time and she had been.
Something just didn’t add up. Were her hormones playing tricks on her for a second time? Was it her diet or lack of exercise that was triggering the change?
She Didn’t Know What To Think
She tried her best to do some light exercise now and then, but it was difficult when she was so busy with work.
Could it be why her menstrual cycle was so irregular, or was there something else at play?
Laura didn’t know what to think anymore. At one point, she even suspected that Ben was behind it, but she trusted him. There was no way that he would do something like this.
An Unsettling Realization
As Laura mulled over the possibilities, a chilling thought crept into her mind. Who could be doing this to her?
The idea that her husband was responsible seemed preposterous at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Could Ben have something to do with this all along? Did he secretly want to be a father sooner?
Was It Him?
The mere thought of her husband sabotaging her menstrual cycle sent shivers down her spine.
It couldn’t be. He would never do that, and besides, there was never any indication that he wanted children now.
He didn’t even speak to her about it. If he was responsible, she wouldn’t be able to forgive him. This was a betrayal of the highest degree. Laura’s head was spinning.
Mild Pain
The pain was mild, barely an inconvenience. Laura was neither on edge as she usually was, and her inner garments weren’t tinged with the expected color. But worry flooded her system as she realized it was happening again.
The same fears that had taken her two months earlier came rushing back, and she had to sit down as her head began heating and her throat ran dry.
Once more, the implications of falling pregnant before her intended time took her hostage.
Back In The Bathroom
Laura found herself in her bathroom with two pregnancy tests. She should have called Ben and told him what was happening. But worry had clouded her judgment, and she couldn’t think straight.
But the tests came out negative. She even went to the store for a different brand of pregnancy tests–two more, fearing the ones she had were faulty.
But the results were the same. Something wasn’t adding up.
At The Doctor’s
Laura kept quiet with the news. But she visited the doctor, needing to know what was happening. The doctor informed her she’d found some hormonal imbalances that had thrown off her cycle, making it unpredictable to a degree.
What this meant was that Laura had to be careful with her intimacy. She would have to rethink her cycle calendar as it no longer held any sway here.
She could fall pregnant at any time if she weren’t careful. Laura was speechless.
Telling Ben
In the following two months, her cycles came. But afterward, Esme visited and cooked, and Laura missed her cycle again.
She told Ben immediately. To her surprise, her husband didn’t treat her like she was losing her mind. He started putting the pieces together, and his findings made Laura’s brows part.
Laura had missed her cycle three times now.
Everytime this had happened, Esme had visited, insisting on cooking for the family. Ben installed a camera in the kitchen and invited her over the next day. It was time to get to the bottom of this.
Installing The Camera
The next day, Laura watched as Ben discreetly installed a small camera in the corner of the kitchen.
She could see the determination in his eyes, and for the first time, she felt a glimmer of hope that they might uncover the mystery behind her missing cycles.
The fear that had chained itself to her back was no longer there. Esmeralda arrived, as cheerful and intrusive as ever, ready to take charge of the kitchen.
Check The Camera
Laura tried to maintain a sense of normalcy, engaging in polite conversation while Ben kept a close eye on the camera’s live feed.
As the evening progressed, Esme moved about the kitchen, preparing dinner with her usual flair.
The tension in the room was palpable as Laura and Ben waited for the critical moment. Just as they began to lose hope, the camera caught a subtle movement.
A Fertility Supplement
Esme, with a sly grin, had discreetly dropped the contents of a small packet into the pot simmering on the stove. Laura’s heart sank as she realized the truth. It was a fertility supplement.
Esmeralda had been secretly adding it to Laura’s food every time she visited.
The realization hit Laura like a ton of bricks – her mother-in-law had been orchestrating this entire charade to force her into an early pregnancy. Fury boiled within Laura as she confronted Esme, demanding an explanation for her actions.
Confrontation
Esmeralda’s expression shifted from one of innocence to one of defiance as she was caught red-handed. “I only want what’s best for my son and our family,” she retorted, her tone unapologetic.
Laura felt a mix of anger and betrayal surge through her veins. How could someone she had trusted and welcomed into her home do something so deceitful?
She struggled to contain her emotions, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Reckoning
Ben’s face mirrored Laura’s disbelief as he processed the revelation. The realization that his own mother had been interfering in their lives in such a manipulative way was a bitter pill to swallow.
His voice was laced with disappointment as he addressed his mother, “Mom, how could you?”
Esmeralda’s defenses crumbled under the weight of her son’s disappointment. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized the extent of her actions. “I had no choice,” she whispered, her voice trembling with regret.
Remorse
Laura and Ben stood frozen. His own mother had betrayed them, and she didn’t have much to say for herself. Laura loved her mother-in-law, but this time, she had gone way too far.
They watched her cry, and she had a look of remorse on her face.
How could she have taken things so far? It could have harmed Laura’s body completely.
Furious
Ben was furious with his mother. “Mom, do you know that you could have harmed Laura’s body and decreased her chances of ever having children to begin with?”
When Esme heard that, she burst out crying. The true realization of what she had done had hit her.
“I didn’t mean to harm you, Laura. Please, you have to believe me.
Sad
Although Laura was angry, she felt a tinge of sadness for Esme.
She knew that she didn’t want to harm her, and she understood what she was doing, albeit the wrong way.
“I’m so sorry. I just wanted to be a grandmother. I got ahead of myself, and I might have harmed you, Laura. I will never be able to forgive myself if you never have children.”
The Justification
Esmeralda’s justification was rooted in her desire for grandchildren and the belief that she knew better than the young couple.
Torn between loyalty to his wife and love for his mother, her son mediated the explosive confrontation.
In the aftermath, Laura and Ben had to reestablish boundaries with Esme, making it clear that decisions about their family planning were solely theirs to make.
A Team
The betrayal stung, but it also brought them closer as a family. Laura told Esme that she did want kids, just not now.
Esme would have her grandkids as she wished two years later. She’d be the best grandma ever and continue being a great mother-in-law.
As the dust settled, Laura reflected on the unexpected turns her life had taken since meeting Ben. Love had transformed her perspective, tested her resilience, and ultimately strengthened the bond she shared with her husband. From the chaos emerged a newfound clarity, reminding Laura that no matter the challenges, she and Ben were a team, ready to face whatever life threw their way.