Aaron paid attention, worked hard, and was kind while he was dating me. When he asked me to marry him, I felt like the happiest woman in the world!
But Aaron changed almost right away after we got back from our vacation.
It began with little things. The way he’d rather play video games than go on a date. He’d “forget” to do the dishes and leave them in the sink for days. Then the morning coffee habit stopped.
He would wake me up every morning with a cup of coffee, a hug, and a silly joke for a year before we got married. It was just one of the many little things he did to make me feel good.
I couldn’t think of a time when he did something nice just to make me smile in the three years we’d been married.
I should have talked to him sooner, now that I think about it. But doesn’t that happen all the time? You tell yourself that things will get better and that this is just a phase. After all, marriage is about getting through hard times together.
What I did was stay quiet, hope, and act like everything was okay.
Until one Tuesday night, when our lives took a sharp turn for the worse.
When Aaron got home from work, he jumped on our gray couch.
“Those guys at work don’t like me.” “I did a great job on the analytics report and wasn’t even thanked for it,” he said, looking at the ceiling as if it were the answer to all his problems.
I put down my laptop and walked closer, ignoring the voice in my head that told me we’d talked about this at least twice a week for the past month.
“I know it’s hard, honey, but things will get better.”
He turned his head away. “Not unless I do something.”
He did something about it, too! He told his boss to “shuck it” when he got to work the next day. Really grown up, right? He did not have a new job lined up or any other plans for what to do.
I took on all the bills because I thought it would only be for a short time. We were a group, after all. That’s what I kept telling myself as I showed him where I kept cash in the bedroom box in case he needed it while he was looking for work.
“This is only for when things go wrong, okay?” I told him. “Until you get another job, we need to be careful with our money, so don’t be as kind as usual, Aaron.”
He told me he got it by nodding.
Aaron had always liked treating the people he cared about well… He used to give me a lot of gifts, but now his mom and sister always got expensive gifts for their birthdays.
Aaron spent most of the time he wasn’t looking for work playing video games and watching YouTube videos about how to become a cryptocurrency millionaire.
He would sometimes talk about a “amazing opportunity” that he was “researching,” but these never turned into interviews.
I worked extra hours to keep us going, and when I got home, the house was a mess, and my husband seemed more interested in his game controls than in me.
When my boss called me into his office on a Friday afternoon, I really thought he had bad news to tell me.
As I sat down across from Mr. Peterson’s big wood desk, my hands were shaking.
He said with a smile instead of his normal stern face, “Olivia, you’ve been an amazing asset to this company.” “Thank you for all your hard work.”
I almost passed out when he slid a check across his desk for $2,500!
That night, I almost floated home as I thought about how Aaron would respond. Seems like he needs to wake up now that he knows how hard work pays off. It might finally motivate him to look for a job in a serious way.
When I told him, he hugged me and kissed my face and said, “Babe, you deserve it.”
But something about his voice made me itch. It was too sweet, like when a child acts very well without being told.
I pushed the feeling away because I was becoming less optimistic about our marriage.
Then there was the terrible dinner with my mother-in-law Ruth.
Think of all the things you dislike about critical in-laws and multiply them by ten. That’s Ruth.
She walked into our house as if she owned it and started her regular tour of inspection right away, tapping her finger along the window sills and pointing at what she thought was dust.
Olivia, don’t use as much salt. “It’s bad for Aaron’s heart,” she said, moving her food around on her plate as if it were poison.
It didn’t matter that Aaron had already added more salt to his dish without tasting it first.
“Your floors don’t look clean.” “Do you even mop?” Another jab, and another fake worry face. It made me want to stab my fork into the table even more, so I gripped it tighter.
I was about to leave to scream into a pillow when I saw her brand-new iPhone 16 Pro Max shining in the dining room lights on the table next to her.
My throat got dry. “Wow, that is cool. Is this a brand-new phone? “Who is the kind soul?”
Ruth looked like she had won the lottery. “Aaron got it for me.” He knows how to be good to his mom.
When she smiled at her son, he became very interested in his mashed potatoes. I had already a good idea of where Aaron got the money to buy Ruth such a fancy present, but I still wouldn’t believe it until I saw proof.
I said something incoherently about checking on dessert and ran to our bedroom. It was empty in the drawer where I kept my quick cash.
$3000 I had saved money for hard times, our future, and the life we were meant to build together, but now all of it was gone.
I was ready to scream. The betrayal hurt a lot, but I didn’t blow up. Instead, I took a few deep breaths, fixed my makeup, and walked back into the dining room with a smile that would have made the Mona Lisa proud.
Aaron was wrong to think he could steal from me to spoil his witch mother and get away with it. I would have to show him that.
After two days, I had the best chance to do that.
Aaron made hints for weeks that he was going to buy a high-end game laptop. We were sitting on the couch that night when he brought it up. I was ready for him.
“Babe, do you know how you got that bonus?” So I thought… maybe I could use some of it to get the new machine I need? This morning, my old one turned itself back on five times. I don’t think it will last much longer. Those puppy dog eyes used to make my heart melt.
I gave a sweet smile, summoning my inner chess master. “Hey, honey, what do you know? “You’re right.”
I took out my phone and showed him a list of laptops. “I bought you the best gaming laptop on the market already.”
Then I showed him the email that confirmed the order. His eyes were as bright as Christmas morning.
“Wow, honey, you’re great!” When will it get there?”
“Oh, it got here this morning.”
He blinked, not sure what to do but excited. “Where is it?”
To enjoy the moment like a fine wine, I took a slow, deep breath.
“Oh, I sent it to your mom.” I thought she could use it since you love giving her so much. It lets her play Candy Crush. This could be the start of her live. “Who knows?”
I thought he might pass out because his face lost color so quickly. He jumped off the couch like it was on fire.
“You gave my mom my laptop?”
I crossed my arms and leaned back. “Oh, that’s bad when I buy your mom things with my own money?” It wasn’t okay when you did it behind my back, though.”
It took him a moment to fully grasp what was going on.
“Okay, I’m sorry!” He quickly changed his mind and ran his hands through his hair quickly. “I’ll give the phone back!” I’ll give you your money back!”
“Of course, you’ll put the money in my new bank account.” You won’t be able to get to my money from now on.
He tried to stop me, but I stood up and pulled out a printed job offering I had been saving for just this moment.
“I hope you have fun looking for a job, honey.” Since your “gravy train” stopped.
Over the next few days, Aaron said sorry a lot and Ruth called him angry a lot.
She screamed over the phone, “How dare you treat my son this way!” Her voice hit notes that probably made the dogs in the neighborhood bark.
“You don’t steal from the person paying your bills,” was my simple answer.
Aaron got a job within two weeks, wouldn’t you know it? It turns out that you get motivated pretty quickly when your safety net is gone.
I’m not sure what to do next. He might benefit from marriage therapy if he is ready to put in the work. One thing is for sure, though: Aaron will never touch my money again.
What if he tries something else? His mother may be the only woman who is still willing to deal with him. I have a feeling Ruth won’t like that very much.
