“What the heck is going on here?” Joe exited the car and jogged up to the front step. He waved at a man at the front door. “Hey, what are you doing in my house?” “You must be Joe!” The man grinned sheepishly and put a hand to the back of his head.
Joe believed he did the best thing for his ailing mother when he placed her in a nursing home. His fiancée, Emily, was the one who convinced him it was for the best for everyone if the elderly lady was out of her home. “You did the right thing,” she said with a grin on her face. “Your mom will have a better life in the nursing home…and we can turn her old crafts room into a lovely nursery for our baby.”

However, upon returning from the nursing home, Joe and Emily were shocked to see some people moving the furniture from their house. They rushed to inspect what was going on, still shocked from the sight.

“What the heck is going on over here?” Joe yelled as he exited the car and ran towards the porch. “Hey, who are you…and what are you doing in my house?”

“You must be Joe!” the man replied. “I knew you would come. By the way, this isn’t your house anymore! Your mom sold it to us. Here are the papers…and there’s your stuff.”

Joe was looking in confusion, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and was unable to move. But Emily acted. She grabbed the paper from the man’s hand and started analyzing the agreement. Her facial expression said it was true. Joe’s mom really sold the house.

“You fool!” she yelled. “Your mother tricked you right under your nose…and you had no clue? Everything is ruined now.”

“Emily…don’t say that. I don’t understand why Mom did this. But we still have each other. We can…”

“There’s no more WE, you loser! Forget about me,” she said as she pulled the ring and threw it on the ground.

Joe ran after her, pleading, “Wait…what about our baby?”

But Emily laughed at his face as she replied, “You’re so stupid! There’s no baby. Now get out of my way.”

“Wha—what do you mean? Emily…Emily? Stop….” Joe called out, but she left the place and left his life.

Heartbroken, Joe stood on the porch and that’s when he noticed a letter under one of the boxes.

It was from his mother.

“Dear Joe,

I’m sorry this happened. I wish I never had to take such drastic steps. But you left me with no other choice. It all started the day you first brought Emily home… the letter started.

Some weeks ago…

The decision to sell the house was made weeks ago, while Joe’s mom, Nora, was resting in her armchair.

Joe entered the place, and there was a woman with him, Emily. “…Joe is so funny…and charming,” Emily chuckled as she sat next to Joe on the couch. “I couldn’t say no when he first asked me on a date to the funfair.”

“It’s been just three weeks…but it feels like we’ve known each other for ages. That’s why I insisted Emily move in with me,” Joe said with visible delight in his eyes.

Her son’s words stunned Nora. She needed time to compose herself as she placed her oxygen mask on her face.

“I’m sorry if this has come as a shock, Mom,” Joe rubbed Nora’s shoulder. “Things might seem sudden…but trust me…Emily is the one for me. We’re soulmates!”

Nora turned to Emily, took her hand, and said, “Emily, darling, if you don’t mind, can you please make me some tea, dear? The warmth soothes my throat. The kitchen is that way…”

As Emily left the room to make some tea, Joe looked at his mother and whispered, “Isn’t she the best, Mom?”

“She seems like a lovely girl. But don’t you think you’re taking things a bit fast, Joey?”

“Mom, I understand your concerns. I didn’t want to tell you everything because of your health. But you deserve to know…I’m planning to propose to Emily this weekend.”
As expected, Nora believed that was way too soon since Joe knew Emily only for a few weeks.

“Mom, relax. You’re the one who taught me to fight for love. That’s what you and Dad did when you eloped, right?”

“But, Joey, that and this are entirely different.”

“Mom, I love Emily. I can’t live without her. Please trust me… she will be a great wife and a wonderful daughter-in-law.”

This sudden rushing didn’t give Nora peace.

However, when Emily moved in the following day, things seemed to have fallen into place as she and Nora got along well. The two knitted together, watched documentaries, and chatted.

Nora started to like her soon to be daughter-in-law until one night, when she woke up at midnight to take her pills, she heard Nora talking to someone over the phone and saying, “That old crone and her oxygen machine… she is such a thorn in my way… but Joe is madly hooked on me. So I should be able to get rid of her soon.”

Nora froze. At that moment she wondered what could Emily possibly do to get rid of her, but then Emily continued, “Just a lil sweet talk, and he should agree to stick his mother in a nursing home. Then, I’ll kick him out, and this house will be mine!”
Nora’s initial plan was to tell her son what she had heard, but she knew he was too smitten with his girlfriend to trust her.

Over the course of the next couple of days, Emily acted as though she enjoyed Nora’s company.

One day, however, Joe approached Nora and told her they needed to talk.

“It’s about Emily…” Joe said.

“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry things didn’t work out between you two…”

But Joe frowned. “What? Things are great between Emily and me, Mom. I’ve never been happier.

“Actually, Mom…” Joe swallowed hard. “…Emily’s been running her own business while working through the temp agency. She needs help with buying more machinery. But she can’t afford it right now. So I’d like to help her…but there’s only one way to get the money I need.”

“What is it, Joe?” Nora asked dreadfully.

“Mom, you know…your health isn’t improving. I think you need a better place where you’re cared for well…I think it’s time you moved into a nursing home.”

“Mom, it’ll be comfortable there,” said as he squeezed his mom’s hand. “…and if you agree to sell your house, I can put that money in Emily’s business. I promise to repurchase this property as soon as we see a return on the investment.”

Feeling betrayed, Nora said with sadness in her voice, “I don’t want to leave…my home.”

“Mom, I’m just trying to look out for you. Please…” Joe pleaded.
Knowing there was not much that she could do at that moment, Nora nodded her head.

“I’ll think about it, Joey. Just give me some time,” she said.

Nora needed time in order to be able to put her plan of revealing Emily’s true face into action.

The following day, Nora’s knitting was interrupted by the front door creak. As she looked towards the window, Nora saw Emily exiting the house.

Although she hadn’t driven in a long time, Nora decided to follow Emily.

After some time, Emily parked her car and entered a coffee place where she met with a man. A few minutes later, they started kissing passionately. Nora took her phone to film them, but at that moment, they stopped kissing and could only be seen holding hands.

“Joey, I’m sorry for bothering you at work…but this is important. Can you meet me outside the café on the corner of 3rd Street?” Nora called her son.

Joe arrived after around 10 minutes and Nora told him what she had witnessed.

“Look there, Joey,” Nora pointed toward the café window. “Emily is cheating on you.”

Raged, Joe stormed inside the place.

“What the heck is going on here??” he slammed the table, startling Emily and her lover. “How long have you been seeing this chump behind my back?”

“What?? You think I’m cheating on you? How could you, Joe?” Emily asked with a crying voice.

“I saw you kissing,” Nora interrupted.

“God…he’s my cousin! It was just a peck on the lips. I grew up in New York, and that’s how we always greeted family.”

“Your cousin? And why haven’t I heard of him?” Joe frowned.

“Because…I’ve worked really hard to be where I am now. I didn’t want you to know my family’s background, Joe. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll prove how much I love you.”

Wiping her tears, Emily pulled a positive pregnancy test from her bag.

“I wanted to surprise you. You’re going to be a Daddy, Joe!”

It was more than enough for Joe’s anger to fade away. He embraced Emily and started kissing her as his mom kept saying, “Snap out of it, Joe. She’s lying. She’s a gold digger.”

“Stop it, Mom!” Joe cut through Nora’s pleas. “Why are you hellbent on proving her evil all the time? She’s only ever been kind to you.”

“What? I’m not lying…I saw them kissing. Nobody kisses their cousin like that.”

“Baby, it’s okay. Don’t be hard on her,” Emily told Joe. “It’s not her fault…remember I told you? She’s getting confused.”

“Confused? Don’t you dare give me that! What other lies did this viper whisper to you, Joe?” Nora fumed.

“Mom, I think we should discuss this at home,” Joe said angrily as he entered his car.

“…part of why I pushed you so hard to get you into a nursing home,” Joe tried to explain to his poor mother. “…you need proper care, Mom. You’re confused and have started showing signs of senility. I love you…and I only want the best for you.”

Nora was aware she couldn’t fight her son. Unable to defend herself, she told Joe that she would move to a nursing home and she would sell her home so that he could help his future wife with her business.
But Nora had another plan.

Present day…

“…I only wished the best for you, son. I hope you’ve now realized I was telling you the truth all along.”

Joe realized his mom was right the entire time. He realized he was a fool who let Emily turn him against his own mother.

As he wiped his tears, Joe entered his car and headed to the nursing home.

“I’m here to see my mother, Mrs. Brady,” Joe told the receptionist.

“Thank Goodness you’re here,” she exclaimed. “We’ve been trying to reach you for the past half hour. Your mother had respiratory failure and had to be hospitalized.”

Joe rushed to the hospital and waited in front of the emergency room. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor exited the room and Joe asked how was his mother doing.

“I’m sorry, Joe…but your mother…she didn’t make it.”

“What? But her condition was under control, doctor…how did this…God…how did this happen?” Joe cried.

“She was stable, but her health started to give in recently. I thought you knew…I advised a more aggressive treatment plan during her last check-up. But she never showed up after that.”

Heartbroken, Joe started crying. He couldn’t believe his mom was no longer there. He regretted not believing her when she tried to tell him what kind of person he wanted to marry.

As he was sobbing, he received a text message saying $500.000 were transferred to his bank account. It had to be the money his mother got from selling her home.