“We’ll see.”
“We’ll be back,” she said calmly.
That night, I barely slept. Every sound felt like a threat. When Evan stirred beside me, I whispered, “You have to choose.”
“You need to make peace with them,” he said. “They’re serious.”
“So am I.”
“They think they’re doing what’s right.”
“You think taking my baby is right?”
He hesitated. “It’s tradition.”
I stared at him. “So you expect me to give up our child?”
He stood. “I’m staying with them for a few days.”
“You’re leaving us?”
“This is too much.”
And he walked out.
The Ultimatum
Three days later, a text arrived: We need to talk. Meet at my parents’ house.
Every instinct screamed no—but I went.
“We’ve reached a compromise,” Marilyn said.
“What kind?”
“You give us full custody. You can still be in his life.”
I laughed. “You want my child.”
“If you fight us,” she said coldly, “Evan will take you to court. We’ll support him.”
I turned to Evan. “Is this true?”
“I think he’d be better off here.”
The words crushed me.
“You’re threatening to take my baby?”
“I just want what’s best.”
“No. What’s easiest.”
“We have lawyers,” Marilyn said. “Agree now and we’ll make it painless.”
