When I returned home after a short stay at my mom’s, I hoped for a moment of calm—especially after months of feeling unnoticed by my husband, Charles. We used to be a loving team, but life with twins left me carrying most responsibilities alone. Still, my kitchen felt like my safe space, a place I had saved and planned for with care. But walking in that evening, I froze. My carefully designed cream-toned kitchen had been completely changed into bright pink floral chaos—my mother-in-law, Betty, proudly smiling in the middle of it.
