A Slap in Front of 130 visitors — In front of 130 visitors who were frozen in a deathly silence, my glasses flew off my face and broke on the fine parquet, but what I did next made all the difference.
My daughter-in-law asked for my apartment keys in front of 130 people during my son’s wedding. She slapped me for refusing. I walked out of the room and called without saying anything. The guests started crying when a man entered the hall thirty minutes later and they all knew him.
A thousand lights glistened throughout the ballroom. Everything appeared to be ideal, with garlands sparkling and flowers filling the air with their aroma. However, the atmosphere tasted harsh to me, like the bitter taste of a fear I was no longer able to conceal.
My son Ethan was holding his new wife Juliet’s hand on stage. He grinned, but I could see his eyes avoiding mine and his shoulders tense.
My flat was the sole objective of a kind of covert operation that I had been sensing for months, spearheaded by Juliet and grudgingly backed by my son.
Juliet came up to me as I was trying to blend in with the other guests. Her smile did not reach her eyes, but her white garment floated like a cloud.
“— Aurora, my darling,” she murmured loudly enough for the tables close to hear, in a beautiful, honeyed voice, “you look wonderful… Are you a little worn out?
I said, clutching my handbag, “I’m fine.”
“I’m concerned about you,” she added. “At your age, living alone in a large apartment must be challenging. A smaller, more manageable space would be ideal for you, according to Ethan and myself.
It was there. The typical speech, cloaked in worry. Behind her, my kid stood with a pallid face.
He said, “Mom, Juliet only cares about what’s best for you.”
Juliet went on with a smile:
In relation to that, I would want to request a tiny favor. A wedding present, perhaps. She held out her immaculately groomed hand.
Would you mind sharing your keys with us? Until our future home is ready, just enough time to relocate a few items.
Immediately there was silence. The entire room turned to see us.
It was a trap.
I would lose my house if I consented. I would be the self-centered mother-in-law spoiling the celebration if I declined.
I looked into my son’s eyes. “Please don’t do this to me,” I begged in silence.
However, he looked down.
“No, Juliet,” I responded in a composed yet forceful tone. “The response is no.”
She stopped smiling. Her expression hardened and froze.
“What did you say?” she asked again.
“I live in this flat. It is not a present for a wedding.
She growled, “Why would a lonely widow need an apartment like that?”
She then lifted her hand and gave me a slap in front of 130 visitors. My spectacles broke on the floor after flying off. The physical pain of the burn on my cheek was nothing in comparison to the heart-shattering betrayal.
“This is the price of selfishness!” she yelled.
I gently straightened up in the silence that followed. Even though I was crying, something inside of me had just broken. Or maybe something new emerged. Under looks and whispers, I walked out of the room without saying anything.
My hands were shaking as I called a number in the corridor that I hoped I would never need to call.
“Carlos? Aurora is here. Visit the Royal Oaks Lounge right now. Additionally, bring all of the paperwork. The truth needs to be revealed to them.
Aurora, a private widow, is publicly humiliated during her son Ethan’s wedding when her daughter-in-law Juliet demands the keys to her apartment in front of 130 guests. Juliet slaps Aurora after she declines. Aurora quietly exits the room and phones Carlos, her attorney.
They return with their documents half an hour later. Carlos tells the visitors the truth: Aurora had been covertly funding the marriage for three years. She was responsible for the rent, the bank transfers, and even the wedding ceremony. Aurora was their only source of income, despite Juliet’s accusations that she was a burden.
Carlos then declares that all transfers have been canceled, the lease has been terminated, and the will is changed to direct all assets meant for Ethan to an organization that assists elderly victims of domestic violence. The room is in disbelief. Ethan pleads for forgiveness while Juliet breaks down, but Aurora refuses to back down; she merely makes them confront the repercussions of their deeds without destroying anything.
A video of that night goes viral two years later. She creates the Aurora Hughes Foundation, which assists the elderly in defending themselves, once the lawsuit against Aurora is unsuccessful. When Love Hurts, her book, becomes a best-seller.
Aurora has reclaimed her independence and self-respect at seventy. She now understands that respect, not blood, defines family and that it’s never too late to take charge of your life again.
