Part 2: A Guest Who Had Already Moved In
The recording showed me greeting Linda politely, offering clean slippers, and asking whether Ryan expected her. Linda kicked the slippers beneath the entry bench before dragging both boots across the floor.
“Ryan told me I could do whatever I wanted here,” she announced in the footage. “Once they marry, this property will belong to both of them anyway.”
Ryan’s face changed as I paused the video.
“Did you tell her that?” I asked.
“I said we would continue living here after the wedding, but I never said she owned anything.”
“The recording is not finished, so perhaps we should hear what else she believes you promised.”
I resumed playback. Linda walked between the entryway and living room several times, deliberately spreading the dirt wider after I requested that she stop. She demanded breakfast, cash, and the guest room, then announced that she would remain until “the family situation was settled.”
I closed the laptop.
“How long did your mother intend to stay?”
Ryan examined the floor rather than my face. Linda marched into the kitchen, still wearing the boots she had refused to remove.
“My son does not owe you an explanation. He is your future husband, not a tenant applying for permission.”
I placed a blue folder on the kitchen island. It contained the property deed, mortgage records, association fees, renovation invoices, and proof that I alone had purchased the condominium five years before meeting Ryan.
“Ryan lives here because I invited him. He does not own this property, and neither of you acquired rights by carrying luggage through my doorway.”
Linda laughed before opening one of her suitcases.
“Women with impressive titles always believe money makes them important. After you marry, Ryan will manage the household, and I am not visiting for two nights. I rented my house to a family for six months, so I will stay here until the wedding arrangements are finished.”
I looked directly at Ryan.
“Did you know she had rented her house?”
His hesitation answered before his words did.
“I thought she might stay several weeks because living alone has been difficult for her.”
“You invited someone to live in my home for several weeks without mentioning it to me?”
Linda struck her palm against the counter.
“He does not need your approval, because you will sell this apartment after the wedding. You agreed to purchase a larger house in Rhode Island where all three of us could live comfortably.”
Ryan turned toward her sharply.
“Mom, stop talking before you make everything worse.”
Her expression revealed that she believed she had disclosed nothing surprising. I retrieved the tablet Ryan sometimes used to manage shared streaming accounts. The previous evening, he had left his message application connected after checking a calendar invitation.
The conversation with Linda remained open.
“Move your boxes before Saturday. Megan will complain, but she always becomes reasonable after work.”
“Once the marriage documents are signed, convincing her to sell will become easier.”
