My unemployed sister-in-law brought the whole family to stay with her. I pretended to be in the hospital. The next week, I received a text message and was shocked.
It all started more than a month ago.
My sister-in-law is still a business manager of a large company, with a monthly salary of tens of millions, drives a car everywhere, and is always showing off her parties and socializing online. She often hints that I am really lucky, a housewife, no pressure at all. And she works hard every day, but earns more in a month than my husband and I combined in a year.

I just laughed when I heard that, because I know she likes to brag but she is not a bad person. Furthermore, we owe her a great favor. In the past, she went to school and worked at the same time, contributing money to pay for my education. Therefore, we always carry gratitude in our hearts towards her.

However, the crisis came too quickly. Her company cut staff, and high-salary workers like her were the first to be laid off. Before she could find a new job, her husband had an accident at work, had to pay off all the money, and then lost his job. The couple was unemployed, in debt, had to sell the house to pay off the debt, and their daughter was about to go to college.

She cried and begged:

– Hoa, please let my family stay here for a while, just one month. Wait until I find a job, then I will move out.

Looking at him with pity, I sighed and nodded. Thinking to myself, at most I would endure for a month, help her overcome the difficulties, and then I would be at ease. But things weren’t as simple as I thought. As soon as we moved in, my sister-in-law took over almost everything in the house. From meals, to raising my children, to who slept in which room, she arranged everything. She gave my husband and I our bedroom, giving it to her daughter, saying she needed quiet time. I had to sleep in a small room, but I still had to smile awkwardly.

Worse, she had no intention of looking for a serious job. She complained about every job with all sorts of reasons like low salary, far from home, not up to par… As for my brother-in-law, he only worked for a few days and then quit. I could clearly see that they wanted to stay for a long time.

The climax was when my husband interfered in my child’s education. I was reminding him to study, she bluntly dismissed it:

– Let me teach, you don’t know how.

Right in my own house, I was pushed out, no different from a guest. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Using the excuse of a stomach ache, I asked to be hospitalized for a few days to have peace. I thought it was temporary, but when I was in the hospital, my husband texted:

– You said you wanted to stay here permanently when your daughter finishes her university entrance exam.

I read it and was speechless. It turned out that one month was just an excuse. This year I just entered grade 12, after finishing the university entrance exam, it will take another year? So, I clearly showed my attitude to him, analyzed to him how inconvenient it would be to live like this, and also the real reason why I was hospitalized these past few days.

When I came back, the house was a mess, the furniture was rearranged and no longer in its familiar place. During the meal, my husband and I mustered up all our courage and said frankly:

– Sister, I understand your difficult situation. But we can’t live like this forever. It’s been two months, you should find another place.

The atmosphere immediately became tense. The older sister slammed the bowl on the table and said harshly:

– Why do we have to go? We still have extra rooms, not a shortage? And this is your house too.

I held back my tears, looked straight at her, and said firmly:

– No, this is our house. We have given in as much as we can, but we can’t let you pay for everything anymore.

For the first time, we no longer gave in to our older sister. He stood up, his voice resolute:

– Sister, I am indebted to you for life, but you cannot destroy my family because of that. I will give you one more month, after that you must move out.

The room was silent. My sister and I did not say another word. At that moment, I felt both sad and relieved. Sad because our relationship would definitely be broken. But relieved because in the end, he stood by his small family.

I understand, there are still many storms ahead. But at least, this warm home has someone to protect with me.