The daughter agreed to a vacation planned by her husband. It was already at the airport that she realized he had deceived her…

My daughter called me on Sunday evening, her voice sounded tired. She said her husband had surprised her with a vacation for the two of them – everything was already paid for, and the flight was in a week. I asked where they were going. She replied that he wasn’t telling, he wanted it to be a surprise. He just said to pack summer clothes and a swimsuit.

I felt a bit uneasy but kept silent. I didn’t want to spoil the excitement. My daughter had been exhausted over the past few months – work, household chores, his parents who constantly visited without warning. A vacation would be just what she needed.

A week later, she texted me from the airport. She said they had already checked in and were waiting to board. I wished her a great vacation. She sent a smiley face and went silent.

That evening, her friend called me, sounding worried. She said my daughter had sent her a strange message from the plane: “He tricked me. We’re not flying alone.”

I went cold. I asked what that meant. Her friend said my daughter wasn’t responding, her phone was off.

I couldn’t sleep all night. I called my daughter – unreachable. I wrote to her – unread. Finally, in the morning, a message came through. She wrote, “Mom, everything is fine. I’ll explain later.” But I knew my daughter’s voice – and I understood that something was wrong.

Two days later, she called. I heard her voice – and instantly knew she was crying. I asked her what had happened. She was silent for a long time, then she spoke.

It turned out that her husband had indeed booked a trip to the seaside. But not just for the two of them. At the airport, his parents approached them with their luggage. They were flying with them too. Her husband smiled and said, “Surprise! We’re all going to relax together.”

My daughter stood there in shock. She thought it was their time alone, that they would finally have some time for themselves, talk, and relax with each other. Instead, it was ten days with his parents in the same room.

She tried to protest, said she wanted to go back. Her husband looked at her as if she was being unreasonable and replied, “Do you want to upset my parents? They put so much effort into this, mom specially took time off.” His mother stood there, looking at my daughter reproachfully.

She couldn’t leave. She got on the plane and was silent the whole flight.

Now she calls me every evening from the bathroom, when everyone else is asleep, and she cries. She says she spends the whole day preparing breakfasts for everyone, his mother ordering her around about what and how to do, while her husband pretends everything is wonderful.

I listen, not knowing what to say. Because I understand: it’s not about the vacation. It’s about the fact that he didn’t even think to ask for her opinion. He didn’t feel it was necessary to inform her. He just decided for her.

And the scariest part – she’s afraid to say anything. Afraid to offend his parents, ruin relationships, seem ungrateful.

When she returns, I will tell her what I should have said long ago: in marriage, you can’t be afraid of your own voice. You can’t live in fear of offending everyone around, while forgetting about yourself.

Would you have stayed on such a vacation, or turned around and flown home, no matter what?

***

The daughter agreed to a vacation her husband planned as a surprise. He assured her it would be just the two of them. Already at the airport, standing at check-in, she felt a strange tension – her husband became nervous and kept looking around. Suddenly, she noticed his expression change. He smiled too widely and said just one word: “Surprise.” From the way he looked at her in that moment, the daughter understood – this vacation would be nothing like she had imagined…
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