I’m Ayumi, and I live with my husband Kazuma and our three kids. I’ve always avoided his older brother, Kosuke, and Kosuke’s wife, Rie—they’re overbearing, rude, and completely blind to how they come across. When we decided to invite my in-laws on a trip to a well-known inn, Kosuke suddenly demanded we give him our reservation. He started yelling and acting like a dictator, while the rest of the family brushed it off as “just how he is.” Rie blindly followed whatever her husband said, and everyone tiptoed around him. So I finally called out the toxic dynamic the family had been enabling for years.
What surprised me most was how quickly Kosuke backed down once my father-in-law told him “no.” I guess he’d grown up getting his way every time, never hearing real pushback. In that sense, Kazuma’s parents should have stopped treating everything as “it can’t be helped” and faced his behavior head-on long ago.
As for my husband… I still haven’t forgiven him for expecting me to swallow everything and keep the peace. But I did warn him that if anything like this happens again, divorce is on the table. From here on, I’ll be watching his actions closely. At least we can finally cut ties with Kosuke for good. If nothing else, I’ll call that a win.