For about a year, my son had been living with Kate, but I’d never met her parents. I found this odd, so I decided to investigate.

Ive always done my utmost to raise my son with one guiding principle: respect women whether its your grandmother, your mother, your wife, or your daughter. In my book, thats the gold standard for any gentleman. My husband and I made sure our son had the finest upbringing and education we could possibly give him, ensuring hed have all he needed to carve out a splendid future for himself. Wed sworn off bailing him out any further, but, well, whats a parent to do? We bought him a two-bedroom flat.

Mind you, we didnt wrap it up with a big sparkly bow, nor did we breathe a word about our little purchase. Why the secrecy? Well, our darling boy had moved in with his girlfriend that’s why. Hed been living with Emily for about a year, but wed never met her parents, which I found more than a little odd.

Later, I discovered from a friend whose old neighbour happened to be Emilys mum a few details that left me with a knot in my stomach. Apparently, her mother had unceremoniously kicked her husband out when his pay packet started looking a bit peaky, and things only got zanier from there. She then started seeing a married chap loaded, of course who played the role of family man on weekends. And as for her grandmother? Lets just say the apple doesnt fall far from the tree. She too had a thing for taken men, and regularly marshalled her daughter and granddaughter to her cottage in Kent for unpaid labour on the weekends. As you can imagine, this caused endless rows between my son and his potential future mother-in-law. But what truly puts the cherry on this particularly wobbly trifle is that Emilys mother and grandmother have worked overtime turning Emily against her own father.

Emilys obviously quite attached to her dad, but with those two in her ear, their relationship is now hanging by a nose hair. Just when I thought it couldnt get any more dramatic, Emily decided to drop out of university. Shes convinced a man ought to support his family, full stop. Sure, I want my son to step up for his loved ones, but heavens above, whats the backup plan if life throws a spanner in the works? What if times get tough? Hows Emily going to help my son then?

Oh, and before I forget: Ive retitled the flat back to myself, just to be on the safe side. After all, I know Ive raised a bit of a softie as they say, a lamb in a world of wolves. And yes, everything earned before marriage stays put in a divorce, but Emilys a clever lass. She could quite easily take my boy for every sock he owns if she fancied.