When I returned from a short trip, I discovered that my mother-in-law had decided to “free” me from my beloved cat, Benji. But thanks to my neighbor’s quick thinking and some dirty laundry from the past, I not only got my cat back, but also found the strength to free myself from a useless husband.
Benji wasn’t just a pet to me. He was my heart, my comfort, my family. I rescued him as a kitten when I was drowning in grief after losing my father. My husband, John, never understood it. He called my bond with Benji “weird.”
A woman smiles and holds a white cat while a man stands in the background with his arms crossed | Source: Midjourney
But I never imagined that he and his mother, Carol, would take things this far.
The house looked bad to me as soon as I entered after my weekend trip with my friends. The usual clacking of paws on the wooden floor was missing.
Some people believed that cats were not as attached to their owners as dogs, but Benji proved everyone wrong. He always said hello to me.
A white cat sitting on a bookshelf | Source: Pexels
But this day, instead of her meows, I heard silence. And what was worse, I could smell the faint scent of my mother-in-law’s perfume in the air.
I walked further into the house and saw John sprawled on the couch, distracted by his phone.
“Where’s Benji?” I wondered.
“I have no idea. Maybe he ran away,” he replied with a shrug.
A man sitting on a sofa with a phone in his hand and looking up | Source: Midjourney
The casual tone of his voice set off alarm bells. Benji never “ran away.” He was an indoor cat who would get nervous just looking out the window at the yard.
It was then that I noticed Carol, sitting at the dining room table, a smug smile on her thin lips as she sipped her coffee.
“Where’s my cat?” I asked, approaching her.
A woman in a living room looks angry | Source: Midjourney
Carol put down her cup with deliberate slowness. “Well…” she began. “I took advantage of your absence to do what needed to be done. You’ve finally gotten rid of that beast.”
“What do you say?”
“You were too obsessed with that disgusting furball to focus on what really matters. It’s time to start a family,” she continued. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
An impassive-faced older woman sitting at the dining table | Source: Midjourney
Fire. Pure, hot, raging fire coursed through my blood as I approached the dining table. My hands gripped the back of a chair carefully, with all the restraint I could muster.
“What have you done with it?” I asked slowly.
“Come on, Frances, don’t be so dramatic,” Carol sighed, waving a dismissive hand. “You’re 32, for God’s sake. It’s time to grow up. Don’t waste any more time or money on pet food, toys, or whatever.”
A kitten looking at a toy | Source: Pexels
I turned to John, who hadn’t moved from his position on the couch. “You let this happen and lied to me?”
He shrugged again, not looking up. “I think my mother is right. It’s time to move on.”
“Move on with what?” my voice cracked. “To have something in my life that actually brings me joy? Unlike this marriage?”
That caught his attention. John finally looked up, his face flushed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
A man sitting on a sofa with his mouth open looking offended | Source: Midjourney
“It means you’ve never supported anything I care about. Not once. You and your mother just decide what’s best for my life without ever asking me what I want.”
Carol stood up, her chair scraping against the hardwood floor. “We decided what’s best because it’s clear you can’t make good decisions for yourself. Look at you now, indulging in a cat when you should be focusing on raising a family.”
An older woman standing by a table gesturing with her hands | Source: Midjourney
“You mean a family like this?” I laughed, the sound harsh and strange to my ears. “Where my husband can’t make a single decision without consulting his mommy first? And he decides to lie to me just to please you?”
At that moment I wanted to tell her that my husband lied to her about many things too. But I held back. I had to get Benji back first.
“Now you’re getting hysterical,” Carol crossed her arms. “That’s exactly why we had to take action.”
“Tell me where he is.” I approached Carol. “Right now.”
A woman looks angry and mutters something in a living room | Source: Midjourney
“Or what?” Carol smiled, but I sensed a slight uncertainty in her eyes. “What are you going to do about it?”
Before I could respond, a movement at the window caught my attention. My neighbor Lisa was standing in my yard, waving. When I looked at her, she pointed toward her house and mouthed something.
Somehow, only I noticed her.
“I’ll be right back,” I managed to say to Carol through gritted teeth, then added, “And when I get back, I want to know exactly what you’ve done with my cat.”
As I stepped outside, I felt the cool spring air against my flushed face. Lisa hurried over and we crossed the street to stand on her lawn. It was then that I noticed the phone in her hand.
Two women talking in the front garden of a house | Source: Midjourney
“I saw your mother-in-law with Benji yesterday,” she said, breathless. “You might want to see this.”
She handed me the phone, open to Facebook, and my blood ran cold when I saw the post. There was Benji, with his unmistakable white fur and bright green collar, cradled in Samantha’s arms.
That woman made my life a living hell in high school, but ironically, she reinvented herself years later as a lifestyle and fitness influencer who spread positivity. Unfortunately, thousands of people fell into her trap, and now I lived entirely off of social media.
A woman films herself while wearing sportswear and using an exercise mat on the floor | Source: Pexels
But this particular post was all I cared about. The caption read, “Meet the newest member of the family! Sometimes the perfect pet just falls into your lap. #blessed #newcatmom.”
“That’s not all,” Lisa said, switching to a video. “Yesterday morning I was watering my plants when I saw your mother-in-law carrying Benji’s carrier to her car. Something seemed odd, so I got in my truck and followed her. I decided to record it just in case.”
An elderly woman walking quickly, carrying a cat in a basket | Source: Midjourney
The video, which was obviously recorded from inside Lisa’s truck, showed Carol’s sedan pulling up to a modern townhouse.
Carol came out with Benji’s carrier, walked up to the front door, and handed my pet to Samantha. My mother-in-law had a big smile on her face as she climbed back into the sedan and drove away.
The video ended there.
“I’m so sorry, Frances,” Lisa said. “I should have tried to stop her.”
“No,” I said, squeezing his arm. “You did exactly the right thing. This is perfect.”
Two women talking in the front yard of a house, one with a phone in her hand, both looking worried | Source: Midjourney
“Do you want me to accompany you to confront her?”
I shook my head. “No, send me the video. I need to do it alone. But thank you. For everything.”
I crossed the street and went back in. Carol had settled next to John on the couch, and they were deep in silent conversation.
They looked up as I entered, and I felt the urge to do something unpleasant to my mother-in-law. This feeling only intensified when she began to speak.
A man and his mother sitting on a couch looking up with disgusted expressions | Source: Midjourney
“If you’re done with your little drama,” he said.
“Samantha?” I interrupted. “Really? Is that who you gave my cat to?”
Carol’s eyes widened slightly before she caught herself. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Save it. I have a video of you stealing my cat and giving it to her. What was the plan? Did you just pick my high school enemy to give to Benji? Was this supposed to be some kind of twisted punishment?”
A girl in class being singled out by other classmates | Source: Pexels
John stood up. “Frances, calm down. Mom was just trying to help.”
“Help who?” I asked. “Help her keep control over our marriage? Help Samantha get more followers on social media with a cute new pet?”
“This is ridiculous,” Carol exclaimed. “John, tell him he’s making a fool of himself.”
But I was already grabbing the car keys. “I’m going to get my cat. When I get back, I want you both gone.”
Samantha’s house was in a luxury development on the other side of town. Every knock on her door was like a hammer blow to my racing heart.
Several terraced houses | Source: Pexels
Two minutes later, the door swung open. My ex-roommate was there in yoga pants and a crop top, her surprised expression quickly turning into a sneer.
“Well, it’s ‘Frances, No Opportunities,'” she said, blocking the door. “You never had any friends or boyfriends. Isn’t that why you had to marry that boring accountant?”
She wasn’t entirely wrong. I’d been a loner for most of my life. My family was my only refuge, which is why I took my father’s death so hard. My mother and sister were still there, but it was Benji who ended up saving me.
A woman looking sad and distressed in a cemetery | Source: Midjourney
John had been my first everything.
Now I could understand the importance of dating, learning from mistakes, and experiencing different relationships.
If I had any experience, I probably wouldn’t have chosen him or taken all his mistakes and problems in stride, thinking I was being a good wife.
“Where’s my cat?” I asked, ignoring his hints and focusing on what mattered.
“You mean my new cat?” Samantha raised her eyebrows. “It was a gift. Totally legal. No strings attached.”
A woman in black workout clothes smiles in front of her front door | Source: Midjourney
“A gift from someone who had no right to give it away. That’s theft.”
He laughed. “Please. Who’s going to believe you? He’s just a cat. Besides, he’s much better off here. Have you seen how many followers I have? People adore me. He’ll be famous.”
“The police might be interested in this video of Carol stealing and giving away my property, especially since Benji is registered in my name on his microchip.”
A woman standing on the grass with an angry face | Source: Midjourney
Samantha’s smile faltered slightly. “Please, you won’t call the police.”
“Oh, I’ll do more than just call the police,” I said, pulling out my phone. “Remember high school, Samantha? Remember how you made my life miserable? You laughed at me every day for wanting to be left alone. And what about my homecoming dress? The one you and your mean friends ripped to shreds?”
A group of friends dressed for a school dance | Source: Unsplash
I pulled out an old photo I’d saved all these years. “I have proof of what you did with that dress. And you know what? I can make a video. A very detailed video. About all of it. And post it on all the platforms. I’m sure it will go viral. After all, so many people love you.”
Samantha’s face drained of color. Her carefully crafted influencer image trembled before my eyes.
“Don’t do it,” he whispered, his bravado crumbling. “Please don’t do it. Just… take the cat.”
She disappeared inside and returned to Benji, who seemed relieved to see me. “Please don’t post anything.”
A woman in gym clothes outside a house, holding a white cat | Source: Midjourney
I picked Benji up in my arms, hearing his purr. It comforted me, but it also gave me the strength to get in the car and drive home.
John and Carol were still there when I walked in with my cat in my arms.
Carol jumped up from the table. “How dare you?” she began.
“No,” I interrupted. “How dare you? Both of you. I thought I told you to get out of my house.”
“Frances, you’re making a fool of yourself,” John said.
A man sitting on a couch, looking worriedly up | Source: Midjourney
“I want a divorce.”
“Ungrateful…” Carol exclaimed.
“I have video evidence that you stole my cat,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “Leave now or I’ll call the police.”
“You can’t do that!” Carol insisted. “And this is my son’s house too!”
“It’s not,” I replied, staring at my husband. “Didn’t he tell you? He may be an accountant, but he has terrible credit. I had to co-sign the loan for this house by myself. Only my name is on the deed.”
A woman holding the keys to a house | Source: Unsplash
“What?” Carol turned to her son with wide eyes.
“I’d also advise you not to help him so much,” I continued. “He actually spends all the money you give him playing poker with his friends.”
“Frances!” John shouted indignantly, finally getting up from the sofa.
“Go now, or I might tell your mother it’s not just poker,” I added. “There’s a little club by the airport…”
The entrance to a nightclub | Source: Unsplash
“Stop!” he said, holding up a hand. “We’re leaving.”
John took his mother out, while she argued the whole time.
Finally, the door closed behind them and the house fell silent again.
The scent of Carol’s perfume would soon fade forever, and so would the evidence of John’s worthlessness as a husband.
Only Benji’s heavenly scent would remain, along with the promise of a better future.
“With that in mind,” I muttered, pulling out my phone and calling my lawyer. Afterwards, I would buy Lisa something special.
A woman standing in a living room, holding a cat and a phone in her hand, smiling | Source: Midjourney
Here’s another story : When I found a sleek black cat in my yard, I never expected it would lead me to make a life-changing decision. Returning Archibald to his owner seemed simple, until a stranger offered me $100,000 to lie. Torn between temptation and integrity, I had no idea that my choice would change everything…
This work is inspired by real people and events, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher do not guarantee the accuracy of events or the depiction of characters, and are not responsible for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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