When I called my mom to tell her I was getting married, she was genuinely happy. After all, I’m already 27, and she’s been encouraging me not to wait too long.

Michael and I have been together for three years. He’s wonderful—caring, kind, and thoughtful. He moved here from a small town near Chicago back in 2015 and found a job. About a year ago, we decided to move in together, in a one-bedroom apartment that my mom bought for me a while back. It’s a cozy place in a new building.

My mom has been living in Italy for the past ten years. She’s doing well there and has found love, so she doesn’t plan on coming back. She’s often suggested that I move in with her, and I’ve seriously considered it. But then I met Michael and realized that if I ever left, it would only be with him. After that, with everything happening in the world, we had to put all our plans on hold. But now, we don’t want to wait to get married—life’s too short for that.

I convinced my mom to come over a few months before the wedding to help with the preparations. We decided not to have a big celebration—it just didn’t feel like the right time.

When my mom arrived, I introduced her to Michael’s parents right away. She really liked him. We had already planned to visit his parents, so we bought a cake and some flowers.

They greeted us warmly and had a lovely dinner ready. Everything seemed perfect.

“You have such a beautiful apartment!” my mom remarked.

“It’s not ours, we’re renting,” Michael’s parents replied.

“What happened to your place?”

“We sold it! We used to live in Illinois. We decided life’s too short, so we sold our house for $50,000 and went traveling. It was a great decision. We visited a few amazing places, but the money didn’t last as long as we’d hoped, so now we’re renting.”

“And now, do you have enough to get by?”

“Right now, Michael’s helping us—he pays for our rent and utilities. He’s the kind of son anyone would dream of!”

I thought the evening went perfectly. But later at home, my mom started acting strangely. Then she said:

“Why don’t you come to Italy with me for a week? I’ll hire a crew and renovate your apartment while you’re gone. It’ll be my wedding gift.”

“How can I leave? The wedding’s coming up.”

“You still have two months. You could use a break. Let Michael stay with his parents for a bit.”

In the end, I agreed. But when I came back, there were strangers living in my apartment. I was so confused and called my mom, but she was staying at a friend’s place.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Sweetie, call off the wedding. Don’t rush things. Live together a little longer and see how things go.”

“But why? You liked Michael!”

“Michael’s great, but for his parents. He’s paying for their apartment, while he lives in yours. If he wants to start a family, he needs to take care of it first. Let him find a place for the two of you to live, and then we’ll see.”

“But he can’t just abandon his parents!”

“His parents are selfish. They sold their house for their own enjoyment, while I worked my whole life to buy you this apartment!”

At first, I was angry at my mom, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe she’s right? Now I don’t know what to do—should I go ahead with the wedding or wait? What if I’m always going to be second to his parents?