Meet Caleb's family

Writer's POV:

Caleb has an older brother, Marvin. He is married to Wendy. They have been together since they were kids and they have been married for 4 years now. They love each other so much. They are just struggling with the fertility issue. They have been to different Doctors and specialists but nothing wrong has been detected from the both of them , which makes everything confusing.

Ivy and Solly, as Marvin's and Caleb's parents, are a mixture of strict and cold. Ivy is the cod one , while Solly has a softer heart, compared to his wife.

Wendy tries hard to gain Ivy's approval, but it seems nothing she does is good enough. She bakes Ivy her favorite desserts and goes out of her way to help around Solly and Ivy's house, but Ivy remains cold towards her.

Wendy breaks down crying to Marvin about how Ivy treats her. Marvin is furious at his mother and decides to confront her.

Marvin knew it was time to confront his mother about the way she treated Wendy. He asked his parents to sit down so they could talk. "Mom, dad, we need to talk about how you treat Wendy," Marvin began. His mother Ivy immediately grew defensive. "What about it?" she replied curtly, "I've tried to make her feel welcome."

Marvin could no longer hold back. "That's not true, mom. You've been cold and critical from the start. You blame Wendy for things that aren't her fault, like us struggling to have a baby." Ivy doubled down, saying "Well if there's a problem, it must be something she's doing wrong." Marvin felt his frustration rising even more. "No, mom. We've seen doctors and they say there's no medical reason. But you keep making these snippy comments about her being infertile or not good enough."

Ivy refused to back down. "I'm just telling the truth. Don't try to silence me!" she yelled. At this point, Solly attempted to intervene, telling Ivy that the doctors had assured Marvin and Wendy that the fertility issues were no one's fault. "Stay out of this, Solly!" Ivy snapped at her husband. Turning back to her son she attacked again, but Marvin had reached his limit.

"Don't talk to dad that way! This isn't about him protecting me. This is about you tormenting my wife!" Marvin shouted. Ivy kept trying to defend herself, claiming she was "just trying to help" Wendy fix whatever unnamed problems she deemed Wendy as having. Finally Marvin could take no more. "There is no issue with Wendy! The only issue here is the way you treat her! She cries to me, mom. You are ruthless and she feels worthless no matter how hard she tries."

Ivy was clearly shocked by Marvin's bold confrontation, trying to justify herself by saying it was just "tough love" and high standards. But he rejected this entirely, saying "It's not love at all! I won't let you emotionally abuse my wife anymore. Either accept her unconditionally or we'll stop coming around!" Stunned, Ivy turned to her husband, demanding he intervene. But Solly wearily sighed, acknowledging that Marvin was right - Ivy's hostility must end and she needed to make peace, as Wendy was family and no one was advocating for her.

Marvin goes to his wife and hugs her ,assuring her that he will always be by her side, even if it means confronting his own mother in order to stand up for her , as his wife.. The strain between Ivy and Wendy persists, hanging over the whole family.

Solly tries to mediate, wishing his wife would open her heart, but her bitterness runs deep. Wendy sighs deeply, wiping away tears as she sits on the couch, emotionally drained after hearing about Marvin's confrontation with his mother. Marvin sits gently beside her, wrapping his arms around his distraught wife.

"I'm so sorry it came to that, to you having to defend me to your own mother," Wendy says quietly. "I never wanted to come between you and your parents."

Marvin squeezes her hand supportively. "You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. My mother was way out of line with how she treats you. This needed to happen - I won't let her bitterness hurt you anymore."

Wendy nods but more tears fall. "I've tried so hard to get her to like me, Marv. I bake her favorite foods, help out around the house...nothing works. She really will never accept me."

"Her refusal to accept you has nothing to do with who you are, Wen," Marvin says gently. "You are wonderful - kind, thoughtful and loving. This is on her."

"I just want a mother, you know?" Wendy says longingly. "It hurts me more than I let on, her cruelty."

Marvin feels his heart break seeing his wife's pain. He holds her close as she cries softly into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry she's put you through this. But I promise you're not alone. We'll get through this together."

Wendy looks up at him with sadness and devotion. "I couldn't do this without you," she whispers. Marvin kisses her head reverently, the two clinging tightly to each other, united against his mother's rejection.

Wendy stared down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap, as she broached the difficult subject with her husband.

"Marv, if we're opening up...there's something from my childhood I should share," she began hesitantly. Marvin squeezed her hand supportively.

"You know my mother was a very troubled woman. What I haven't told you were the full depths of her issues," Wendy confessed.

She recounted through tears how her mother had been emotionally and physically abusive when she and her siblings were young - rages, criticism, sharp words that cut deep, and even physical violence.

"We often bore the brunt of her problems. She called us awful names, screamed at us, slapped us sometimes..." Wendy trailed off as long-buried memories surfaced.

Marvin listened solemnly, his heart aching for the scared little girl his wife had been. He wrapped a comforting arm around her as she shared truths she had kept locked away for so long.

"I'm so sorry you went through that, Wendy," Marvin said softly when she had finished, tears shining in his own eyes. "You did not deserve that treatment - no child does."

Wendy nodded, taking a shaky breath. "It took me a long time to believe I was worthy of love after the things she said. I guess in some ways I still struggle with that, when your mother..."

"You are worthy, Wendy," Marvin said firmly. "And I will spend my life reminding you of that. What happened wasn't your fault. Thank you for opening up to me."

He held his wife close as she cried, grateful she trusted him enough to be vulnerable about her traumatic past.

"Is that the main reason your father is in jail right?" Marvin asked , Wendy looks down…"He killed her Marv. He killed her in cold blood. He was tired of seeing his children suffering. It was my mother's actions that turned him into a alcoholic. He couldn't cope with all was going on"

Marvin's heart was aching for his wife who had to go through all that and more. He just held her tight and listened to her. "She used to cheat on my dad with different men , under his roof , on top of their marital bed. My dad lost it this one time he found them. She was with his supposed best friend , a man he was telling everything to."

"He found them naked in bed and used a machete to cut them into tiny pieces. I'm a hypocrite, you know. I was supposed to be relieved because the one person who made my life a living hell was killed , but no ,instead, I hated my dad and started seeing him as the monster." She said and cried hysterically.

Marvin, embracing Wendy with understanding and compassion, assures her that the tragic events surrounding her parents were not her fault. With a gentle yet firm tone, he consoles her, "Wendy, you have a good heart, and it's because of that goodness that you couldn't accept what your father did. What happened was wrong, but it wasn't your fault."

"Your mother, despite her choices, was still your mother, and your father's actions were his own. You bear no responsibility for the darkness that unfolded. It's crucial for you to know that you couldn't control or prevent what happened. We can navigate through this pain together, and I'm here for you." In this moment of shared understanding, Marvin offers Wendy solace and support, emphasizing the importance of separating her own goodness from the tragic actions of her parents.

Marvin squeezed Wendy's hands, looking into her eyes intently. "Listen to me - none of what you experienced was your fault. You did not deserve any of the pain she caused you. Your mother was unwell but that is no excuse for what she put her children through."

Wendy dropped her gaze but Marvin gently tilted her chin back up. "I need you to know that," he said. "Her dysfunction wounded you so deeply, but you are in no way responsible, do you understand?"

Finally Wendy's eyes filled with relief to hear the reassuring words from her loving husband. She fell into Marvin's embrace as he stroked her hair comfortingly. "You are enough, just as you are," he whispered. "That was her shortcoming, not yours." Wendy clung to Marvin, feeling the old buried pain finally give way to healing. She was now smiling in between her running tears.

She feels so lucky to have Marvin as her husband.