Chapter 12 - PATRICIA'S ROLE
Patricia denied manipulating Claire.
She said:
“I was helping my son.”
Claire believed her.
That was the problem.
Patricia came from a family where husbands handled assets.
Her own marriage worked that way.
She saw Claire’s independent structures as distrust.
She also saw Derek’s anxiety as injury.
When he said:
Claire won’t combine assets,
Patricia heard:
Claire does not believe in the marriage.
She never asked Claire why.
Instead she campaigned.
Lunches.
Comments.
Documents.
Wedding-planner pressure.
Then the ballroom humiliation.
Patricia later admitted she laughed because she thought Claire needed to “loosen up.”
The family therapist asked:
“Did you enjoy seeing her lose control of how she appeared?”
Patricia stared.
Then cried.
“Yes.”
That was ugly.
Honest.
She had experienced Claire’s composure as superiority.
The cake made Claire ridiculous for twenty seconds.
Patricia enjoyed the reversal.
May you like
Not because she wanted Derek abusive.
Because status games had replaced empathy.
