My mom never liked my wife. On my wedding day, she cried: “Son, she’s not the one for you!” I said, “One day, you’ll love her too!” She nodded.

2 years later, mom died. I went to empty her house. I froze when I looked under her bed. There were tens of my wife’s legal documents, dating back years. As I looked closer, I realized they were all debt records—college tuition, personal loans, credit cards—everything.

They had all been paid off. By my mother. The total came to $48,000. That’s when I understood: Mom had discovered my wife’s debts and knew that marrying her meant I’d be burdened with them—and forced to give up my own education. So she used her retirement money and life savings to clear it all, silently. She had been keeping my wife’s debts a secret from me to protect me, and that’s why she had tried her best to prevent me from marrying her. When I confronted my wife, she said my mother had spoken to her—and asked her to keep it a secret.