Latest news with #familydrama
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Woman Refuses to Split Her Inheritance with Distant Cousins. Now She Says 'Everyone's Mad'
A devoted granddaughter inherits her grandfather's savings, while her cousins receive only symbolic items Family members pressure her to share the money, claiming it's what her grandfather would have wanted She refuses to split the inheritance, leading to a dramatic family confrontationA woman turns to the Reddit community for advice after finding herself at the center of a family storm over her late grandfather's inheritance. She explains in her post, 'He was the only grandparent I was close to, and I spent a lot of time with him growing up.' From mowing his lawn every week to helping with groceries and staying with him after knee surgery, she says her bond with her grandfather was genuine and deep. 'I wasn't doing it for anything in return, I just liked being around him,' she writes, emphasizing the authenticity of their relationship. Her cousins, both in their early 30s, were rarely present except for family gatherings and holidays. She notes, 'They'd joke about how boring he was and how he told the same WW2 stories over and over,' making it clear that their connection with their grandfather was much more distant. When her grandfather's will was read, the family was shocked to discover that he left her almost all of his savings, a sum she describes as 'not millions, but enough to matter (high five figures).' To everyone else, he left smaller, symbolic items — old watches, photos and other keepsakes. The reason for this decision becomes clear in a letter her grandfather left behind. She shares, 'In the letter that came with the will, he pretty much said, 'she was the only one who showed up.' ' The message was simple and direct, highlighting the importance he placed on her presence in his life. At first, her cousins remained silent, but soon after, the guilt-tripping texts began. She recalls, 'Stuff like, 'grandpa wouldn't have wanted the family divided,' and 'I'm sure he thought we'd all share.'' One cousin even brought up her financial stability, saying she doesn't need the money because she 'has a job and no kids.' She tried to avoid confrontation, not responding to the texts, but the situation escalated at a family dinner. 'They cornered me at a family dinner and straight up asked if I was planning to split it,' she writes, describing the moment the issue came to a head. Her answer was simple: no. 'And now everyone's mad,' she admits, as the fallout spreads through the family. Her aunt accused her of being cold, telling her, 'This is why families fall apart.' Even her own mother suggested she should 'throw them something small just to keep the peace,' adding to the pressure she feels from all sides. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Despite the mounting criticism, she stands by her decision, explaining, 'This isn't lottery money. It's a gift from him, and I respected him enough to accept it the way he intended.' She questions why she should feel guilty for being present when others were not. Still, the emotional weight of the situation is clear. 'I feel like the bad guy now,' she admits, turning to strangers online for reassurance and perspective. The story doesn't end there. She shared an update, revealing that the family has scheduled a dinner to discuss the situation further. 'We just scheduled dinner in a couple of hours with the whole family. This is news to me, I just found out about it.' Read the original article on People
CBS News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
"Don't Open Your Eyes" by Liv Constantine is a Club Calvi bonus book
We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. Please consider joining our Facebook group by CLICKING HERE. Find out more about the books below. Club Calvi has a bonus book by an author familiar to readers. Liv Constantine's book "The Next Mrs. Parrish" was a Club Calvi "Readers' Choice" in 2024 and a New York Times Bestseller. Now she's back with a new thriller out this week called "Don't Open Your Eyes." The book is told from the points of view of mother Annabelle and her daughter Scarlett. "Annabelle is living what appears to be a picture-perfect life," Constantine told Mary Calvi. "Two beautiful daughters, a great husband, a career she loves. She starts having these terrible dreams where she hates her husband. She thinks it's just stress. But soon, some details from her dreams begin to actually materialize, things that no way she could have known ahead of time. She begins to realize that that these are not dreams, but premonitions." Annabelle's daughter, Scarlett, is 15 years old. "She was a lot of fun to write," Constantine says. "I had to go back and try to channel my inner teen." Scarlett is keeping secrets from her parents. "She's chatting with a new boy online who she hasn't met, and, of course, we are worried. Is he really who he says he is?" says Constantine. Annabelle starts dreaming about her daughter. "In Annabelle's dreams, Scarlett's in danger. Annabelle's husband keeps telling her it's her own anxiety as a mother," Constantine explains. Constantine says that while she wants readers to enjoy "Don't Open Your Eyes" and love the characters, beyond that, the book is an exploration of society's expectations for women. "We don't always listen to our own voices and our own instincts when we should," Constantine says. "It's very easy to allow outside influences to tell us what we should be believing, when I think often we know in our heart what's really the truth." You can read an excerpt, and purchase the "Don't Open Your Eyes," below. The CBS New York Book Club focuses on books connected to the Tri-State Area in their plots and/or authors. The books may contain adult themes. Bantam ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Don't Open Your Eyes" by Liv Constantine From the publisher: Annabelle Reynolds has everything she's ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn't be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters' lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn't possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren't just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future. They all point to a singular choice, an unknown moment that holds Annabelle's life in the balance. Then Annabelle has a dream that her daughter Scarlett is in immediate danger. Someone wants Scarlett dead, and Annabelle has no idea who or why. Suddenly, every choice she makes is fraught with peril, with no inkling of which move could bring this terrifying vision to life. As Annabelle's present life starts to collide with the future in her dreams, she wrestles with how much control she really has over her destiny and whether she can change what is meant to be. Liv Constantine lives in Connecticut. "Don't Open Your Eyes" by Liv Constantine (ThriftBooks) $23 Excerpt: "Don't Open Your Eyes" by Liv Constantine Annabelle "You're a monster!" I scream, my chest heaving as my heart pounds wildly. His eyes bulge, his face flushes red, and he looks like he wants to kill me. I back away as he closes the space between us. I'm wedged between his body and the kitchen counter. I hate him right now with every fiber of my being. I shove at him with all my strength, but he doesn't budge. I watch, helpless, as his hands reach up and circle my neck. He begins to squeeze. I can't get a breath. I claw at his arms to no avail. My vision blurs. Blindly, I reach my arm behind, my fingers fumbling until they close around the handle of a butcher knife. With every ounce of strength I have left I pull it from the block. I swing my arm around and aim the knife at his chest. He releases his grip and drops his arms, backing away. I cough and rub my sore neck. He nonchalantly walks toward the door to the garage, his hand lingering on the handle a moment, then opens it. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I just got news I won best doc. It'll be in next month's Connecticut Magazine. Thanks for voting." He winks and walks out the door. Annabelle Reynolds's eyes flew open, and she sprang to a sitting position. Her face was wet with perspiration, and a feeling of utter terror flooded her senses. She drew a deep breath, and her eyes darted to the figure sleeping next to her. She slipped from underneath the covers and grabbed her robe from the bench at the end of the bed, covering her naked body. Shaking her head, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, glancing at herself in the mirror. She splashed cold water on her face. You're being silly. It was just a dream. Yet the image of the two of them fighting, her husband's face red and contorted with rage, had seemed so real. It was especially jarring because they hardly ever argued. Today was their wedding anniversary. Two children, one dog, two guinea pigs, and too many goldfish to count later, and she was happy. As happy as she could be, despite everything that had happened before—when she had still believed in happy endings. After she'd married James, she'd promised herself that she'd put it all behind her. Over the years, Annabelle had tried to forget about the loss—to appreciate all she had gained. And even though there would always be a part of her that missed him, a part of her that couldn't let him go, she had to keep reminding herself that there was no point in missing something that was never meant to be. So, she did her best to think of him less often, every year trying harder to force herself to forget, to be happy. But maybe being happy was asking too much. Enough, she thought. Shake it off. She brushed her teeth, mentally reviewing everything on today's agenda. After she dropped the girls at school, she had to swing by the drugstore to pick up an anniversary card for James. Then she had a full day at work. As she stepped into the shower, she spoke her daily gratitude affirmations aloud. "I'm thankful for my husband, my children, our good health, our beautiful home. I'm thankful for a job I love, and good friends." She felt a little foolish doing this, but her last client, a successful author of self-help books, had told her how beneficial a gratitude practice was, not only to mental health, but physical as well. Annabelle tried to be open-minded, so she'd committed to trying it for sixty days to see if it made any difference. She was on day ten now. "Mind if I join you?" James's voice cut through her thoughts as he entered the bathroom. "Please do." He opened the door to the large shower and stepped inside. "Happy anniversary," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "Happy anniversary." Annabelle turned and kissed him, trying to dismiss the earlier feelings of terror from her dream. "Why don't we do this more often?" A banging on the door made her pull back. "Mooom, Parker's throwing up! I think he ate another sock." She adored their golden retriever, but at times like this, not so much. Annabelle looked at James and rolled her eyes. "And that's why . . ." "I'll go. Finish your shower." He stepped out. "Olivia, I'll be right there," he called through the door. Half an hour later, Annabelle was dressed and downstairs. She walked into the kitchen, the smell of bacon filling the air. It was her favorite room of the house, featuring a built-in fireplace with a cozy sitting area, a custom-made farm table, and double French doors opening to their deck overlooking their swimming pool. Her mother had always said that the kitchen was the heart of the home, and some of Annabelle's best memories were of the two of them sitting and talking in their tiny kitchen around their worn wooden table. How she wished her mother was here now. She felt a pang of regret that her mother would never see her settled and content in such a beautiful place. Annabelle had never imagined that one day she'd be living in a gorgeous house, walking distance to the beach, and close to downtown Bayport, one of Connecticut's most charming towns. Parker ran up to her and nudged her with his nose as if sensing her sudden melancholy. She reached out to pet his head. "I hear you ate another sock, buddy." "He's fine now. Someone must have left their socks out." James gave Olivia a meaningful look. "Wasn't me!" their eleven-year-old protested. "Well, I'm glad he's okay," Annabelle said, hoping to ward off a lecture from James. He had made a full breakfast for Olivia and Scarlett: omelets, turkey bacon, toast, and an array of fruit. Annabelle gazed at her girls. Scarlett was a carbon copy of Annabelle—light brown hair and green eyes. James often commented that they were both the typical wholesome and natural, girl-next-door types. Annabelle thought it was cute when people commented on how alike they looked, but lately Scarlett seemed annoyed by it. Olivia was all James: blond and blue-eyed, with his bow-shaped mouth. But her sunny personality came from Annabelle. James handed Annabelle a portable mug. "I made your coffee with oat milk and no sweetener. Consuming all those artificial sugars is bad for you." "Yes, Doc," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She'd add some sweetener after he left. A couple of Splendas were not going to kill her, but it was pointless to argue with him. "I'm looking forward to our anniversary dinner tonight." They had reservations at her favorite restaurant in New York City, a little more than an hour's drive from their house. "Me too. Mom's coming over at six to stay with the girls." Scarlett made a face. "We don't need a babysitter. I'm fifteen. Gram doesn't need to come over." "It's nice for there to be an adult around with us being an hour away," James said. Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Come on, Dad. It's not like you're leaving the country. You'll just be in the city." Annabelle and James looked at each other. "Well," she began, "she does have a point. What do you think?" James scratched his beard and shifted his gaze to Scarlett. "I don't know. You and your sister tend to fight. Not sure you're the best person to be in charge." "Give me a chance. Aren't you the one so big on us learning responsibility?" Scarlett asked. Annabelle suppressed a grin and said nothing, waiting to see his response. He moved his head back and forth as he considered it. "Okay, we'll give it a try." He glanced at his watch, then gave Annabelle a peck on the lips. "You'd better hit the road if you don't want to be late." He looked over at the girls. "Take your plates to the sink and grab your backpacks." "I got it. You should get going, or you're going to be late," Annabelle said. "Right. Have a good day, everyone." A few minutes after he left, Annabelle cleared the table while the girls gathered their things. They filed out and got into Annabelle's Volvo XC90. Once they were on the road, she gave Scarlett a quick look. "Make sure you're not on your phone all night. I don't want you to ignore your sister." "I won't. We'll watch a movie or something." "And no one coming over," Annabelle said. "Okay, Mom. Got it. Geez." "I'll tell you if she does anything wrong," Olivia piped up from the back seat. "I'm not going to do anything wrong. Ugh!" "And you call me right away if there's a problem," Annabelle said. "There won't be a problem! What did you get Dad for your anniversary?" "Remember the photo of the four of us on the beach last summer at the Cape?" "Yeah, you made us all dress alike like a bunch of dweebs," Scarlett said. Annabelle laughed. "It's a great photo of everyone! I had it done in oil paints for Dad." Scarlett didn't seem impressed. "Hmm. That sounds nice, I guess. Um, so, I was wondering—" "What?" "Did you have any other serious boyfriends before Dad?" Annabelle's hand tightened on the wheel as an image formed in her mind. For the second time that day, the old pain returned. All these years later, she still felt like a part of her was missing. "Why do you ask?" Annabelle made her voice light, buying time. "Just wondering, you know, if there was anyone really special before Dad. Like, did you know right away that Dad was the one?" "Do you mean, was it love at first sight?" "I guess." Annabelle was careful to measure her response. "I don't believe in love at first sight. Your dad and I were friends first, and I fell in love with him gradually. But it's better, I think, because he's not only my husband, he's my best friend." What she didn't tell her daughter was that once upon a time, she had very much believed in love at first sight. Back when she was young and naive and hadn't had her heart broken. She'd experienced that all-consuming, head-over-heels, mad love that poets and philosophers wrote about, and it had nearly destroyed her. Maybe her knees didn't buckle when James kissed her, but that kind of feeling didn't last anyway. What they had was better, more real. The kind of love that would sustain her, not obliterate her. Excerpted from DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES by Liv Constantine. Copyright © 2025 by Lynne Constantine. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Return to top of page
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Waterfront' Brings More Murder to Netflix
'The Waterfront,' a Netflix drama created by Kevin Williamson, is set in North Carolina in a small coastal town. The Buckleys are local royalty — not only in the sense that they're well known and powerful, but also in that they're tortured by their circumstances and deeply resent one another, even as they feel a duty to protect the family. The show is one of many to follow the 'Yellowstone' model, a family saga of violence and secrets, of huffy men and sly women, of distinctive names (Cane, Harlan, Diller, Hoyt). It is also about land that's been in this family for generations, gosh darn it — land that's our legacy if only the cruelties of debt and developers would abate. Our gruff patriarch is Harlan (Holt McCallany), a drunk and a womanizer with heart troubles and a shady past. His wife, Belle (Maria Bello), has her own valuable secrets and runs the family restaurant. Their son, Cane (Jake Weary), meddles with the fishing side of the business, and their daughter, Bree (Melissa Benoist), tenuously sober and trying to rebuild a relationship with her surly teenage son (Brady Hepner), wants more responsibility in the family's enterprises. But Belle isn't so sure she's ready. Cane has gotten himself into a spot of trouble with a drug ring, and suddenly his side hustle is a bigger and bigger problem. Only three of the eight episodes of 'The Waterfront' were made available for review, so I cannot speak to its stamina or big arcs. But these early chapters do a few things well. Whatever its flaws may be as it goes on, 'The Waterfront' does not start slow — it knows how to escalate. The bodies start piling up quickly and surprisingly, the double-crossing starts right away and the flirtatious glances turn to naughty trysts within an episode. Mysterious strangers do not remain so mysterious or strange for too long. The show often lacks texture, but it compensates with earnest momentum. The series also has dark fun with its setting, and its moody crimes include murder by fishing net, intimidation by dunking someone as shark bait and hiding a body in a swamp in the hopes that alligators will take care of the rest. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Japan's Yuya Danzuka Mines Family Drama and Urban Design for Breakout Directorial Debut ‘Brand New Landscape'
As a work of fiction, Japanese director Yuya Danzuka's Brand New Landscape would stand out as both an intellectually precocious and impressively assured debut feature. The 26-year-old became the youngest filmmaker ever showcased in the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight section last month, where he earned widespread praise for his elegant interweaving of a Japanese family's emotional unraveling with meditations on Tokyo's ceaseless cycles of alienation and renewal. But what many Western critics overlooked is that the film isn't merely an above-average entry in the arthouse family drama canon — it's also a bold and provocative act of autobiography. Brand New Landscape begins with a summer getaway descending into quiet desperation. Shortly after arriving at their seaside vacation home, aspiring landscape designer Hajime (Kenichi Endo) abruptly announces that a pressing career opportunity is calling him back to the city. The exhausted resignation in his wife's protests makes clear this is far from the first time he's prioritized his artistic calling over family, and their marriage is in its final stages of decay. As the father creeps off and the mother, Yumiko (Haruka Igawa), settles into a depressive funk, sideways on a sofa, their two children retreat into isolation, the son alone with his soccer ball and the teenage daughter taking refuge in a novel. Danzuka frames these scenes with patient precision, demonstrating a keen sense of spatial awareness. More from The Hollywood Reporter OUTtv: They're Here, They're Queer, They're Canadian! BritBox Greenlights Contemporary Adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'Tommy & Tuppence' Al Pacino Meets Pope Leo XIV, Becoming First Movie Star to Get an Audience With American Pontiff The narrative then leaps a decade forward, finding the family fractured. Yumiko has died — by suicide, it's implied — and Hajime, having left the children years earlier to work on prominent projects abroad, has found acclaim. The son, Ren (a marvelously recalcitrant Kodai Kurosaki), is now drifting through Tokyo, working aimlessly as a flower deliveryman, while the daughter, Emi (Mai Kiryu), is preparing to marry her longtime boyfriend but seems to have little confidence that the institution serves much purpose beyond putting painful family history in the past. When Ren delivers flowers to an upscale gallery, he discovers that his father has returned to Tokyo for a grand retrospective of his work. Hajime has also signed on to a controversial redevelopment of one of Tokyo's city parks, an ambitious exercise in cutting-edge urban design that will also entail the forcible removal of a large group of unhoused people. Their chance reunion sparks an emotional reckoning. While Hajime remains emotionally obtuse and absorbed in his architecture and a budding new romance with an underling, Ren tentatively seeks a reconciliation, while Emi openly resists any reunion. Danzuka thoughtfully explores emotional vacancy — not only in the characters but in the cold, imposing city spaces they move through. As the camera impassively observes the transformation of Tokyo's urban landscape, it becomes a metaphor for the characters' internal architecture: fractured and alienated, but also beautiful and forever seeking reconfiguration through some inexpressible need to carry on. Throughout, Danzuka establishes himself as a formalist with a mature and impressively deft touch, using stillness, distance, and spatial tension to evoke the listlessness of Japanese youth and the lingering ache of familial absence. But in a country and culture that places a high value on personal discretion and family privacy, Danzuka's full project is far bolder than this formal restraint would suggest. 'The characters are based on each member of my real family and the story is what we went through,' Danzuka tells The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the film's screening at the Shanghai International Film Festival's Asian New Talent competition. Yuya Danzuka's father, celebrated landscape designer Eiki Danzuka, is widely recognized in Japan for his once-controversial but now widely acclaimed redevelopment of Tokyo's Miyashita Park — the very urban landmark the young director scrutinizes aesthetically and ethically throughout his film. 'I've always carried complicated feelings about Tokyo's relentless transformation, and the way the past is constantly disappearing into the future here,' says Danzuka, who grew up in the city. 'When that unease around the urban landscape began to intersect with deeply personal emotions I have about my family, I realized I might be able to turn these connections into a film.' He adds: 'For many, the background — the city — is public, and family is private. But I grew up in Tokyo, witnessing my family change and Tokyo itself evolve simultaneously, and the feelings I experienced as both changed rapidly and beyond my control — it was all connected.' Working with cinematographer Koichi Furuya, Danzuka crafted his distinctive observational style emphasizing how spaces shape emotional experiences. 'The camera's placement was essential,' he explains. 'When viewing the world through the camera, the characters fill only a small area, with the city, architecture, and nature dominating the rest of the frame. By giving equal care to the spaces and surroundings as we did to the actors, we hoped to convey a sense of impartiality, which would emphasize their emotional transformations.' From his vantage, Danzuka says the film is fully non-fictional, but he acknowledges the epistemological limits to his perspective, too. 'My father and sister carry pain similar to mine but different,' he says. 'We all carry distinct feelings about what happened within our family, so it's difficult for me to precisely say where the fiction and autobiography begin and end in my version of our story.' While Danzuka had indeed been estranged from his father for a period, he shared the screenplay with him prior to filming and received his blessing to openly explore his architectural work and their shared history. His father first saw the finished film at its Cannes premiere. 'I didn't speak with him directly at the premiere, but I heard he was very emotional,' Danzuka says. 'Our relationship continues to evolve, like the characters. The film is about evolution, emotions tied to landscapes, respect for past generations' memories, and the cycle of things vanishing and new things emerging.' He concludes: 'Before making this film, I hadn't thought deeply about landscapes and spaces. It has deepened my appreciation for my father's work — and I think he has gained a greater respect for filmmaking, too.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Welcome to Plathville': Micah's Girlfriend Faces the Family's Wrath, Is Compared to Ethan's Ex Olivia in Season 7 Trailer (Exclusive)
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the upcoming season of Welcome to Plathville, which premieres on Tuesday, July 22 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC While Ethan moves on from Olivia after their messy divorce, Micah worries his relationship with Veronica is following the same path after tension brews between her and the family Amid the drama, Moriah decides to escape with "a life-changing move"Welcome to Plathville is returning to our screens this summer! In PEOPLE's exclusive first look at the season 7 of the TLC reality show, the Plaths are taking on 'raw emotions, shocking surprises, new faces and fresh starts," according to an official synopsis. For some members of the family, 'love is in the air,' but others are forced to make difficult decisions about the future during the upcoming season. While parents Kim and Barry struggle through their ongoing divorce, their 21-year-old daughter Lydia has marriage on her mind with boyfriend Zac — with whom she plans to save their first kiss, among other 'firsts,' for their wedding day. When she claims that she immediately 'knew he was the one,' her brothers' are skeptical. Isaac, 19, is in a new relationship, as is Ethan, 27, who spent last season dealing with the aftermath of his tumultuous divorce from ex-wife Olivia. 'Out of the blue, I found the one the second time around,' Ethan explains in the trailer. 'The absence of drama is amazing. In no situation would I ever want any of that back.' Meanwhile, Moriah decided to make 'a life-changing move" after 'taking a step back' from the drama at home, which included cutting off her friendship with Micah's girlfriend, Veronica. When growing tension between Veronica and the Plaths draws a wedge between her and Micah, 27, history begins to repeat itself, and they 'can't seem to get on the same page.' 'I'm trying to ride the line of not doing what I feel like Ethan did,' Micah says. 'He took Olivia's side, didn't talk to my mom or dad. I don't want anything close to that.' 'Veronica thinks that my family was out to get her, and Olivia thought the same thing,' Ethan adds before telling Veronica: 'If you want to be a part of this family this is the price you pay.' 'I'm going to be honest, I don't know if I want to be part of the family,' she replies. Later, she admits that she doesn't see a happy ending in her relationship with Micah. 'I feel like I'm in chemistry class and, like, mixing things together, and it's going to explode any second,' she reveals to cameras. 'I know this will go bad. Mark my words.' Veronica confides in Olivia, who filed for divorce from Ethan in 2024 after years of conflict with his parents and siblings. 'I should have warned you,' Olivia tells Veronica on a call. The dramatic ending shows Ethan and Olivia come face-to-face, with him asking her to 'please stop,' and her responding, 'no.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Season 7 of Welcome to Plathville premieres on Tuesday, July 22 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. Read the original article on People
