I always knew my mother-in-law, Linda, never really liked me. But I never thought she\u2019d go this far. When she offered to take my laundry home while I was recovering from an illness, I thought she was just trying to be helpful. I had no idea she had other plans for my clothes.<\/p>\n
From the moment I married David, Linda made it crystal clear\u2014I was not her ideal daughter-in-law. She had an opinion about everything I did, from the way I cooked to how I folded shirts. And when I became a mother to our two boys, Nathan and Lucas, she had even more to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not feeding them enough protein,\u201d she\u2019d declare, scanning my kitchen like a health inspector.<\/p>\n
Or, \u201cDavid never liked his shirts folded this way. I taught him better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
My personal favorite? \u201cYou should dress the boys in something more presentable. You never know who\u2019s watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was exhausting. But instead of fighting back, I took the high road. I stopped engaging. I kept my distance. And David\u2014bless his heart\u2014supported me completely.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to force a relationship with her,\u201d he assured me one evening as we cleaned up after dinner. \u201cI know she can be a lot. I\u2019ll handle her.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he did. He called her, visited her, sent her gifts. He did everything a good son should do, and I never got in the way of their bond. Just because she didn\u2019t like me didn\u2019t mean I wanted to come between them.<\/p>\n
But Linda? She wasn\u2019t happy with that. She noticed my absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come over with David anymore?\u201d she\u2019d ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used to call me more often,\u201d she\u2019d text randomly.<\/p>\n
It was almost like she missed criticizing me. But as long as she wasn\u2019t causing serious trouble, I let it go.<\/p>\n
And then, two weeks before Valentine\u2019s Day, I got sick. And that\u2019s when everything spiraled out of control.<\/p>\n
At first, it was just a mild fever. But soon, it turned into exhaustion, body aches, and a cough that wouldn\u2019t go away. Of course, just as I started feeling a little better, Nathan and Lucas caught it too. It wasn\u2019t serious\u2014just a stubborn virus that knocked us off our feet. But by the time the worst of it passed, I felt like I had been run over by a truck.<\/p>\n
The house was a disaster. Laundry piled up. Dishes sat in the sink. I barely had the energy to function. So, when I finally started feeling human again, I decided to do something nice\u2014I invited my sister and parents over for lunch.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t invite Linda. Why would I?<\/p>\n
But somehow, she found out.<\/p>\n
At exactly 1:30 p.m., the doorbell rang. When I opened it, there she was, smiling sweetly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you weren\u2019t feeling well, dear,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I\u2019d stop by to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda? Helping? That was new.<\/p>\n
I glanced at David, who was standing near the couch. He looked just as surprised as I felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh\u2026 that\u2019s nice of you,\u201d I said cautiously.<\/p>\n
Linda smiled wider. \u201cHow are the boys?\u201d She ruffled Nathan\u2019s hair and cooed over Lucas. Then, she turned to me. \u201cAnd you, sweetheart? You look so pale. You shouldn\u2019t be up and about already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was she\u2026 being nice? This felt suspicious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d I said, watching her carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, of course you are!\u201d she chirped before her eyes landed on the mountain of laundry baskets in the corner. \u201cOh, Evelyn. You shouldn\u2019t have to deal with all this in your condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned to David. \u201cWhy don\u2019t I take some of it home with me? I\u2019ll wash it and bring it back fresh and folded.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stiffened. Linda? Doing favors?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really not necessary,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cI can get to it this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she waved me off. \u201cNonsense! It\u2019s no trouble at all. I\u2019d be happy to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
David, without hesitation, said, \u201cThat\u2019d be great, Mom. Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shot him a look. Seriously?<\/p>\n
Linda didn\u2019t waste any time. She grabbed a basket, hauled it to the door, and before I could protest, David was helping her load it into her car.<\/p>\n
Something about this felt wrong. But what could I say? She was doing something nice\u2026 right?<\/p>\n
Two days passed. I had almost forgotten about the laundry situation\u2014until David got a text from his mom. He walked into the kitchen, looking confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna believe this,\u201d he said, holding up his phone.<\/p>\n
I took it from him and read Linda\u2019s message:<\/p>\n
David, I can\u2019t believe what your wife did! I have been sick all night\u2014fever, chills, the worst headache ever! And you know why? Because Evelyn didn\u2019t bother to tell me she was contagious when she gave me her filthy clothes! I tried on a few things before washing them, just to see if I wanted to keep them since she mentioned she was getting rid of some. And now I\u2019M SICK! She should have warned me!<\/p>\n
I nearly gagged. \u201cShe\u2026 she tried on my clothes?\u201d<\/p>\n
David sighed. \u201cLooks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dirty clothes. That I wore while I was sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n
I dropped the phone like it was contaminated. \u201cThat\u2019s disgusting!\u201d<\/p>\n
And then, another message buzzed in.<\/p>\n
Medical expenses aren\u2019t cheap, you know. Since your little stunt got me sick, I think it\u2019s only fair you cover my treatment. I\u2019ll be mailing you the bill. Don\u2019t think you can just ignore this!<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, she\u2019s lost it,\u201d I muttered. \u201cCompletely lost it.\u201d<\/p>\n
David took the phone from me. \u201cI\u2019m calling her.\u201d<\/p>\n
He put the call on speaker. Linda answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just about to call you!\u201d she snapped. \u201cDid you read my message? I hope you understand how serious this is.\u201d<\/p>\n
David exhaled sharply. \u201cMom. Let me get this straight. You took dirty clothes, tried them on, got sick, and now you want Evelyn to pay for your treatment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe should have warned me!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Mom. You offered to wash them, not wear them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re taking her side? Like always?\u201d<\/p>\n
David groaned. \u201cYou stole her clothes, got sick, and now you\u2019re trying to get money out of us. You have no one to blame but yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence. Then, Linda mumbled, \u201cSome of those clothes were actually nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gasped. \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
David shook his head. \u201cMom, return whatever you took. You can\u2019t keep anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough, Mom. If you keep texting Evelyn about this, I won\u2019t be calling or visiting anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence. Then\u2014beep. She hung up.<\/p>\n
A few days later, a package arrived. Inside were some of my clothes\u2014all faded pink. Linda had ruined them.<\/p>\n
For some reason, I didn\u2019t even feel angry. Just exhausted.<\/p>\n
David peered over my shoulder. \u201cYou\u2019re not actually gonna wear those again, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you kidding? After where they\u2019ve been? Burn pile.\u201d<\/p>\n
David chuckled. \u201cLesson learned. If your mom offers to do laundry, say yes. If mine offers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRun.\u201d<\/p>\n
We both burst out laughing. Deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I always knew my mother-in-law, Linda, never really liked me. But I never thought she\u2019d go this far. When she offered to take my laundry home while I was recovering from an illness, I thought she was just trying to be helpful. I had no idea she had other plans for my clothes. From the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26716"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26717,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26716\/revisions\/26717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}