My mother-in-law’s behavior toward my adopted daughter Lily had always been quite hurtful, but when she turned Lily’s room into a storage space behind our backs, I was livid. What I planned to do next was something that would make her think twice before messing with my family again.
So, I’ve been married to my husband, Jack, for about nine years now, and my mother-in-law, Linda, has grabbed every opportunity to make my life a living hell.
You might be thinking I’m exaggerating, but trust me, I’m not. She’s one of those people who like to poke their noses into other people’s businesses knowing well how their actions and words can hurt their loved ones.
Linda has always had issues with me, and soon after my wedding, I understood that she was never going to change. She even had the audacity to tell me that she didn’t like my wedding dress. That too right after Jack and I had said our vows. Sounds horrible, right?
A year into our marriage, Jack and I began trying for a baby, but things didn’t work out. We visited many fertility clinics, but none of my pregnancies survived over three months. It was heartbreaking, and I was devastated, to say the least.
One night, while I was sitting in our bedroom, thinking about my recent miscarriage, Jack came and hugged me.
“I know you’re stressed about having a baby, but it’s not in our control,” he said as he rubbed my arm, trying to comfort me.
“We’ve tried everything we could, and I think we should look at the other options now.”
“What other options?” I asked with a frown. “You think your mother is going to let us adopt a child? You wish!”
“I know she’s difficult to deal with, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“She won’t understand anything, Jack,” I said, shaking my head. “You remember how she used to make me feel like an outsider during the initial days of our marriage? Do you even know why she did that?”
He stared at me with a blank expression.
“Because I’m not a part of your family. I’m not the girl she wanted you to marry,” I continued as I replayed the initial months of our marriage in my mind. “She wanted you to marry her cousin’s daughter, remember? Just because that girl was a part of your mother’s family.”
“Can’t you forget those things and move on?” Jack looked straight into my eyes.
“Move on? Your mother’s the one who needs to move on. She needs to stop believing that blood is everything!” I protested. “I still remember the day she passed that snide remark saying you could have done better! I can only imagine what evil things she’d say if we adopted a child!”
At that point, Jack understood I was right. He knew Linda inside out, and I’m sure he had already imagined the mean comments she would pass.
But the thing was that we really wanted to have a baby, and adoption was the only option we had. So, after days of thinking about it, Jack and I decided to adopt a child.
However, disclosing this to Linda was nothing short of a nightmare. She tried her best to stop us by presenting lame excuses, but our decision was final.
Soon, Lily came into our lives and filled it with joy we never knew existed.
She was around a year old when we adopted her, but it felt like we had always known her. She’s the sweetest kid I’ve ever met in my life.
But Linda? She’s always looking for a reason to tell me that I’ve made the wrong decision by adopting Lily.
“You’ll never understand true motherhood without pregnancy,” was the first thing she said when she saw Lily in my arms.
I was furious, but I decided not to say anything because you can’t argue with people who fail to understand logic, can you?
Anyway, when Lily turned three, we decided to take her to Disneyland. We had been saving for this trip for months and were super excited about it. I couldn’t wait to see how she’d react after looking at Mickey Mouse and all the Disney princesses in real life.
When Jack told Linda about it, she tried to make us feel bad about our decision.
“Why waste so much money on a girl who’s not truly yours?” she sneered over the phone. “You’re giving her a life that’s way better than what she deserves, and that’s enough, Jack.”
“She’s never going to stop with her disgusting remarks,” I said once Jack was done talking to her.
“Forget it, babe,” Jack said as he placed his phone on the side table. “Let’s focus on the trip.”
And that’s exactly what I did. I focused on packing for the trip and ensuring Lily would have a blast there. Little did I know that Linda was planning something that would make me lose my temper.
The trip began, and Lily enjoyed it just as we had imagined. She loved interacting with the Disney princesses and enjoyed the rides there. I can’t explain how happy I felt watching her face glow with excitement. I literally had tears in my eyes at one point.
Anyway, our happiness was quite short-lived because what we saw after entering our house was something that I’ll never forget.
There were boxes around the living room and kitchen, and some were even piled up in the hallway. At first, I thought Jack had ordered something from Amazon, but when I looked at him, he seemed as surprised as I was.
“These don’t look like new boxes,” he said while reading the label on one of them. “These are old boxes, babe.”
“But who placed them here?” I asked as I opened one of the boxes to see what was inside. That’s when I understood where they had come from.
“Aren’t these your mother’s shoes? The ones we gifted her last Christmas?” I asked while holding a pair of shoes in my hands.
“Oh, yes,” Jack said. “But why did she—”
“Your mother is crazy, Jack!” I yelled as I threw the shoes on the floor. “I know exactly why she came here!”
And then, I made a beeline for Lily’s room, and opening the door made my worst fears come alive. Linda had crossed all limits this time.
“Jack!” I called out. “Come here!”
He instantly rushed towards Lily’s room and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked around. The room that was once filled with Lily’s toys and had beautiful pink walls was now buried under a mountain of Linda’s old belongings.
Moreover, the walls were lined up with stacks of boxes full of Linda’s old clothes, shoes, cutlery, pots, pans, and everything you could think of.
“What the hell happened here?” Jack asked with eyes wide open.
“Your mother happened!” I spat out. “Looks like she decided to turn my daughter’s room into a storage unit. What the hell does she think of herself, Jack? This is too much!”
