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!”

Jack was as angry as I was, but I wasn’t sure if he’d confront his mother, so I had to take things into my own hands. I immediately called her, and she acted like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Oh, I thought you wouldn’t mind,” she said in her fake sweet voice. “I just needed some space since I was clearing out my garage, and I thought I could use Lily’s room. She’s too young to notice, isn’t she?”

“Are you kidding me, Linda?” I snapped. “This is Lily’s room, and you had no right to do what you did!”

“C’mon, she’s just a child,” she dismissed my words. “And adopted too. It’s not like she’d remember this in a few years!”

That was it. That was the final straw. I was done playing nice. I told MIL in no uncertain terms that she had crossed a line, and she was no longer welcome in our home until she apologized and cleared out every single item from Lily’s room.

I knew she’d never apologize, so I decided to devise a plan to teach her a lesson. I wanted her to experience what Lily felt after looking at her room.

So, after dropping Lily at school the next day and seeing off Jack, I went into Lily’s room and packed up all of Linda’s belongings. Once all the boxes were ready, I contacted the courier company and scheduled to ship the boxes to different places.

I sent some to her house, some to her workplace, and some to random addresses. But the main box went to her precious country club, where she used to spend evenings socializing with some of the most influential women in town.

I labeled it with big, bold letters: “URGENT: DELIVER TO LINDA IMMEDIATELY.”

Can you guess what I put inside that box? Her old bras, moth-eaten sweaters, and other personal items that no one would want to be seen with in public.

I got a call from her a few days later.

“Are you out of your mind?” she yelled. “How dare you send my things to my work and the club! Do you know how embarrassed I was?”

“Oh, I know exactly how embarrassed you were,” I replied with a chuckle. “I hope it felt like a fraction of what Lily felt when she came home to find her room destroyed. Maybe now you’ll think twice before you mess with my family.”

And with that, I hung up before she could say anything else. I was so done with this woman, and the best part is that she hasn’t tried to contact me since our last interaction. We’ve been living in peace without her interference, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

I guess I need to thank myself for coming up with such a brilliant idea. I might as well give myself a pat on the back!

What would you have done if you were in my place?

If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: When Gracie’s mother-in-law invited her on a family trip, she considered it a step toward mending their relationship. Instead, the trip kicked off with a jaw-dropping ultimatum that Gracie couldn’t ignore. She had to devise a plan to expose her mother-in-law and teach her a lesson.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.