When my mother-in-law handed my husband divorce papers as his birthday gift in front of our entire family, I thought my marriage was over. But what Daniel did with those papers in the next 60 seconds changed everything between us forever. I have been married to my husband, Daniel, for six years now.
We have a solid marriage built on mutual respect, shared dreams, and immense love for each other.
We support each other through work stress, family drama, and all the little challenges that come with building a life together.
The only problem in my marriage is my mother-in-law, Cheryl.
She has never liked me, and that has been clear since the very first day Daniel brought me home to meet his parents. I remember that dinner vividly.
I wore my best dress, brought homemade brownies, and tried so hard to make a good impression.
“So, Lisa,” she said, barely looking at me while cutting her pot roast. “What exactly do you do again?”
“I’m a graphic designer,” I replied, trying to sound confident.
“Oh.” She paused.
“That sounds temporary.”
That was six years ago, and her attitude hasn’t improved one bit.
Cheryl has never accepted that her “baby boy” married some woman when he could have stayed home and provided for HER for his whole life. In her mind, I stole her precious son away from his real purpose, which was apparently being her personal handyman and emotional support system.
From day one, she’s been passive-aggressive, condescending, and sometimes flat-out rude. She keeps passing comments about everything from my cooking to my career.
She’s mostly throwing questions like “When are you going to give Daniel some real stability?” and “Don’t you think it’s selfish to keep him from his family?”
She actually believed Daniel should divorce me.
She’d drop hints constantly.
“You know, Mrs. Patterson from church got divorced last year, and she’s so much happier now,” she’d say during family dinners.
“Sometimes people just grow apart, don’t they, Daniel?”
Another time, she said, “I saw the nicest girl at the grocery store today.
She’s single, works as a nurse, and lives right here in town. I’m sure she wouldn’t take Daniel away from his roots.”
But here’s the thing about my husband.
Daniel has always stood by me.
Not aggressively or dramatically, but with this quiet, steady loyalty that makes me fall in love with him all over again.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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