I always knew my mother-in-law, Linda, didn’t like me, but I never imagined she would take things this far. When she offered to do my laundry while I was recovering from an illness, I thought she was finally showing some kindness. I had no idea she had something else in mind.
From the moment I married David, Linda made it crystal clear that I wasn’t the daughter-in-law she wanted. She found fault in everything I did—how I cooked, how I cleaned, even how I folded clothes.
“Oh, Evelyn,” she’d sigh, shaking her head at my laundry. “David never liked his shirts folded this way. I taught him better than this.”
Or, “You should dress the boys in something more presentable. You never know who’s watching.”
And of course, “You’re not feeding them enough protein. How will they grow strong?”
She had a never-ending list of criticisms, and frankly, I was exhausted. So instead of arguing, I took a different approach—I distanced myself. I minimized our interactions and kept my responses polite but short. David agreed it was for the best.
“You don’t have to force a relationship with her,” he told me one evening while we cleaned up after dinner. “I know she can be a lot. I’ll handle her.”
And he did. He called her, visited her, sent her gifts—everything a son should do to keep his mother happy. I encouraged him to maintain their bond, even if Linda didn’t like me.
But Linda wasn’t one to let things go. She noticed my absence.
“Why don’t you come over with David anymore?” she’d ask.
“You used to call me more often,” she’d text randomly.
It was almost as if she missed having someone to criticize.
Then, two weeks before Valentine’s Day, I got sick. It started with a mild fever and a stuffy nose, but within days, it knocked me out. My body ached, my head pounded, and I was too weak to do much of anything. Just as I started feeling a bit better, both Nathan and Lucas caught it too.
The house became a disaster. Dishes piled up, laundry overflowed, and I could barely keep up. Once the worst of the sickness passed, I decided to do something nice—I invited my sister and parents over for an afternoon visit. The boys hadn’t seen them in a while, and I thought some family time would lift our spirits.
I didn’t tell Linda. Why would I?
But somehow, she found out.
At exactly 1:30 p.m., the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there she was, standing there with a sweet—but suspicious—smile.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well, dear,” she said, stepping inside. “I thought I’d stop by to help.”
Linda? Offering help? I glanced at David, who looked just as surprised as I felt.
“Oh… that’s nice of you,” I said cautiously.
She cooed over the boys for a moment before her gaze landed on the mountain of laundry in the corner. I had managed to shove everything into baskets, but there was no hiding it—I hadn’t washed clothes in weeks.
“Oh, Evelyn,” she tsked. “You shouldn’t have to deal with all this while you’re recovering.”
Then she turned to David. “Why don’t I take some of it home with me? I’ll wash it and bring it back fresh and folded.”
I stiffened. Since when did Linda do favors?
“That’s really not necessary,” I said quickly. “I can get to it this weekend.”
“Nonsense,” she waved me off. “It’s no trouble at all.”
Something about this felt off, but before I could refuse again, David spoke up. “That’d be great, Mom. Thanks.”
Linda smiled triumphantly, scooped up a basket of my clothes, and left before I could say another word.
Two days later, I had nearly forgotten about it when David walked into the kitchen, looking confused. “You’re not going to believe this,” he said, holding up his phone.
It was a text from Linda. A long one.
David, I can’t believe what your wife did. I have been sick all night—fever, chills, headache! And do you know why? Because Evelyn didn’t 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 said she was getting rid of some. And now I’M SICK! This is HER fault!
I nearly gagged. “She… she tried on my clothes?”
David nodded. “Looks like it.”
“My dirty clothes. The ones I wore while I was sick?”
“Yep.”
“Oh my God.” I dropped the phone like it was contaminated. “That’s disgusting!”
Before I could even process the horror, my phone buzzed again. Another message from Linda.
Medical expenses are not cheap, you know. Since your little stunt got me sick, I think it’s only fair you cover my treatment. I’ll be mailing you the bill. Don’t think you can ignore this!
“Okay,” I said, staring at the screen. “She’s lost it. Completely lost it.”
David sighed. “I’ll call her.” He put the phone on speaker.
Linda answered immediately. “Did you read my message? I hope you understand how serious this is.”
David didn’t hesitate. “Mom, let me get this straight. You took dirty clothes, tried them on, got sick, and now you want Evelyn to pay your medical bills?”
“She should have warned me!” Linda snapped. “How could she be so careless?”
“No, Mom,” David said firmly. “YOU were careless. You volunteered to wash the clothes, not wear them.”
Linda scoffed. “Oh, so you’re taking her side? Again?”
David sighed. “You stole her clothes, ruined half of them, made yourself sick, and now you’re trying to scam us for money. If anyone’s treating someone poorly, it’s you.”
Silence. Then Linda muttered, “Some of those clothes were actually nice.”
I gasped. “Excuse me? What does that mean?”
David shook his head. “Mom, return everything. And don’t keep texting Evelyn about this.”
“But, I—”
“Enough, Mom. If you keep this up, I won’t be calling or visiting anytime soon.”
Another silence. Then—beep. She hung up.
David exhaled. “Well, that went as expected.”
A few days later, a package arrived. Inside were a few of my shirts, some pants, and a sweater. All of them were ruined—a blotchy pink mess.
Linda had destroyed my clothes.
Strangely, I didn’t feel angry. Just tired. Holding up a faded sweater, I sighed. “Guess I should’ve seen that coming.”
David peered over my shoulder. “You’re not actually going to wear those again, right?”
“Are you kidding? After where they’ve been? Burn pile.”
David chuckled. “Well, at least we learned something.”
“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.
He grinned. “If your mom offers to do laundry, say yes. If mine offers? Run.”
I burst out laughing. “Deal.”
