My mother-in-law spent years making my life miserable. I tried everything to get along, but nothing worked—until she dragged me on a strange last-minute trip. One night in a run-down motel, I found out the truth she had been hiding, and it changed everything between us.

Everything about my husband was perfect, except for his mother. Eliza was what people called a monster-in-law. And please, don’t think I didn’t try. I really, truly did. I smiled when I wanted to scream.

I offered help even when she brushed me off. I asked about her life, her favorite things, her memories with Mark.

I hoped we could find something to connect over, even something small. I wanted peace, maybe even friendship.

But when every attempt was met with, “Oh, Mark’s ex never did it this way,” “You are doing everything wrong. Mark will leave you soon,” and “Listen, maybe you should find someone else and stop ruining my son’s life,” well, I’m sorry, but anyone’s patience would eventually run out.

After hearing things like that again and again, I stopped trying. I thought ignoring her would help. But it only made things worse.

“You don’t respect me,” she accused. “You’re trying to turn my son against me.” Then she threw the final blow: “You’re a cold witch.” That one stayed with me.

I had cleaned every inch of the house. For two whole weeks, I scrubbed the floors, washed the windows, anddusted every surface.

My back ached, but I kept going. I knew she would find something to criticize, so I tried to give her no reason to complain. No crumbs, no fingerprints, no crooked picture frames.

“Are you ready?” Mark asked, grabbing his keys to head to the airport.

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“I’m never ready,” I sighed, “but I always manage.”

“It’ll be fine,” he said, giving me a quick kiss.

Fine. Sure. It had been fine before. It would be fine again—once she left. I just had to survive a few days. I had a small bottle of calming pills in my drawer. I might need them.

This was Mark’s idea, after all. And I got it. It mattered to him. Especially now. I was five months pregnant, and we were finally ready to tell her.

This was not our first try, and all the previous ones had ended in heartbreak, so we were very careful with this pregnancy and waited to tell anyone until we were sure everything was going well.

I heard the front door open. Right away, I put my hand on my belly. It was a quiet, natural move, but I knew why I did it.

God, I was already trying to protect my child from that woman. I stepped into the hallway and forced a smile.

“Welcome,” I said.

Eliza stepped inside, took off her coat, and glanced down at the floor.

“Oh, Leah, you’re home,” she said. “You could have at least put your shoes away. They’re right in the middle of the hallway.”

My sneakers were by the door. Not in the middle. But I knew it wouldn’t matter.

“I guess I didn’t have time,” I said, trying to keep calm.

“Some people just never learn,” she replied. “Don’t worry. Maybe you’ll learn one day. Maybe.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to say something sharp. Instead, I rolled my eyes and looked away.

Mark came in right after her.

“Can I get you some tea, Mom?” he asked. He gave me a look. He’d heard the tone.

“Yes, I would love that,” Eliza said sweetly to him.

We moved into the living room. She sat down on the couch like she owned the place. I sat in the chair nearby. I didn’t want to sit too close.

Eliza looked at me and frowned.

“So you’re not even going to make your mother-in-law a cup of tea?”

“Mark offered,” I said. “He knows how to make tea.”

“You’re a woman, Leah. You should be doing it. That’s just how it is.”

I sat up straighter. “We live in the 21st century. Women are not servants. I’m not less of a wife because I didn’t make tea.”

Eliza crossed her arms. “I didn’t say you were a servant. I just thought maybe, once in your life, you’d show some respect.”

I opened my mouth, then stopped. There was no point. I let out a breath. “Fine. Believe whatever you want.”

Mark came in with the teapot and two cups. He placed them down and sat beside me.

“Mom, we have something to tell you,” he said.

“You’re getting divorced?” Eliza asked, smiling like that would be the best news.

I groaned and rubbed my face.

“No,” Mark said. “We’re having a baby.”

Eliza gasped. “Oh! A grandchild? I’m going to be a grandmother!”

She jumped up and hugged Mark. Then she turned to me and hugged me too. I froze. It was the first time she had ever hugged me.

She was sweet the rest of the day. Not one insult. Not one complaint. It felt strange.

That night, she came to me. “I want you to come on a retreat,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I already booked it. We leave tomorrow.”

“What? Seriously?”

She didn’t answer. She just walked away.

All evening, I walked around the house and complained. I picked up things. I put things down.

I talked without stopping. Mark sat on the couch and listened. He nodded now and then.

“She forced me,” I said. “She didn’t ask. She told me.”

Mark looked calm. “Maybe she wants to fix things,” he said. “Now that you’re pregnant, maybe she wants a fresh start.”

I stopped and stared at him. “What do I have to do with it?” I said loudly. “This baby does not erase everything she’s done.”

Mark stood up and came closer. “Go,” he said. “Try it. If it’s too hard, you can come home. And she paid for it.”

“That’s not the problem!” I shouted. “I don’t care about the money. I care that I had no choice. I care that she didn’t ask.”

Mark put his arms around me. “It’ll be okay,” he said softly.

The next morning, I drove while Eliza sat beside me. She stared out the window. I stared at the road. We didn’t talk.

After a long, quiet drive, we arrived. Eliza sat up straighter and looked out.

“This doesn’t look like a hotel,” she said.

“It looks like a dump,” I said.

Eliza took out her phone. “Let me check,” she said. “Yes. This is the place. But it looked much nicer in the pictures.”

I searched the name on my phone. I found two places with the same name. One looked clean. This one did not.

“You booked the wrong place,” I said.

Eliza shrugged. “Oops,” she said. “Too late now. We’ll stay here.”

I sighed and stepped out of the car. The room smelled strange. The walls were stained. The sheets didn’t look clean. I was scared to touch anything.

Eliza went to her room without a word. I sat on the bed. Why bring me here? Why speak so little?

That night, I went outside to get my bag from the car and saw someone walking toward Eliza’s door.

My heart stopped. It was Catherine—Mark’s ex. I moved closer and listened.

“All right, go talk to Mark. She’ll stay here with me,” Eliza said.

“Are you sure?” Catherine asked.

“Yes. It’ll work out,” Eliza assured.

I opened the door fast. “Is this why you brought me here? So you could send Mark his ex?!”

Eliza jumped. “No, Leah, it’s not like that.”

“I heard it all!” I yelled. “I thought you wanted to change, I thought you were happy about your grandchild, but you never even cared!”

“Leah, that is not how it is,” Eliza insisted.

“I will not tolerate this anymore!” I shouted and stormed out of the room.

I packed my things and rushed out to the car. My hands were shaking. I was crying so hard I could barely see what I was doing.

I threw my bag in the back seat, slammed the door, and sat behind the wheel.

Tears kept running down my face. I wiped them, but they came right back away. I tried to breathe.

I turned the key. The engine clicked but didn’t start. I tried again. Nothing. My heart pounded harder.

“No, no, no,” I whispered.

I hit the steering wheel. Then again. I wanted to scream. I wanted to drive as far away as possible. I wanted to forget everything that had just happened. But the car wouldn’t start.

Then I heard a knock on the window. I looked up and saw her. Eliza. I looked away fast.

“I don’t want to talk to you!” I shouted through the glass. She didn’t leave.

“Where will you go like this?” she asked. “You’re upset. You’re crying. You can’t drive like this.”

“Let me be,” I said. “You’ve done enough.”

“Please,” she said. “Come back to the room. Let’s just talk. Calmly.”

“I said no!”

“Think about the baby.”

That hit hard. She knew exactly where to press. I sat still for a moment. Then I opened the door.

We walked back to my room without saying anything. I sat on the edge of the bed. She stood for a moment, then sat across from me.

“I know I haven’t been the best mother-in-law,” she said. I gave her a sharp look.

“All right, I’ve been horrible. But I finally realized how wrong I’ve been,” she said.

“So you decided to send Mark his ex?” I yelled.

“No, not because of that. I came to visit you because I had news. But when you said you were pregnant, I realized I couldn’t tell you. You already had enough to deal with,” Eliza said.

“What does Catherine have to do with this?” I asked.

“Catherine is my doctor,” Eliza said.

“Doctor?” I clarified.

“Yes.”

“Catherine is your doctor?” I asked again.

“She treats patients like me,” Eliza said. “I asked her to talk to Mark. She came here to visit her family, which was very convenient for me.”

“I don’t understand anything,” I said. “You live in another city. How can Catherine be your doctor? And why do you need a doctor at all?”

“She offered, once she found out. She’s a good doctor,” Eliza said.

“Can you please explain what’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m dying,” Eliza said.

The room went quiet.

“What?…”

“I have a few months. Maybe more. Maybe less. I don’t know for sure.”

I stared at her. She looked small now. Weak.

“When did you find out?” I asked.

“Not long ago,” she said. “A few weeks. Catherine told me I shouldn’t be alone.”

I swallowed hard.

“I wanted to ask to live with you. But then you said you were pregnant, and I thought… I can’t do that. I didn’t want to be a burden.”

“You could’ve told me,” I said.

“I wanted to. But I couldn’t…”

I looked down at my hands.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice broke. “I really am.”

She started to cry. I hesitated. Then I stood up, walked over, and sat beside her. I put my arms around her. She leaned into me.

“Of course, you can stay with us,” I said.

“But the baby—”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“What hurts the most is not getting to see my grandchild,” Eliza admitted.

“You don’t know that,” I countered.

She laughed sadly. “I’m terrible. It took dying for me to see how cruel I’ve been to you,” Eliza said.

I let out a chuckle. “None of us is perfect.”

Four months later, Eliza did see her granddaughter. She even had time to be a grandmother, at least for a little while. She held baby Eliza in her arms and smiled like I had never seen before.

She spoiled her right away—bought her clothes, sang to her, rocked her to sleep.

Our daughter was born looking so much like her grandmother that it surprised everyone.

Same eyes. Same mouth. Same little chin. I watched them together and felt thankful Eliza got that time.

Although I still hoped she would take after Mark when it came to her personality.

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