When my future MIL invited me over for tea, I thought she wanted to bond before the wedding. Instead, she handed me a list of 25 luxury gifts to buy for her; one for each year she “invested” in raising Jake. Now I’m questioning what kind of family I’m really marrying into… and how far she’ll go.You know that feeling when someone’s being nice to you, but every instinct in your body is screaming “danger”?A thoughtful woman | Source: Pexels
That’s exactly how I felt when Jake’s mom called me three weeks before our wedding.
Jake and I had been together for almost three years and engaged for six months. His family seemed normal and nice enough, even though his mom, Linda, still called him her baby boy and cut his steak for him at barbeques.
I chalked it up to her being overprotective and just decided to do my best to get along with her.A man holding a cell phone | Source: Pexels
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I could hear Linda’s voice on the other end, defending herself with that same calm tone she’d used with me.
“If she can’t honor the years I spent raising you, maybe she doesn’t value family,” she repeated.
Jake hung up looking like he’d been punched in the stomach. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea she would…”
A thoughtful man | Source: Midjourney
“It’s not your fault,” I told him, even though part of me was wondering what other surprises his family had in store.
I thought that was the end of it. I really did. How naïve of me.
Two weeks later, we were at Jake’s cousin’s engagement party. Nice restaurant, lots of family, champagne toasts all around. Everything was going perfectly until Linda stood up during the dessert course.
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A woman standing in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
“I’d like to make a toast,” she announced, raising her glass.
Everyone quieted down, expecting something sweet about love and family.
Instead, Linda looked directly at me and said, “When you marry into a family, you don’t just marry the person. You honor the people who raised them. Some of us are still waiting on our tokens of appreciation.”
The silence that followed was deafening. My face burned like someone had held a blowtorch to it.
A woman in a restaurant looking uncertain | Source: Midjourney
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Jake immediately stood up. “Mom, stop this. Now.”
But the damage was done. Twenty-odd pairs of eyes were staring at me, and I could practically hear the whispers starting. That’s when I realized we’d crossed from ridiculous into toxic territory, and something had to change. Publicly.
Linda’s birthday was coming up in a week, and she’d been dropping not-so-subtle hints about which gift from the list I’d be choosing first. The Cartier bracelet seemed to be her top choice, based on how often she mentioned it.
A person holding a Cartier-branded jewelry box | Source: Pexels
But I had a different kind of surprise planned. She wanted 25 gifts? Fine. I’d give her 25 gifts.
I spent an entire Saturday afternoon at the dollar store, carefully curating my collection. I picked out a plastic tiara with fake gems and also grabbed a cat calendar, because she’d mentioned multiple times how much she hated cats.
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Some of the other items I chose to show Linda my appreciation included an off-brand perfume called “Evening Mist” that smelled like bathroom air freshener and a “World’s Best Mom” mug with a chip in the handle.
A woman smiling mischievously while shopping in a dollar store | Source: Midjourney
But my masterpiece was the final gift: a roll of toilet paper. For the cherry on top, I personalized it by writing “For all the crap you’ve put me through” on the roll in gold Sharpie.
The birthday dinner was at Linda’s favorite restaurant, the kind of place where they fold your napkin for you when you get up to use the bathroom.
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The interior of a restaurant | Source: Pexels
The whole extended family was there, including some relatives I’d never met. Perfect.
During dessert, I excused myself. A few minutes later, I returned to the table wheeling a large decorative box I’d hidden in my car.
“Linda,” I said, beaming at her like she’d just won the lottery, “I wanted to give you something special. Here are 25 gifts to honor the years you spent raising Jake.”
Her eyes lit up. This was it. This was her moment.
She opened the first package.
A person holding a gift | Source: Pexels
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It contained a packet of gummy worms. Her smile wavered slightly, but she held it together.
In the second package she opened, she found a mini stapler. A few people started glancing at each other.
The third package contained a bar of motel soap still in its paper wrapper. Someone coughed to cover a laugh.
By the time she opened the tenth gift, a rubber duck wearing sunglasses, people weren’t even trying to hide their amusement. Jake’s aunt was biting her lip so hard I thought she might draw blood.
A rubber duck on a table beside a gift box | Source: Midjourney
Linda’s smile was shrinking with each package, but she kept going. What choice did she have? Twenty-odd people watched her with rapt attention as she unwrapped a fake plant, a pack of birthday candles, and a stress ball shaped like a hamburger.
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The 24th gift was a bookmark that said, “Reading is Fun-damental” with a cartoon owl on it.
And then came gift number 25.
Linda unwrapped the toilet paper, read the gold lettering, and the entire table erupted.A woman in a restaurant holding a toilet paper roll | Source: Midjourney
Jake actually started clapping. His dad had to cover his mouth with his napkin, and Jake’s older sister was crying with laughter.
Linda slammed the lid back on the box and snarled, “You’re mocking me.”
I looked her straight in the eye and said, “No, Linda. I’m honoring you, just like you insisted. You never specified the value of the gifts you require.”
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That was it. She stood up so fast her chair fell backward, grabbed her purse, and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving her untouched birthday cake behind.
A decadent cake | Source: Midjourney
The dinner continued without her, and it was honestly the most fun I’d had with Jake’s family since we’d started dating.
People kept coming up to whisper things like, “Thank you. About time someone did that.”
Even Linda’s sister winked at me and said, “She’s had that coming for years.”
Jake made it crystal clear to his mother the next day: respect me as his future wife, or don’t be part of the wedding at all. Her silence since then has been absolutely peaceful.
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A woman relaxing on a bed | Source: Pexels
So yes, I technically gave her 25 gifts. But I also gave her a 26th: silence. Because even though I gave her a slew of bad gifts, I never once let her have a piece of my mind!
Though if we’re counting the applause from that birthday dinner, I’d say the real gift was watching an entire family finally feel free to laugh at the empress with no clothes.
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one you might like: When my MIL handed me a “special gift” at my daughter’s first birthday, I braced myself. I’d endured months of subtle digs since using a surrogate, but nothing prepared me for what was inside that gift bag.
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.