I thought lending my car to my daughter-in-law would be a chance to mend our strained relationship. Instead, she returned it battered and covered in lies, refusing to pay for the damages. What I did next left her feeling helpless.
I’m a 60-year-old woman who’s been living alone ever since my husband passed away five years ago. Nathan died after a tough battle with cancer, and there wasn’t much we could’ve done to save him. I still remember what he said to me the day before he closed his eyes forever.
A sick man in a hospital room | Source: Pexels
“Jennifer, always look after Toby,” he said as he held my hand. “I know he’s 30 and he can look after himself, but that boy is a bit too sensitive, and I know he’ll need his mother to support him.”
He was right. Toby did need me in the days following Nathan’s death. I remember how we would sit together, reminiscing about how Nathan used to take us to his favorite restaurant and make us all laugh.
A woman talking to her son | Source: Midjourney
Toby and I would laugh and then cry thinking about the disturbing fact that we’d never see Nathan again. It made us feel devastated, but I guess that’s part of the healing process.
However, things changed when Toby found someone to replace his aging mother. About a year after Nathan’s death, Toby introduced me to a beautiful 30-year-old woman named Layla, whom he met at work.
She wore a lovely dress, her hair neatly tied back, perfectly dressed to meet her boyfriend’s mother. I had to admit that she knew how to make a strong first impression.
A young woman | Source: Midjourney
“Hi, Jennifer,” she hugged me the first time we met. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” I smiled, totally mesmerized by my son’s choice. “You look wonderful, Layla!”
At that moment, I had no clue how this woman would soon come into our lives and pull my son away from me. She seemed so nice; I never would have guessed just how cunning she really was.
A young woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
Toby and Layla tied the knot just six months after our first meeting. I was so happy for my son as he started a new chapter of his life, and my heart was full of good wishes for him. I remember how I couldn’t stop weeping when my boy said his vows like a grown-up man.
Not long after the wedding, Toby and Layla invited me over to their place for lunch. I thought it would be a nice bonding session with my daughter-in-law since it was just the three of us, but it was anything but that.
A woman looking at herself in the mirror while getting ready | Source: Midjourney
Toby had asked me to be there at 2 p.m., but I arrived about 10 minutes late, and Layla took that as an opportunity to create a scene.
“Why are you so late, Jennifer?” she asked as soon as I stepped inside the house. I couldn’t see Toby anywhere near the entrance. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”
“I… I got late because of the traffic,” I stammered, taken aback by the unexpected confrontation.
A woman looking at her daughter-in-law | Source: Midjourney
“I don’t like hosting people who can’t value my time,” she muttered.
“I’m sorry for that, Layla,” I apologized. “But it was just 10 minutes.”
“I don’t care if it was 10 minutes or 10 hours,” she shot me an angry look. “You need to be on time when you come to my place, underst—”
“Oh, Mom! You’re here!” Toby interrupted. “How are you, my lovely lady?”
A man looking straight ahead, smiling | Source: Midjourney
“I’m fine, Toby,” I said, hugging him, still reeling from Layla’s behavior. “How are you, my love? Looks like you haven’t been eating well.”
“Nah, I’m good, Mom,” he smiled. “What were you guys talking about?”
“Your wife was say—”
“Nothing, babe,” Layla cut me off. “I was just telling her how beautiful she looks today.”
A woman smiling while talking to her husband | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah?” Toby’s gaze shifted from his wife to me. “My mom always looks the best!”
At that point, I was stunned by Layla’s behavior. Why was she being so sweet to me in front of Toby? And why didn’t she let me tell him what she had said earlier?
I spent the rest of the afternoon at their house, observing how Layla effortlessly switched on her sweet personality whenever Toby was around. But when he wasn’t looking, she’d throw mean remarks to make me feel unwelcome.
A woman talking to her daughter-in-law | Source: Midjourney
That day marked the beginning of my strained relationship with my daughter-in-law.
Then, one day, I noticed how Toby began taking her side whenever Layla and I argued in front of him.
“Layla’s right, Mom,” Toby said one day when we were at a restaurant deciding what to order for dinner. “We don’t need a large bowl of salad. It’s just the three of us. We’ll manage with a small bowl.”
A close-up shot of a man’s face | Source: Midjourney
“See, I’ve been telling your mother to order the small bowl, but she never listens to me,” Layla chuckled. “I don’t know why she never trusts me.”
She played the victim in front of him, and my poor boy always fell for it. I don’t blame him; he had seen his father always side with me. But I wasn’t like Layla. I wasn’t pretending to be a good daughter-in-law in front of my husband.
A close-up shot of a woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
Layla’s behavior toward me didn’t change until the day she called me. I was genuinely surprised to see her name on my phone screen.
“Hi, Jen!” she chirped through the phone.
Jen? I thought. That’s weird.
“Hi, Layla,” I played along, trying to sound as sweet as possible. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” she said. “I was wondering if I could borrow your car tomorrow. Would that be okay with you?”
“My car?” I asked.
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Actually, I was supposed to visit my friend today. She lives a few hours away, but I couldn’t go because my car broke down. The mechanic says it’ll take a few days before he can fix it.”
“Oh, my! Sounds like there’s a major problem,” I said, genuinely concerned.
“I was so upset, but then Toby suggested I ask if you could lend me your car for a day,” she continued. “I’ll be back in a week.”
A week? I thought. That’s a lot.
A woman thinking while talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
But I felt bad for her. She sounded desperate, and she mentioned Toby had suggested it, so I didn’t want to let her down. I also saw it as a chance to mend our relationship.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” I said. “You can come over today if you want.”
And that was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
An SUV parked outside a house | Source: Pexels
A week later, Layla and Toby returned my car, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. It was covered in scratches, dents, and dust. And the inside? It smelled like rotten onions!
“What have you done to my car?” I spat out. “What happened?”
“Excuse me?” she said, squinting her eyes as if I’d said something outrageous. “What did I do to your car? It was like this when I picked it up the other day.”
A woman talking to her mother-in-law | Source: Midjourney
“Stop it, Layla!” I yelled at her. “Stop lying.”
“You think I’m lying?” she snapped, turning to Toby. “Babe, look at her! She’s accusing me of lying! How dare she?”
“Mom, Layla’s right,” Toby said. “She told me your car was like this when she picked it up the other day. She’s not lying.”
“Toby? Are you serious?” I stared at him in shock, realizing there was no point in arguing with them.
A woman looking at her son | Source: Midjourney
I had no proof, and neither did she. But Toby sided with her because he was so blindly in love with her.
I realized that arguing might even push my son away, so I decided to teach Layla a lesson instead. I spent the night researching online and stumbled across an incredible idea. A quick call to the nearby pet shop, and my plan was in motion.
An older woman using a phone | Source: Pexels
The next night, I drove over to their place armed with animal attractant sprays. I carefully sprayed them all over their backyard, driveway, and front porch, making sure to stay out of sight.
With the lights off, I knew they were asleep. I quickly executed my plan and quietly drove away, feeling a mix of nerves and satisfaction.
I was certain this would teach Layla not to mess with me again.
A young woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
The next morning, I woke up to my phone ringing. It was Toby.
“Mom, I need help!” he cried over the phone.
“What happened, honey?” I asked, feigning ignorance. “Are you okay?”
“We just woke up, and it’s awful here! The yard stinks, and wild animals have turned our place into a toilet! The whole house smells horrible, and we don’t know what to do!”
I secretly smirked, listening to him rant about the mess. The irony was delicious.
A woman talking to her son on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, my!” I pretended to be surprised. “That sounds horrible. I guess that’s what happens when you ruin someone else’s property.”
I don’t know if Toby caught my meaning, but I’m sure his clever wife knew those animals didn’t show up by chance. She had to know it was me, her oh-so-nice mother-in-law, who never fought back before.
A close-up shot of a woman looking outside her window | Source: Midjourney
Since that day, Layla hasn’t dared to mess with me. We met at a dinner once, and she didn’t try to be rude or complain about me wasting her time. Meanwhile, Toby started calling me regularly, checking in to see how I was doing.
I guess my dear husband Nathan was right after all. My son did need me to pull him out of the trance Layla had drawn him into. He needed me to stand up for myself and set a boundary his wife wouldn’t dare cross again.
A young man standing outside his house | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done if you were in my place?
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: I thought I was a good mother-in-law and grandmother by availing myself to my son and daughter-in-law as they needed. But I soon realized that I was getting the raw end of the deal when my DIL disrespected me. I had to take matters into my own hands to remedy the situation once and for all!
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.
Howie Mandel opens up on his condition
On “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Mandel discussed his struggles with mental illness. He confessed that his celebrity status had a negative impact on his mental health, not a positive one.
From the outside, he sometimes seems cheerful, but when he’s at home, especially alone, he stated that’s not the case.
When Kelly Clarkson heard this, she was shocked. Mandel then acknowledged, “I’m heavily medicated.” Clarkson found it hard to comprehend that someone would make derogatory remarks about her.
Since he was a young child, Howard Stern has battled anxiety and OCD. He has said that he has had these ailments for almost his entire life.
Because he didn’t have any classmates to make friends with when he was younger, he was labeled “strange.” Though he believes he gets paid to be strange, he now finds that every day is a struggle. America’s Got Talent has Stern on the panel as a judge.
Mandel claims to be experiencing a nightmare and tries to ground himself. He has a lovely family and enjoys his work, yet he can also experience deep sadness from which he cannot recover.
He shared a lot of worry during the COVID-19 epidemic because he always has the thought, “We could die,” running through his head. But the fact that everyone in his immediate vicinity was okay would comfort him. But the world as a whole was in horrible shape [during the pandemic].
Up until 2006, Mandel kept his illnesses a secret from the public. He was ashamed and concerned that if his instability were discovered, he wouldn’t be able to obtain employment.
Mandel’s initial concern was that he had let his family down, but he later understood that if it was discovered that he wasn’t stable, he might not be employed.
Howie Mandel, the comedian, has struggled with severe depression for a long time. Mandel acknowledges that, even though he still experiences dark and terrible periods, the general public may not fully understand the severity of his depression.
Like other comedians, he utilizes comedy to deal with his disability. He claims that comedy saved him, and he feels most at ease performing.
Mandel claimed that he is now coming forth about his struggles with mental illness because he wants to end the stigma.
He is aware that enduring all of this will not be simple, but he has faith that despite his difficulties, he will continue to treasure the times when his life is not shadowed by darkness.
Mandel is aware that some people find his battles with mental illness amusing, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t terrible for him.
Despite his obstacles, he is optimistic that he can end the stigma associated with mental health issues. It won’t be simple for him to keep his mental health, but he wants to.
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