\nMy DIL Returned My Car Totaled after a Trip to Her Friend \u2014 She Refused to Pay for the Damages, So I Taught Her a Lesson\n
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.\n
I\u2019m a 60-year-old woman who\u2019s been living alone ever since my husband passed away five years ago. Nathan died after a tough battle with cancer, and there wasn\u2019t much we could\u2019ve done to save him. I still remember what he said to me the day before he closed his eyes forever.\n
\n
\u201cJennifer, always look after Toby,\u201d he said as he held my hand. \u201cI know he\u2019s 30 and he can look after himself, but that boy is a bit too sensitive, and I know he\u2019ll need his mother to support him.\u201d\n
He was right. Toby did need me in the days following Nathan\u2019s 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.\n
Toby and I would laugh and then cry thinking about the disturbing fact that we\u2019d never see Nathan again. It made us feel devastated, but I guess that\u2019s part of the healing process.\n
However, things changed when Toby found someone to replace his aging mother. About a year after Nathan\u2019s death, Toby introduced me to a beautiful 30-year-old woman named Layla, whom he met at work.\n
She wore a lovely dress, her hair neatly tied back, perfectly dressed to meet her boyfriend\u2019s mother. I had to admit that she knew how to make a strong first impression.\n
\u201cHi, Jennifer,\u201d she hugged me the first time we met. \u201cHow are you?\u201d\n
Remember Cher? Try Not To Choke When You See Her Now\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine, thanks,\u201d I smiled, totally mesmerized by my son\u2019s choice. \u201cYou look wonderful, Layla!\u201d\n
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.\n
\nToby 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\u2019t stop weeping when my boy said his vows like a grown-up man.\n
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.\n
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.\n
\u201cWhy are you so late, Jennifer?\u201d she asked as soon as I stepped inside the house. I couldn\u2019t see Toby anywhere near the entrance. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for you for so long!\u201d\n
\u201cI\u2026 I got late because of the traffic,\u201d I stammered, taken aback by the unexpected confrontation.\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like hosting people who can\u2019t value my time,\u201d she muttered.\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry for that, Layla,\u201d I apologized. \u201cBut it was just 10 minutes.\u201d\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care if it was 10 minutes or 10 hours,\u201d she shot me an angry look. \u201cYou need to be on time when you come to my place, underst\u2014\u201d\n
\u201cOh, Mom! You\u2019re here!\u201d Toby interrupted. \u201cHow are you, my lovely lady?\u201d\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine, Toby,\u201d I said, hugging him, still reeling from Layla\u2019s behavior. \u201cHow are you, my love? Looks like you haven\u2019t been eating well.\u201d\n
\u201cNah, I\u2019m good, Mom,\u201d he smiled. \u201cWhat were you guys talking about?\u201d\n
\u201cYour wife was say\u2014\u201d\n
\u201cNothing, babe,\u201d Layla cut me off. \u201cI was just telling her how beautiful she looks today.\u201d\n
\u201cYeah?\u201d Toby\u2019s gaze shifted from his wife to me. \u201cMy mom always looks the best!\u201d\n
At that point, I was stunned by Layla\u2019s behavior. Why was she being so sweet to me in front of Toby? And why didn\u2019t she let me tell him what she had said earlier?\n
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\u2019t looking, she\u2019d throw mean remarks to make me feel unwelcome.\n
That day marked the beginning of my strained relationship with my daughter-in-law.\n
Then, one day, I noticed how Toby began taking her side whenever Layla and I argued in front of him.\n
\u201cLayla\u2019s right, Mom,\u201d Toby said one day when we were at a restaurant deciding what to order for dinner. \u201cWe don\u2019t need a large bowl of salad. It\u2019s just the three of us. We\u2019ll manage with a small bowl.\u201d\n
\u201cSee, I\u2019ve been telling your mother to order the small bowl, but she never listens to me,\u201d Layla chuckled. \u201cI don\u2019t know why she never trusts me.\u201d\n
She played the victim in front of him, and my poor boy always fell for it. I don\u2019t blame him; he had seen his father always side with me. But I wasn\u2019t like Layla. I wasn\u2019t pretending to be a good daughter-in-law in front of my husband.\n
Layla\u2019s behavior toward me didn\u2019t change until the day she called me. I was genuinely surprised to see her name on my phone screen.\n
\n
\u201cHi, Jen!\u201d she chirped through the phone.\n
Jen? I thought. That\u2019s weird.\n
\u201cHi, Layla,\u201d I played along, trying to sound as sweet as possible. \u201cHow are you?\u201d\n
\u201cI\u2019m good,\u201d she said. \u201cI was wondering if I could borrow your car tomorrow. Would that be okay with you?\u201d\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she sighed. \u201cActually, I was supposed to visit my friend today. She lives a few hours away, but I couldn\u2019t go because my car broke down. The mechanic says it\u2019ll take a few days before he can fix it.\u201d\n
\u201cOh, my! Sounds like there\u2019s a major problem,\u201d I said, genuinely concerned.\n
\u201cI was so upset, but then Toby suggested I ask if you could lend me your car for a day,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019ll be back in a week.\u201d\n
A week? I thought. That\u2019s a lot.\n
But I felt bad for her. She sounded desperate, and she mentioned Toby had suggested it, so I didn\u2019t want to let her down. I also saw it as a chance to mend our relationship.\n
\u201cSure, I don\u2019t mind,\u201d I said. \u201cYou can come over today if you want.\u201d\n
A week later, Layla and Toby returned my car, but I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes when I saw it. It was covered in scratches, dents, and dust. And the inside? It smelled like rotten onions!\n
\u201cWhat have you done to my car?\u201d I spat out. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d she said, squinting her eyes as if I\u2019d said something outrageous. \u201cWhat did I do to your car? It was like this when I picked it up the other day.\u201d\n
\u201cStop it, Layla!\u201d I yelled at her. \u201cStop lying.\u201d\n
\u201cYou think I\u2019m lying?\u201d she snapped, turning to Toby. \u201cBabe, look at her! She\u2019s accusing me of lying! How dare she?\u201d\n
\u201cMom, Layla\u2019s right,\u201d Toby said. \u201cShe told me your car was like this when she picked it up the other day. She\u2019s not lying.\u201d\n
\u201cToby? Are you serious?\u201d I stared at him in shock, realizing there was no point in arguing with them.\n
I had no proof, and neither did she. But Toby sided with her because he was so blindly in love with her.\n
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.\n
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.\n
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.\n
I was certain this would teach Layla not to mess with me again.\n
The next morning, I woke up to my phone ringing. It was Toby.\n
\u201cMom, I need help!\u201d he cried over the phone.\n
\u201cWhat happened, honey?\u201d I asked, feigning ignorance. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d\n
\u201cWe just woke up, and it\u2019s awful here! The yard stinks, and wild animals have turned our place into a toilet! The whole house smells horrible, and we don\u2019t know what to do!\u201d\n
I secretly smirked, listening to him rant about the mess. The irony was delicious.\n
\u201cOh, my!\u201d I pretended to be surprised. \u201cThat sounds horrible. I guess that\u2019s what happens when you ruin someone else\u2019s property.\u201d\n
I don\u2019t know if Toby caught my meaning, but I\u2019m sure his clever wife knew those animals didn\u2019t show up by chance. She had to know it was me, her oh-so-nice mother-in-law, who never fought back before.\n
Since that day, Layla hasn\u2019t dared to mess with me. We met at a dinner once, and she didn\u2019t 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.\n
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\u2019t dare cross again.\n
If you enjoyed reading this story, here\u2019s 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!\n
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.\n
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 \u201cas is,\u201d and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.\n
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