My MIL Kept Insulting Me for Being ‘Just a Teacher’ Until My Father-in-Law Spoke Out

And then Karen clinked her glass of wine with a spoon and said, loud enough for the whole table to hear, “Ethan could’ve married a doctor or a lawyer. But he fell for someone who grades spelling tests. Love truly conquers all!”

The room went silent for a moment, then erupted into awkward, scattered laughter.

It was the kind of laugh people give when they have no idea what else to do. I wanted to crawl under the table and never come back out.

Ethan stepped in sometimes, bless him. He’d call her out gently, saying things like, “Mom, that’s not fair,” or “Come on, she works hard.” But Karen always managed to flip it back.

“She’s sensitive,” she’d sigh dramatically.

“I just want the best for my son.”

She always made it sound like I was a burden he was stuck with, not the woman he had chosen.

Things came to a head on my father-in-law’s birthday. Ethan’s dad, Richard, was turning 70, and we were all dressed up and headed to an upscale restaurant Karen had chosen. It was the kind of place with velvet booths, gold-rimmed menus, and servers who looked down on you for asking for a Diet Coke.

Karen arrived fashionably late, of course, wrapped in a cream coat that looked like it cost more than my entire wardrobe.

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