The Woman From My Past Became My Mother-in-Law

And certainly not like this.

She’s actually my wife’s stepmom, and she’s only two years older than me, which explained why she looked almost exactly as I remembered. The moment our eyes met, I knew she recognized me. Not a doubt in my mind. There was that instant, shared flash of panic—an unspoken oh no that passed between us before either of us could mask it.

But we recovered fast.

We exchanged a perfectly polite handshake, pretending it was our first time meeting. “Nice to meet you,” she said with a smile so smooth it could have fooled anyone… except me, because I saw the tightness behind it. I matched her performance, trying to steady my breathing while my fiancée chatted away beside us, blissfully unaware.

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