Visiting and Seeing Her Daughter-in-Law Asleep Instead of Cooking, My Mother-in-Law Left Silently and Dropped the Demand for Us to Divorce

My mother-in-law praised my husband for scoring a “perfect 10” as a mediator, saying his tactful approach has greatly improved my relationship with her.

My husband and I have been married for nearly eight years. It’s not a particularly long time, but we’ve faced numerous challenges, with about half of them stemming from his family.

When we first married, my relationship with my mother-in-law was neutral—neither close nor contentious. The problems began when my husband was in a car accident. That day, our child suddenly developed a high fever while we were visiting my parents. I was so worried I called my husband late at night to help take our child to the hospital. On the way, a car running a red light hit him. Both my husband and child ended up in the emergency room, leaving both families in chaos.

My mother-in-law blamed me, saying her son’s injury was my fault. She believed that if I hadn’t called him to pick us up, the accident wouldn’t have happened. My husband tried explaining that he was happy to help, but she wouldn’t hear it. She argued that I could’ve just called a taxi for our child instead of “putting her son through unnecessary trouble.”

I endured her scolding without protest, staying by my husband’s side throughout his recovery. Even though both my father-in-law and sister-in-law defended me, my mother-in-law refused to forgive me. The car accident wasn’t severe, and the other driver fully compensated my husband, but to her, it was a near-tragic event. She saw it as almost losing her son, and that trauma made her unrelenting.

The stress from her accusations affected my health, but with my husband’s support, I pushed through. Even now, she hasn’t let go of the incident. Despite living separately, her attitude toward me remains cold every time we visit. I often feel disheartened but don’t know how to mend things, as speaking up might make me seem like I’m badmouthing her.

The Turning Point

A month ago, I went on a two-day charity trip with my coworkers to a remote area. Before leaving, I informed my husband, and he assured me he could handle the kids.

When we returned late at night, a male coworker offered me a ride home since it was on his way. Unfortunately, nosy neighbors saw this and spread rumors that I was sneaking around. The gossip reached my mother-in-law, who stormed into our house to berate me for “disgracing” her son.

Even though my husband vouched for me, explaining he had personally seen me arrive home with our coworker, my mother-in-law didn’t believe it. She stubbornly accused me of betrayal and issued an ultimatum: my husband and I should separate.

I was shocked by her demand and refused to leave, knowing I’d done nothing wrong. She claimed I had become arrogant since moving out and didn’t respect their family. It was a tense situation, and though I was frustrated, I chose to remain silent for my husband and children’s sake.

A Quiet Realization

Last night, everything changed. Due to a busy end-of-year workload, I’d been working overtime for a week. When I finally got home around 8 p.m., I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the couch instead of cooking dinner.

My husband and son returned home shortly after. Noticing me asleep, they quietly took care of things themselves. My mother-in-law unexpectedly showed up, intending to confront us again. She found her son and grandson in the kitchen eating sandwiches and me fast asleep on the sofa. She asked why I wasn’t cooking, but my husband calmly explained the situation and spent an hour talking with her.

When I woke up, she was gone, and my husband had prepared soup and heated a store-bought beef stew for dinner. He told me to eat and rest while he put our child to bed.

A Surprising Change

This morning, my mother-in-law texted me with an unusually gentle tone. She invited me to bring my child over after school so she and my father-in-law could take him shopping for new clothes. She also told me to bring home some pickled vegetables and frozen meat she had prepared for us.

Surprised by her sudden shift, I showed my husband her messages. He laughed, saying I was lucky to have a mother-in-law who now seemed to care. Just yesterday, she was insisting on our separation, and today she’s completely different. I can’t help but wonder what my husband said to make her change her mind so drastically.