When my mother-in-law handed me the “gift receipt” for my new refrigerator, something inside me snapped. Three thousand dollars in debt wasn’t a birthday present. It was a trap. But Denise didn’t know who she was dealing with.
Some people mistake kindness for weakness. My mother-in-law was one of those people. Until last Saturday, she learned exactly who she was dealing with.
The morning began with the doorbell ringing. Three sharp knocks that seemed to echo through our modest home like alarm bells.
If only I had listened.
An old woman’s hand near a doorbell | Source: Midjourney
I opened the door to find my mother-in-law Denise standing there with a smile plastered on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Happy birthday, Teresa!” she said, pushing me inside our house. “I brought you something special!”
Behind her, two delivery men rolled a huge box. That’s when my husband, Mark, appeared in the room.
“Mom?” he said, confusion evident on his face. “What’s going on?”
A man standing in his house | Source: Midjourney
“Only the best birthday surprise ever!” Denise clasped her hands together, practically vibrating with an excitement that seemed too high to be genuine.
I had learned to read Denise’s words over our seven years of tense family dinners and backhanded compliments.
Something about the way he was behaving was very wrong.
The delivery men placed the box in our kitchen and began unpacking it. As the cardboard fell away, a gleaming stainless steel refrigerator stood before us, its surface so polished I could see my own stunned reflection.
A brand new refrigerator | Source: Midjourney
“Oh my God,” I whispered, genuinely shocked.
Our old refrigerator hummed in the corner, a beige relic from Mark’s bachelor days that I’d been meaning to replace ever since we married. But with my mother’s medical bills piling up, luxury appliances had fallen into the “someday” category.
“Denise, it’s… I don’t know what to say.” And I really didn’t know.
In five years, all my mother-in-law had given me was a re-gifted scarf and thinly veiled criticism of my housekeeping.
Close-up of an old woman’s eyes | Source: Pexels
This sudden generosity felt like finding a shark in a swimming pool.
“It’s nothing, darling!” Denise waves her hand dismissively. “Every decent home needs decent appliances. I was just mortified thinking about my friends coming over and seeing that old thing.” She nodded toward our perfectly working refrigerator.
Mark walked around the new one, whistling under his breath. “This is top-of-the-line, Mom. Really generous.”
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
Denise beamed at her son, then turned to me with a smug smile. “Well, Teresa, aren’t you going to thank me properly?”
I swallowed my suspicion and stepped forward to hug her. Her expensive scent engulfed me, nearly suffocating me with its intensity.
“Thank you,” I said, feeling strange arms around me that had never offered me sincere affection before. “It’s beautiful.”
Denise pulled back, holding me at arm’s length. For a moment, I thought I saw something calculating in her eyes.
Then she rummaged through her designer handbag.
A handbag on a sofa | Source: Midjourney
“Oh! I almost forgot the papers. You have to sign this, darling.”
She slipped an envelope into my hands. The paper felt heavy.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Just the warranty information,” she said too quickly. “Nothing important.”
I opened the envelope and took out the papers, scanning the first page. My blood turned to ice when I read the words “Payment Plan Agreement” at the top.
A woman holding documents | Source: Midjourney
“Denise,” I said slowly, struggling to keep my voice steady. “What exactly am I looking at here?”
And that’s when his mask slipped.
“It’s just a formality,” Denise replied. “The store requires signatures for delivery.”
But I was already scanning the document, my fingertips growing numb with every line I read. This wasn’t a guarantee. This was a payment agreement.
$250 a month for twelve months, for a total of $3,000. And there, on the signature line, a blank space awaited my name.
A close-up of a document | Source: Midjourney
“It’s a payment plan,” I said quietly, looking up to meet his gaze.
Denise’s smile wavered for a moment before widening. “Well, yes. I paid the deposit! Fifty whole dollars!” She patted her chest as if expecting applause. “Consider it my contribution. The rest is… well, your responsibility.”
Mark sat down next to me, reading over my shoulder. “Mom, what the hell?”
A worried man | Source: Midjourney
“Language, Mark,” she snarled, then turned back to me. “The old one was an eyesore. It’s an investment in your home. Don’t you want nice things?”
Just last week, I had drained my savings account to pay my mother’s hospital bills, and Denise knew it. How could she still expect me to pay for the refrigerator?
“You knew we couldn’t afford it,” I said, looking her straight in the eyes.
“Oh please,” Denise replied with a dismissive gesture. “Anyone can afford $250 a month on a good budget. Maybe you should cut down on those fancy coffees you drink all the time.”
My “luxury coffee” was the instant coffee I made at home.
A person holding a cup of coffee | Source: Pexels
Mark stepped forward. “Mom, this isn’t right. You can’t…”
“I can certainly do that,” she interrupted. “And that’s what I did. Delivery people need confirmation before they leave. Are you going to sign or not?”
At that moment, my mind flashed back to all the bitter memories I’d had with Denise. I suddenly remembered how I’d swallowed the insults over the past few years, how I’d tried to make peace, and how I’d tried not to stoop to her level.
Why did I do all this? To be manipulated into debt on my own birthday?
A person holding a cupcake on their birthday | Source: Pexels
“You brought this as a gift,” I said softly. “You said it was a gift.”
“And it is! The gift is having a beautiful, brand-new refrigerator in your house. A refrigerator that matches your cabinets.” She looked pointedly at our kitchen, which we had painted ourselves last summer. “Now stop being ungrateful and sign the papers.”
I folded the papers carefully and slipped them back into the envelope.
“I need to think about this,” I said.
“What’s there to think about?” Denise’s voice rose slightly. “It’s already here! The men have to install it!”
I turned to the delivery men who were awkwardly looking away.
Two delivery men standing in a house | Source: Midjourney
“Could you give us a moment, please?”
They nodded, visibly relieved to be leaving.
When the door closed, Denise abandoned all pretense.
“Listen to me,” she hissed. “This refrigerator stays here. I told everyone I was taking it for you. I won’t go back on my word because you’re difficult.”
Mark finally found his voice. “Mom, you can’t trick us into buying something we didn’t ask for.”
A man who speaks | Source: Midjourney
“Trick? Is that what you think of your mother? That I’m trying to trick you?”
“What would you call it?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “I’d call it helping my son and his wife improve their living conditions. If you don’t want my help, fine. But don’t come crying to me when your milk goes bad in that old carton.”
I looked at the gleaming refrigerator, then at our trusty old friend. The choice crystallized in my mind with perfect clarity.
An old refrigerator in the house | Source: Midjourney
“You’re right, Denise,” I smiled. “I think we should solve this problem right away.”
I took out my phone and dialed the number on the delivery slip.
“What are you doing?” Denise asks, worry creeping into her voice.
I raised a finger when the call connected.
A woman raising a finger | Source: Midjourney
“Hello, BSR Appliances?” I said. “It’s Teresa. You just delivered a refrigerator to my address. I need to speak to someone about returning it.”
Denise jumped on my phone. “Hang up right now!”
Mark grabbed his mother’s arm. “Mom, stop.”
“This was all bought in your name, wasn’t it?” I asked Denise as the hold music played over the speaker.
His silence was confirmation enough.
A woman using her phone | Source: Pexels
“You put my name on the payment agreement, but the purchase is in your name. Which means you’ll be the one taking the hit on the credit if I don’t pay.”
His face drained of blood. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Hello, madam?” a voice came over my phone. “I understand you want to return an appliance?”
“Yes,” I replied pleasantly. “There was a misunderstanding. The refrigerator was delivered without the owner’s proper authorization. It was me.”
“That’s a lie!” Denise hisses.
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
I covered the phone. “Really? Show me where I signed anything authorizing this purchase.”
She fell silent.
“Madam, do you have the receipt?” asked the store representative.
I looked at Denise pointedly. “Not personally, no. But I believe the actual buyer has it. Can you tell me what your return policy is?”
“We have a 14-day full refund policy for all major appliances, provided they have not been installed or damaged.”
A customer service representative talks with a customer | Source: Pexels
“Perfect,” I smiled. “When can you schedule a pickup?”
“No!” Denise shouted, loud enough for the person on the phone to hear.
“Is everything all right there, madam?” they asked.
“Just a little family disagreement. When can you come pick up that refrigerator?”
“We could send the team back today since they are still in your area.”
“That would be wonderful,” I replied. “Thank you very much.”
When I hung up, Denise was shaking with rage.
“You ungrateful little thing…” she began.
“Mom,” Mark warned. “Enough is enough. You’re being too unreasonable!”
A man talking to his mother | Source: Midjourney
“You’ve embarrassed me,” she fumed. “After everything I’ve done for you both.”
“What exactly did you do for us, Denise?” I asked calmly. “Apart from trying to trick me into paying for your purchase?”
She grabbed her purse from the counter. “Mark, I expect you to call me when she’s regained her senses.”
“I don’t think I’ll be calling you anytime soon, Mom. What you did today is just… it’s insane.”
After Denise stormed off, the two delivery men came in.
“We just got the call,” one of them said. “Do you want us to charge it again?”
A delivery man | Source: Midjourney
“Yes, please,” I agreed.
Once they left, Mark and I sat on the couch.
“I can’t believe she tried to do that,” he said.
“I can,” I replied. “But I’m tired of being his doormat.”
Six weeks have passed since that Saturday.
Denise didn’t visit us once.
Word spread quickly among her book club, her sister in Tampa, and the ladies she chats with at church. Everyone wanted to know why her daughter-in-law had returned the beautiful “gift” she’d bragged about.
From what we heard, she was humiliated. And for once, even she couldn’t get away with it.
A woman looking down | Source: Midjourney
I didn’t need revenge. The truth did it for me.
Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is say “no” and mean it. People will only walk all over you if you keep lying down.
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might enjoy: My mother-in-law, Patricia, always looked down on our “mere trinkets” and modest family heirlooms. But during her jewelry appraisal party, she learned a painful lesson about the true value of her own treasures when they turned out to be something she wasn’t expecting.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and all opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
Để lại một phản hồi