“Bullied and Betrayed: My Revenge Against a Toxic Family” Barbara “accidentally” sent her complaint about me to the family WhatsApp group: “My daughter-in-law is so lazy and greedy during her pregnancy. My son’s meager salary is all being eaten up by her!” I quickly @Brian: “See? Your mom thinks you’re incapable and don’t make enough money.” Then I @Barbara: “Feeling sorry that your son’s salary isn’t enough? Why don’t you go get a job too? That would solve the money problem!” Ever since I got pregnant, I’ve been extremely sleepy. One day, after waking up from a nap, I noticed Barbara wasn’t home. She probably went to the market to buy groceries. I quickly grabbed my phone, wanting to call and tell her not to buy anything yet. Today was Brian and my wedding anniversary, and we were going out for a candlelit dinner. As soon as I opened my phone, I saw over a dozen unread messages in the family group chat. I casually scrolled through and happened to see a voice message from Aunt Sophia: “Oh my, what’s going on? Airing grievances in the big group chat now? Aren’t you afraid of upsetting your precious daughter-in-law?” She followed it with a smirking emoji. I could imagine Aunt Sophia’s smug face even with my eyes closed. She was the typical troublemaker who loved to stir up drama. Her son’s marriage ended in divorce after just a year, largely due to her meddling. Yet she refused to acknowledge any fault, instead badmouthing the ex-daughter-in-law everywhere and causing tension between both families. Below that was a sarcastic voice message from Aunt Mary: “Young people these days are so delicate. Going to work seems to drain half their life force. Back in our day, we’d bike to work even while pregnant!” Aunt Mary was ostensibly supporting Barbara, but her words were clearly aimed at the daughters-in-law in the group. Her own daughter-in-law was busy with work and had no time for housework, so Aunt Mary went over to clean every day, harboring a lot of resentment. She had even complained to Barbara before: “This isn’t being a mother-in-law, it’s more like being a maid. At least maids get paid for their hard work!” She certainly had mastered the art of indirect criticism. But who exactly were Aunt Sophia and Aunt Mary talking about? I scrolled up further and finally saw Barbara’s voice message in the group, insinuating about me: “This daughter-in-law of mine, oh my! She’s so lazy and greedy during her pregnancy. My son’s small salary is all being eaten up by her!” So she was complaining that I was spending too much money during my pregnancy! I immediately sent two voice messages in the group, making sure to @Barbara: “Mom, why don’t you go get a job too? That way, with both you and Brian earning money, there’ll be enough to spend!” “The supermarket downstairs is hiring cashiers! 8 AM to 8 PM, lunch provided, $1500 a month. You love to gossip, right? Go there and talk all you want. With all the people coming and going, I’m sure you’ll get your fill of chatter.” As soon as I finished speaking, the group fell silent. No one dared to make any more sarcastic comments. That’s right, if you’re not willing to come help out, then go find a job! Stop giving me trouble!
Actually, I initially disagreed with having Barbara come take care of me during my pregnancy. But I was an older pregnant woman, and my health wasn’t great due to years of working hard in my career. So the doctor specifically advised that I needed to be extra careful in my daily activities. Brian also said that as my pregnancy progressed, it would be too dangerous for me to go out alone without someone to look after me. He worried about me when he was at work. The problem was, I had married far from home, and my dad had recently undergone surgery. My mom was already exhausted taking care of my dad and simply couldn’t be in two places at once for me. I had thought about hiring a nanny, but Brian said an outsider could never be as caring as family. That’s why I finally agreed to let him bring Barbara from their hometown to take care of me. But as soon as Barbara entered our home, she saw my dog Meatball. She frowned, clearly disgusted, and said sarcastically: “Lily, why haven’t you gotten rid of this dog yet?” “You’re pregnant now, you can’t keep a dog. Dogs carry parasites and bacteria, it’s bad for the baby in your belly.” I immediately felt a fire ignite inside me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself: “Mom, I’ve had Meatball for 7 years, since before I even met Brian. He’s not just a dog, he’s family to me.” “Besides, Meatball has had all his shots and medications. He won’t affect the baby at all.” Just then, Meatball happened to walk past Barbara. She kicked him disgustedly: “Oh my, how strange! You actually treat a dog like family? But a dog is just a dog, how can it be family?” “The most important thing for you right now is to take care of yourself and give me a healthy grandson. Why keep a dog? It’s full of germs!” The more Barbara spoke, the angrier I became. I felt all the blood rush to my head. My hands shook with rage as I raised my voice: “Mom, do you understand science at all? Doctors say keeping a dog has no effect on the fetus.” “Go look outside – forget about pregnant women, even families with newborns keep dogs! So many people have dogs, has any child had problems because of it?” Brian must have noticed I was truly angry, as he quickly ushered me into the bedroom with a mix of coaxing and deception. He casually closed the bedroom door and tried to placate me with a fawning expression: “Don’t be angry! Don’t be angry! My mom is just old and from a small town. She’s not really insisting we get rid of Meatball.” “Don’t take it personally. She just doesn’t understand the science of keeping dogs. You should explain it to her slowly, not argue with her. No matter what, she’s still my mom. We should talk things out nicely.” “Look at how you were acting earlier, like an angry rooster. It’s not worth it, it’s just a dog!” Brian’s attempt at mediation only made me angrier. He wasn’t being a peacemaker at all, he was clearly taking his mom’s side and implying I was the one with the problem. “What do you mean it’s not worth it? What do you mean it’s just a dog?” “Brian, when we got married I made it clear that I would never give up Meatball, even when pregnant or having kids. You agreed to that.” “What’s going on? Now that your mom’s here, you’re changing your tune?” Brian had been fawningly trying to appease me earlier, but now he suddenly changed his attitude. He yanked off his tie forcefully and threw it on the bed, his whole demeanor radiating impatience. It made me feel like I was looking at a stranger. “Look, Lily, you’re being a bit unreasonable here!” “My mom left my dad at home alone to come take care of you. Don’t you know how to be grateful?” “Besides, she didn’t really say much, just suggested getting rid of the dog. If we don’t, we don’t. Why are you being so stubborn about this?” I looked at the man before me, wondering if his soul had been possessed. How could he change so quickly? Just last night he had held me close and said: “Lily, when the baby is born, I’ll definitely be a good father. If it’s a girl, I’ll protect you both. If it’s a boy, we’ll protect you together!” In just one night, as soon as his mom arrived, he had changed completely? This argument ended with Brian storming out and slamming the door. Before leaving, he coldly tossed out one last comment: “Fine, you’re pregnant and your emotions are unstable. Think it over when you’ve calmed down. I’m going to see if my mom needs any help!” No comfort, no explanation. With one flippant sentence, he pushed all the blame onto my emotions. As if I was the villain who started the whole dispute. It made me doubt myself – was it really just pregnancy mood swings making me overly sensitive? Maybe Barbara didn’t really mean what she said about getting rid of Meatball? She’s older, after all. It’s normal for her to nag about everything she sees. Forget it, no matter what, she’s Brian’s mother and the grandmother of the child I’m carrying. For Brian’s sake, I’ll be more tolerant and not take offense at everything she says. After all, he’s caught between his wife and his mother. It must be difficult for him too.
I silently reassured myself for over 10 minutes, gradually calming down. I wanted to scroll through some short videos to distract myself. I had just picked up my phone when I saw Aunt Sophia had shared a video link in the family group chat: [Pregnant woman miscarries at 4 months, family pet to blame] [Should pregnant women really keep pets?] As soon as I saw this headline, I was furious. Did they install hidden cameras in my house? How do they know everything that happens here? So I @’ed Aunt Sophia in the group: “Aunt Sophia, what do you mean by sharing this link?” Aunt Sophia quickly replied: “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just chatting with Barbara, and she mentioned you’re still keeping a dog while pregnant. She wanted to get rid of it, but you weren’t happy about that.” “I thought maybe you didn’t know the dangers of keeping a dog, so I specifically found this video.” “You should watch it quickly. Pregnant women really shouldn’t keep dogs. Get rid of it as soon as possible!” My anger, which had just subsided, instantly flared up again. Using the guise of concern to do things that upset me – isn’t this textbook emotional manipulation? Do they really think I’m made of dough to be kneaded at will? “Aunt Sophia, if you’re really that bored, why don’t you get a job? I think a matchmaking agency would be perfect. You could clean the office and find a wife for your son while you’re at it.” “Your son isn’t getting any younger. He’s 36 or 37 now, and hasn’t had a girlfriend since his divorce. If he waits much longer, I’m afraid he’ll be a bachelor for life.” Aunt Sophia immediately sent me a 60-second voice message. I didn’t need to listen to know what she was saying. “Lily, you’re being quite ungrateful! I’m just trying to look out for you!” “My son is single because his standards are high and he hasn’t found anyone he likes. What do you know? Besides, men are in their prime at 40!” You want to be passive-aggressive? I can play that game too! In the past, out of respect for Brian’s elders, I rarely spoke up in the group chat. But now that they’ve repeatedly pushed my boundaries, they can’t blame me for fighting back. “Oh, still saying men are in their prime at 40? With a mother-in-law like you at home, who would dare to pick that flower from your family?” Aunt Sophia, either rendered speechless by my retort or feeling she’d lost face being talked back to by a younger person, tersely replied: “I’m not getting involved in your family drama anymore.” After that, she didn’t say another word. Not getting involved? Good, that’s exactly what I want! Just as I was feeling extremely satisfied, Barbara suddenly pushed open the door. I was a bit annoyed. No matter what, there should be some basic respect between us, right? “Mom, don’t you know how to knock? You can’t just barge in without warning. This isn’t your house.” But Barbara didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with her behavior. She haughtily said: “Why should I knock in my son’s house?” Judging by Barbara’s tone, she didn’t come with good intentions. Sure enough, before I could speak, Barbara started interrogating me: “Lily, let me ask you something. Did you talk back to your Aunt Sophia? How can you be so ungrateful?” Barbara stood in the doorway, sunlight shining on her. It highlighted the wrinkles on her face, making her angry expression look particularly twisted and distorted. My tone softened a bit: “Yes, I did talk back. She messed up her own son’s marriage, and now she’s trying to meddle in our family affairs.” “Mom, you need to understand – we’re family, Aunt Sophia is just your sister!” Maybe Barbara saw some logic in what I said, or maybe she had figured it out herself. Her aggressive demeanor diminished slightly, and she muttered quietly: “Well, you still shouldn’t talk to your Aunt Sophia like that. She is my older sister, after all.” My tone was gentle, but my attitude remained firm: “Mom, she may be your sister, but that doesn’t give her the right to interfere in Brian’s and my life.” Barbara was an uneducated woman. Hearing me address her respectfully as “Mom” and maintain a submissive attitude, she lost her anger. She meekly closed the door, saying: “Alright, alright. You just rest.”
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