My Mother-in-Law Told Me to Stay Away. So I Did, and Everything Changed

It seemed like the call had been cut off. When I asked what happened, Ethan shocked me with what he said.

“My parents… they said they’re not coming to the wedding tomorrow.”

“What? What do you mean?”

I asked. I was completely unable to digest the situation and anxiously asked Ethan for more.

According to Ethan, it seemed that the in-laws had forgotten that they had booked a trip for the next day and couldn’t attend the wedding. Unbelievable.

The parents of my husband are skipping the wedding on the day before the ceremony. We stood there in a daze for a while, not understanding why this happened.

We tried calling not only the mother-in-law but also the father-in-law and brother-in-law many times to get an explanation. Only the dial tone continued to ring, and no one picked up the phone.

Confused by the sudden situation, we quickly went to the in-laws’ house, but the lights were off and there were no cars, indicating that nobody was home. I said to Ethan,

“When I went to greet your family the other day, I wondered if I upset your mother and sister. The atmosphere was quite tense at the end.”

To which Ethan responded,

“As I’ve said before, both my mother and sister have high pride. Smart women tend to be a bit hard-headed. Even if they hold a grudge for such a thing, I wouldn’t know.”

When I asked why his father would also skip the wedding, Ethan replied,

“My dad and brother-in-law, they’re both very submissive to their wives. They probably sided with them to not upset my mother and sister.”

Ethan said this with a distressed look. I was at a loss for words.

In the end, we were unable to contact Ethan’s family even on the day of the wedding, so we had no choice but to go ahead with the wedding without Ethan’s family present. Why did this happen?

Did I do something wrong? And was it really true that they forgot they were going on a hot springs trip?

Even if it were true, I couldn’t comprehend why Ethan’s family would choose a trip over attending their own son’s wedding. My parents, who had arrived at the wedding venue, were very surprised when they heard that Ethan’s family would not be attending.

Ethan said to my parents,

“I’m very sorry for the trouble my parents have caused.”

My parents responded,

“It’s not your fault, Ethan. Don’t worry about it. Enjoy the wedding.”

But their expressions were a bit complicated. I felt terrible for making my parents have such expressions at the wedding.

During the reception, we could hear whispers among Ethan’s friends and mine asking,

“Why aren’t Ethan’s parents here?”

The boss from work, who kindly agreed to give a toast, also asked,

“What happened to your parents?”

leaving us wondering how to answer. He couldn’t possibly say,

“My parents are at a trip instead of attending their son’s wedding.”

When we were asked about Ethan’s parents that day, we brushed it off, saying,

“They were feeling unwell.”

What was supposed to be a joyous day turned out to be one mentally exhausting day. Several days after the wedding ceremony, Ethan and I went to his parents’ house to report that the ceremony had ended.

“Oh, Amy, it’s been a while. How was the wedding? Did you have fun? Oh, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it because of my trip that day. I meant to buy you a souvenir, but I got so busy and forgot,”

she said this with no signs of remorse.

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip.”

I replied. Inside, I felt sadness, wondering why I had to suffer such treatment.

But to avoid worsening our relationship with Ethan’s family, I responded with a forced smile. Ethan said,

“It’s unacceptable to cancel the day before a wedding where all the relatives are absent. Is that even normal? If you didn’t want to attend, we shouldn’t have invited you in the first place.”

Then, his sister-in-law said,

“I would have attended if Amy wasn’t the bride.”

“What? What does that mean?”

I asked. I was so confused that my head started spinning.

Then, as if to counter-attack, the mother-in-law said,

“Don’t just blame us. I wanted to see my cute son’s once-in-a-lifetime moment, but Amy ruined it. I’m a victim, too. I’d like an apology.”

Ethan spoke up on behalf of me, who was too shocked to respond.

“What do you mean Amy caused it? Amy didn’t do anything!”

Then, the father-in-law, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Enough is enough! How dare you come in here in the middle of our day off and complain? Is that all you came here for? Get out!”

He yelled at us with incredible ferocity, and we were forcibly kicked out. As I was putting on my shoes at the entrance, I felt a prick on the bottom of my foot.

“Ouch!”

In a panic, I lifted my foot and saw a caterpillar crawling inside my shoe.

“Ew!”