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

I, with one shoe on, ran outside and let the caterpillar go. The mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who had been watching, said,

“Are you okay?”

while snickering maliciously. I, who wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, said,

“Sorry for the trouble,”

and was about to leave the house quickly when I was stopped by my mother-in-law.

“Amy, please don’t get involved with us except for weddings and funerals.”

Before I could ask why, she abruptly closed the door, ending the conversation. I really don’t understand what I’ve done.

I just wanted to get along with Ethan’s family. On the way home, Ethan kept apologizing to me.

He said,

“You don’t have to force yourself to interact with my family anymore. I’m really sorry.”

The mother-in-law and sister-in-law said they would have attended the wedding if I hadn’t been the bride. Feeling as if I was the one who had done something wrong without even knowing why, I started to feel sorry for Ethan.

The very next day, I woke up to intense itching all over my body. The itch was so unbearable that I jumped out of bed and rushed to the mirror, only to find my entire body had swollen up fiery red.

I was supposed to work that day, but quickly got a sick day and went to the dermatologist. Apparently, the swelling on my entire body was due to the caterpillar stings.

The caterpillar from yesterday, huh? The itching was incredibly intense, and for about two weeks since that day, I was unable to sleep properly due to the severe itching.

Come to think of it, I noticed my brother-in-law touching my shoes at the front door when I went to Ethan’s house. The old me would have thought a caterpillar had just accidentally crawled in.

But at that time, I felt nothing but distrust towards my in-laws. A month after that, Ethan was hospitalized due to ill health.

He had been complaining of frequent stomach pains for a week before being hospitalized. So I, who was worried, forcefully made him take a day off from work and took him to the hospital.

There he was told that he probably had a gastric ulcer and needed to be hospitalized for further tests. I was told not to contact them unless it was for a wedding or a funeral, so I hesitated.

But I thought that it was not something to keep secret from Ethan’s parents. So I plucked up the courage and called my in-laws.

“Hello?”

My mother-in-law picked up the phone. While the phone was ringing, I couldn’t stop my hand from shaking, and I felt nauseous the moment I heard my mother-in-law’s voice.

That’s how much I had come to dislike my mother-in-law.

“Hello, it’s Amy. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch.”

“What is it this time?”

she asked.

“Well, Ethan has been hospitalized due to ill health. They think it might be a gastric ulcer, but he’s being admitted for tests just in case. So I thought I should let you know.”

“Ah, a gastric ulcer, huh? Isn’t it because you’re overworking him? Please don’t call me for such trivial matters. I’m busy.”

“Trivial matter? Don’t you care about Ethan?”

I asked.

“I don’t want to hear your voice. I’ll tell you clearly because you seem dull. I don’t want to have anything to do with you from now on, so please don’t contact me again. I’m worried about Ethan, that’s why I’ll call him directly.”

Then, my brother-in-law suddenly came on the phone.

“Look, you’re too persistent. Read the room a little. I don’t know if Ethan’s been hospitalized or what, but it’s annoying to have you contact us every time.”

He hung up the phone unilaterally. The moment I heard the sound of the phone hanging up, I felt like something inside me had snapped.

The in-laws who mercilessly threw harsh words at me. The mother-in-law who said don’t contact us, even though her own son was hospitalized.

And the entire family of in-laws who rejected me unilaterally. I couldn’t forgive them.

“You don’t want me to contact you again because it’s a bother?”

I thought. I don’t want to have anything to do with that strange family.

I will never contact them again, no matter what happens. After that, there were no significant abnormalities in Ethan’s test results, and it turned out to be a mild gastric ulcer.

He took medication for a while and his health improved significantly. Of course, I explained the whole situation to Ethan.

Ethan, with a look of resolve on his face, told me,

“Let’s stop getting involved with my family. The only person that matters to me now is Amy. If they can’t accept Amy, then even if we’re connected by blood, they’re not family to me.”