My Husband's Mom Refused To Serve Me Steak, Saying It Was Only For Her Family. Then I Did This

At a family gathering, tension simmered more than the food on the grill. When it was time to serve dinner, my mother-in-law pointedly told me that the steak was reserved “only for family,” implying that I wasn’t included. Stunned by the exclusion and the blatant disrespect, I stood at the table, fork in hand, weighing my response. 

With all eyes on me, I took a deep breath and chose a course of action that would redefine our family dynamics forever…

“Sorry, Mathilda, I must have misheard you. Could you please repeat that?” I asked, giving her a chance to rescind what she had just said. She couldn’t be serious about this after having a relationship with her son for years and being married for at least a year. Yet it seemed like neither of us would back down as I saw that nasty smirk come on her lips.

“You see, Nilah, my son has brought you here as his plus one, but I only ever get enough steaks to feed the family,” she paused, looking over the people at this gathering before going back to me, “My family.” The words stung more than I had originally anticipated. Sure, she had made an effort to exclude me, but never this blatantly. It is why I knew what I had to do.

I looked at David, my husband, who was sporting a shell-shocked expression. He looked at me, never having seen his mother in this light, and he nodded at me, showing his support. With that go-ahead, I took a deep breath, knowing I would make Mathilda regret her words. What would Nilah say to her mother-in-law? How would it change future family dynamics? And most importantly, how would Mathilda react to it?

I had never seen it coming either. Sure, Mathilda and I had our differences, but she had never acted that way before. I had actually been pleasantly surprised with the fact that she had extended the invitation to both me and my husband for her famed family dinner. She had actually made sure that I was able to come. It was why I could never have expected this. 

I vividly remembered the phone call. She hadn’t even called David for this information, either, but used my personal number. “I feel like we are finally making headway,” I told David after the call, ecstatic that she was finally making an effort to include me. Usually, nights like this would have gone entirely differently, as she made sure I wasn’t even able to attend.

I don’t know how or why, but she always knew my schedule. She knew exactly when I had a fun night with friends or time with my own family. Whenever I had planned for David and me to go to one of these things, she miraculously had planned a family dinner for those specific dates. I had even offered to reschedule some of my plans before, but she always just told me to go. 

At first I believed it to be a mere coincidence, but when she refused my rescheduling plans multiple times, I knew something was wrong with it all. Especially when I told her I had rescheduled without discussing it and she had told me she wouldn’t have enough space for me, inadvertently excluding me from her parties.