I Always Got Sick When I Ate Dinner At My In-Laws. I Filed For Divorce When I Discovered Why

Every time Lilly's mother-in-law, Margaret, prepared a meal, Lilly mysteriously fell ill shortly after. At first, it seemed like a mere coincidence, but as the years went by, her condition worsened. Then, one fateful evening, Lilly uncovered a truth that left her trembling with disbelief.

As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, Sarah realized the horrifying reason behind her chronic illness, and the decision to file for divorce became inevitable...

Lily went over to her parent’s-in-law’s house when she knew they weren’t home to look through their kitchen cupboards. She knew whatever was making her sick must be in their home, as she only got sick by Margaret’s meals. But she never expected to find this in their home…

After an hour of searching, Lily had still found nothing that seemed out of place. She was ready to give up, but just as she was about to walk out of the door, she noticed something. Lily was a bit hesitant at first, but she knew she wouldn’t survive one more meal prepared by her mother-in-law.

Lily couldn’t believe her eyes when she found out what her mother-in-law had secretly been doing to her. This was far worse than she ever thought it would be! But when she told Eric about it, his reaction wasn’t as she had expected…

But why was Lily getting sick? What will she find in her parents-in-law’s house? And how will Eric react?

Lily sat on the couch, dreading the evening that was about to come. It was Tuesday, which meant they were going to have dinner at her husband’s parents' house. It also meant that she would be coming home with horrible stomach aches and would probably have to work from home tomorrow.

It was a weekly thing, eating at her parents-in-law’s house, but each week she wanted nothing more than to cancel. You see, Lily always got sick after eating the food her mother-in-law prepared, no matter what she cooked. And the strange thing was, it seemed to only affect Lily.

The first time she ate at her parents-in-law’s house and got sick after, she thought it was just a stomach bug. But when the same thing happened the second, third, and fourth time, she knew there was something else going on. She had tried to talk to her husband about it, but he didn’t understand.

Eric, Lily’s husband, had been kind and understanding the first time it happened. But after weeks of Lily getting sick after eating his mother’s food, he began to get annoyed. He believed it was all in her head. One time he even accused her of faking it because he believed Lily never liked his mother in the first place.

Which was far from the truth. Well, partly. Lily, indeed never really liked Eric’s mother, but that was only because Eric’s mother never showed any real interest in her. Every time they ate at their house, she spent most of the night talking about herself, or she only asked Eric how things were going in his life.

And after all that, Lily still tried to like Eric’s mother. She sometimes asked her to get manicures or to go shopping together on the weekends because she actually really wanted to have a bond with her. And no matter how desperately she wanted it, she never canceled their weekly dinner.

But the weekly dinners were beginning to take their toll not only on Lily personally but also on her relationship and on her work. Lily felt like things had to change, or else her relationship wouldn’t survive another month. She had to figure out why exactly she was getting sick each week.

So, she decided tonight was the night she would figure out what exactly it was that made her sick. She planned on helping Eric’s mother with cooking. This way, she would, hopefully, be able to keep a close eye on whatever she put in her food. But there was one thing she had to look out for.

Lily knew how proud Eric’s mother could be, so it had to happen casually. If Eric’s mother were to get suspicious about Lily’s motive to help, she would never let her set foot in her kitchen. “Are you ready to go?” Eric suddenly asked. Lily looked up and realized she had been daydreaming this whole time. “Yes, let's go.”

The ride was silent. Probably because they both already knew how the night would go. “How was your day?” Lily asked, trying to change the tense energy in the car. Eric sighed. “Busy,” he answered. Lily rolled her eyes in secret. This was going to be a very long night.

Once they arrived at Eric’s parent's house, Lily put on a fake smile and hugged her mother-in-law hello. “Margaret, good to see you!” she kindly said, but Margaret only reacted with a slight smile. After that, she turned to Eric and greeted him with the biggest and brightest smile of all. “Eric, My love! Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

Lily, who was used to being treated like this, turned her attention to Eric’s father, Thom, who seemed to genuinely be happy to see her. He returned her hug with a kiss on the cheek and a reassuring smile as he looked into her eyes. It was exactly what Lily needed at that moment.

After the somewhat awkward greeting, they all went inside and sat down at the dining table. Margaret immediately offered everyone something to drink and placed various snacks on the table. Lily knew the snacks were always safe to eat, as it was just a little bowl of nuts and a platter of store-bought cheese.

Normally, Margaret would disappear into the kitchen, and Lily would chat with Thom all night long. It was what she looked forward to the most about this night—but tonight had to be different. So, as soon as Margaret disappeared into the kitchen, Lily excused herself. She walked over to the bathroom but changed course the moment she was out of sight.

When she entered the kitchen, Margaret was surprised to see her. “Lily? What are you doing here? If you need something, please let Thom know so he can come and grab it.” Margaret said with a smudge of attitude in her tone. “Oh, sorry Margaret, I don’t need anything. I only wanted to see if you need any help.”

Margaret frowned. “Oh, uh, no, I don’t need help, thank you.” Lily noticed she looked a bit nervous. Could it be because Lily wasn’t supposed to be in the kitchen, or could it all be in Lily’s head? Either way, Lily wasn’t about to let it go. She walked up to the counter and grabbed a knife. 

“Don’t be silly,” Lily said with a smile. “Let me help you, please? You must have something for me to do?” She watched as Margaret thought long and hard about her answer. “No, really. Please go and sit with Eric and Thom. I’ve got everything covered here,” she eventually answered.

Lily knew her plan had failed. If she were to push this one more time, Margaret would get really mad, and that was the last thing she wanted. So, she shrugged her shoulders and left the kitchen without saying a word. The rest of the evening went just as every other evening, and Lily left for home with a terrible belly ache.

It felt as if Lily’s abdomen were continuously stabbed with a knife, making it almost impossible to get up from the table and walk to the car. Lily tried to ignore it and act as if nothing was going on, but tears were slowly filling her eyes with every step she took. Tonight was the worst she had ever felt.