The Father-in-law Pretends to Be Drunk to Test His Daughter-in-law – And the Ending Shocks Everyone
The small town of Maple Ridge in the Midwest of the United States is peaceful, where neighbors value neighborliness and kindness.

The family of Mr. Frank Parker—a widower—living with his youngest son Tyler and daughter-in-law May is always praised by neighbors as a model family.

May, a 23-year-old girl, is gentle, hard-working, polite, and has never let her father-in-law do any housework. Everyone praises her as a “good daughter-in-law, a good wife.” But Mr. Frank, an experienced and discreet man, remains silent. It’s not that he doesn’t love his daughter-in-law, but he understands: if you want to know someone’s true character, look at how they react when things are not normal.

One day, Tyler received an order to transfer to another state branch for a month. Before leaving, he told his wife to take care of his father because he was old, forgetful, and had a history of high blood pressure. May nodded, prepared the medicine, and put it neatly in the cabinet.

The first three days, everything was normal: May cooked, did the laundry, and watched TV with her father-in-law at night. On the fourth night, Mr. Frank suddenly returned home, drunk and smelling of alcohol.

May was folding clothes and quickly supported him:

“What’s wrong, Dad? Who did you drink with that made you so drunk?”

He didn’t answer, just chuckled, his eyes were hazy. Suddenly, he sat down on the sofa and held May’s hand. She was startled and stepped back:

“Dad is drunk, let me make some lemon and salt water to sober up.”

But he didn’t let go, his eyes were red:

“You… are so beautiful, you know? Tyler is always gone… at home it’s just you and me…”

May panicked, waved her hand and dropped the glass of water. He swayed forward, still trying to call:

“Don’t go, May… don’t disappoint me like your mother did…”

May ran upstairs, locked the door, her heart pounding, and couldn’t sleep all night.

Early in the morning, going downstairs, she saw Mr. Frank sitting on the porch, his chin resting on his hand, his eyes pensive. She was about to leave when he called:

“Come here, I have something to tell you.

She stood at a distance. He sighed:

“What kind of person do you think I was last night?”

May was silent. He continued, his voice hoarse:

“I wasn’t drunk last night. I pretended to be drunk to test you.”

May was stunned:

“Why did you do that? What… did I do wrong?”

He shook his head:

“No. You’re not wrong. I just want to know if you can keep your boundaries in the worst case scenario. I lost your mother to an affair—she said, ‘I’m lonely, and you’re cold.’ I was afraid history would repeat itself in our family. I was stupid to choose that terrible path.”

That evening, he placed a handwritten letter and a small box on the table. In the letter, he wrote:

“May, I’m sorry for testing you in the worst way. But your reaction touched me. You’re not only a good wife, you’re also the daughter I’ve always wanted.”

Inside the box was a savings book/Certificate of Deposit (CD) in May’s name, the money he had saved for many years.

From that day on, the father-son relationship between the two became unusually close. When Tyler returned home, he only saw his wife hugging her father and crying. He didn’t ask any questions, just smiled—because he knew his family would be stronger from now on.

A simple yet touching story, showing that trust doesn’t come naturally—it comes after collisions and challenges. The most precious thing is still: sincere feelings make people look back at themselves—and forgive