I’ve been married for two years and that time has been enough to understand that my husband’s family is like a three-story house with the lights on on the outside, but full of dark corners on the inside. The darkest corner is the relationship between my mother-in-law, my father-in-law and me.

It all started with my father-in-law’s strange habit:

He doesn’t dine with anyone but me.

Even if I returned from my overtime at 10 p.m., he would sit alone at the table, in the dim light, waiting quietly for me to walk through the door.

At first, I thought he was simply feeling sorry for his daughter-in-law for how hard she worked. But that “compassion” lasted to a point that… It was not normal.

Once, I came back late. My mother-in-law had taken the food up to her room to have dinner alone, and my husband had already finished a long time ago. Seeing my father-in-law still sitting, I felt uncomfortable and said, “Dad, please eat first.” She was very busy and I don’t dare keep her waiting. He just smiled sweetly: “It doesn’t matter. It tastes better to me if I eat with you.

Just then, my mother-in-law came out of the kitchen, with a look as sharp as a knife: “Let him eat with whoever he wants, but no one has time to sit around waiting like him.

I was paralyzed. The tone of his voice was full of sarcasm and suspicion. I understood that he was not only referring to dinner.

The following days, my mother-in-law’s gaze was always investigating, observing every little gesture between my father-in-law and me. I would serve him food, and she would watch. He congratulated me on how well I cooked, and she pursed her lips. I would come home from work, he would get up and ask “Are you back yet, daughter?”, and she would immediately turn her face.

In the whole house, only I clearly felt the change in my mother-in-law: I suspected that my father-in-law and I… We had something inappropriate.

I was so afraid that I didn’t dare to be less than three steps away from him.

But the cruelty did not stop there.

 

THE KEY MOMENT: WHEN I GOT PREGNANT

 

When I announced my pregnancy, the whole family was supposed to be happy. But my mother-in-law looked at me slowly from head to toe and blurted out a phrase that froze my heart: “The baby… Are you sure it’s from Tùng?” (The husband’s name).

My husband was stunned: “Mom, what nonsense are you talking about?

She looked at me, her eyes bloodshot: “I don’t know! Since she arrived at this house, your father only looks at her, he only waits to have dinner with her. I don’t trust anyone anymore! This house is in chaos!

I was stunned. Every word of his was like a direct slap in the face. My husband tried to intervene, but from that day on, the atmosphere in the house became dense, about to explode at the slightest touch.

I avoided my father-in-law, and even dinner. But he kept knocking on my door: “Daughter, eat a little, I’ve saved a plate for you.” I answered, trembling from within: “I’ve already eaten, Dad…” Leave it there, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.

He would stay out for a long time before returning to his room.

Every day it became stranger: he forgot things, muttered someone’s name. My mother-in-law became more and more hostile, waiting for any carelessness of mine to make insinuations about blood, filth, or that a daughter-in-law is worthless. I was so exhausted that I cried every night, just hugging my belly and wishing my baby wasn’t affected by psychological pressure.

Until one fateful night.

 

THE DAY MY FATHER-IN-LAW FELL IN THE BATHROOM

 

That night, I went back to overtime. I got home at 10 p.m., and when I opened the door, I heard a loud bang in the bathroom. The whole family ran. My father-in-law lay prostrate, his head beaten against the edge of the floor, bleeding heavily.

I knelt down quickly, raised my head and called to him trembling: “Dad! Dad!

In that moment of confusion, his murky eyes stared at me and he murmured a name: — Linh… don’t leave me, daughter… Linh…

I froze.

My name is Mai. Who was Linh?

The whole family was silent, especially my mother-in-law. She was stunned looking at my father-in-law, who was holding my arm, calling non-stop: “Linh… my daughter…

I saw my mother-in-law’s face pale like paper.

We took him to the emergency room. The doctor said he had an injury, but the most dangerous thing was the sign of prolonged confusion, with the possibility of temporary amnesia or psychological trauma disorder.

My mother-in-law burst into tears; It was the first time I had seen her so vulnerable. But that vulnerability was mixed with terrifying anger: “Who is Linh?” Why did he call her to the brink of death? Why is he holding Mai’s arm as if holding her? WHAT ELSE HAS HE BEEN HIDING FROM ME?! She screamed at my husband, who was unconscious.

I was next to him, trembling, not understanding what was happening.

 

THE TRUTH HIDDEN FOR MANY YEARS

 

Two days later, my father-in-law woke up. The doctor invited the whole family to talk.

“Your problem is not senile dementia,” said the doctor, “but an extremely strong psychological shock in the past. A painful memory has haunted you for too long, to the point that your brain has become sensitive and easily activated when you encounter an image similar to that person’s.

My mother-in-law gripped the seat tightly. “You mean…?”

The doctor looked at me: “You, Miss Mai… He has a face very similar to that of a girl who was very important to him.

The whole room was shocked.

My mother-in-law turned to me, her voice trembling: “What daughter?! I have only given him one son!

My father-in-law burst into tears at that moment.

She called my mother-in-law, called my husband, and then stared at me for a long time, as if asking for forgiveness.

And he began to tell his story.

A long time ago, before he met my mother-in-law, he had a deep love affair with another woman. They had a secret relationship because her family did not accept it. That woman bore him a daughter, whom he named Linh.

But when Linh was 5 years old, my father-in-law, tired, financially strained and by the conflicts between the two families, drove drunk… and caused an accident that caused Linh’s death right in front of his eyes.

Remorse tormented him to such an extent that he buried everything, married my mother-in-law, started a new family, and tried to forget the past.

But the memories never go away.

When I arrived at the house as a daughter-in-law, she was startled because my eyes, my smile, and my appearance were too similar to Linh’s. Seeing me have dinner, seeing me smile, seeing me wash the dishes… everything reminded him of the little daughter he had lost.

He was afraid, but he could not disassociate himself.

He loved me as he loved Linh back then, an unconscious compensation that even he didn’t understand.

My father-in-law spoke through tears: “I’m sorry… for making you uncomfortable… I had no bad intentions… Only… I missed the girl too much…

I froze, with a lump in my throat.

My mother-in-law slumped in her chair. He cried inconsolably, not out of jealousy, but out of pain.

It turns out that, during all those years, she had lived with a husband who always kept a corner of her heart for someone else, for a secret daughter whose existence she never knew.

The hospital room fell into a deathly silence.

 

THE COLLAPSE AND REBIRTH OF THE FAMILY

 

My husband clutched his head, muttering, “I can’t believe Dad—” I had a secret like that… for decades… My mother-in-law was exhausted from crying so much.

And I… I was stunned, confused, compassionate, and scared all at once.

But I knew one thing: no one in this story was a bad person. It was just that the pain of the past was too great, too deep, and too difficult to express.

From that day on, all the conflicts in the house seemed to dissolve.

My mother-in-law softened her tone. He looked at me with shame, but no longer with the vigilance he used to.

My husband hugged me, sobbing, “I’m sorry I put you through this.

I just shook my head softly. It wasn’t his fault.

And my father-in-law… He always looked at me remorsefully, fearing that he had hurt me unintentionally.

I also changed.

I began to understand why he was waiting for me for dinner. Why did he stare at me so intently. Why did my mother-in-law suspect? Why the baby in my womb became the excuse for my mother-in-law’s repressed jealousy for so many years to explode.

All… it was only by one name: Linh.

A little soul whose existence no one in this family knew about, but who had been tormenting us for a long time.

 

CONCLUSION

 

On the day I gave birth, my father-in-law was outside the delivery room the entire time, his hands shaking, praying that the mother and baby would be okay. My mother-in-law hugged my shoulder, without a trace of suspicion or hostility. My husband held my hand throughout the delivery.

When the baby gave his first cry, my father-in-law also burst into tears. He said with trembling breath, “I’m sorry, Linh…” I couldn’t save you… But I will love this grandson… like a gift sent from heaven…

I looked at him, realizing that he had finally freed himself from the pain of a lifetime.

My husband’s family, after the storm, had become more serene.

And I… I don’t forget the past, but I am grateful to have witnessed the truth. Because sometimes, the most toxic suspicions hide behind pains that people don’t dare to pronounce.