MIL Took Our Dirty Laundry Home While I Was Sick — I Couldn't Believe What She Did with It, but Karma Took Care of It

I knew my mother-in-law, Linda, never liked me, but I never thought she'd go this far. When she offered to take my laundry home while I was recovering from an illness, I let her, unaware she had plans for my clothes beyond just washing them.

From the moment I married David, Linda made it clear I wasn't her ideal daughter-in-law. She criticized everything I did including how I cooked and folded laundry.

She even had opinions about how I should raise my boys.

I thought keeping my distance would help, but Linda never liked being left out. And when I fell sick, she saw an opportunity to do what she wanted.

I just didn't realize how bizarre things would get until it was too late.

My husband, David, and I have been married for five years, and we have two beautiful boys, Nathan (5) and Lucas (3).

Like any mother of two little kids, my life is a whirlwind of messy rooms, sticky fingers, and never-ending laundry piles. And like any normal mother-in-law who doesn't particularly like her daughter-in-law, Linda always had something to say about how I ran my household.

From the beginning, it was clear she didn't approve of me.

"You're not feeding them enough protein," she'd say, inspecting my kitchen with a disapproving frown.

Or, "David never liked his shirts folded this way. I taught him better than this."

Or my personal favorite, "You should dress the boys in something more presentable. You never know who's watching."

She had an opinion on everything, and it was exhausting.

But instead of arguing, I took a different approach. I simply stopped engaging and kept our interactions to a minimum. I was careful not to give her any reason to start one of her exhausting lectures.

The best part was that David agreed it was for the best.

"You don't have to force a relationship with her," he told me one evening as we cleaned up after dinner. "I know she can be a lot. I'll handle her."

And he did.

He called her regularly, visited her, sent her gifts, and did everything a son would do to make her mother feel loved. And I never once tried to interfere with their bond.

If anything, I encouraged him to stay connected with her. Just because she didn't like me didn't mean he had to cut ties.

But Linda wasn't one to let things go. She noticed my absence.

"Why don't you come over with David anymore?" she'd ask me.

"You used to call me more often," she'd text randomly.

It was almost as if she missed having someone to criticize.

It was annoying, but I let it slide. I mean, I was okay as long as she wasn't causing major trouble. I could handle a few nosy questions if it meant I didn't have to see her so often.

Everything was going fine in my life until two weeks before Valentine's Day. That's when I woke up with a fever and a stuffy nose.

I was sick. And things were about to get worse for me because I had two little kids depending on me.

What started as a mild fever for me quickly turned into exhaustion, body aches, and a cough that wouldn't quit. And, of course, as soon as I started feeling slightly better, both Nathan and Lucas caught it too.

It wasn't anything serious. It was just one of those stubborn bugs that knock you off your feet for days. But by the time the worst of it passed, I felt like I had been run over by a truck.

I was super exhausted.

I barely had the energy to do the basics. The laundry piled up. Dishes sat in the sink longer than they should have.

In short, the house was a disaster.

So, once the kids and I were finally on the mend, I decided to do something nice. I invited my sister and my parents over for the afternoon.

The boys hadn't seen them in a while, and I figured a little family time would be good for all of us.

I didn't tell Linda about this little lunch. Why would I?

But somehow, she found out.

It was exactly 1:30 p.m. when the doorbell rang.

As soon as I opened the door, Linda stepped in with a smile.

"I heard you weren't feeling well, dear," she said. "I thought I'd stop by to help."

Help? Linda?

She had never "helped" in all the years I'd known her. All she did was give useless pieces of advice and pass mean comments.

I glanced at David who was standing near the couch. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I could tell he hadn't invited her either.

"Oh… that's nice of you," I said cautiously.

Linda smiled, but it wasn't her usual smug expression. It was… sweet. Suspiciously sweet.

"How are the boys?" she asked, ruffling Nathan's hair. "Oh, my poor babies, you must've had a rough time."

Nathan giggled, and Lucas reached out for her. She cooed over them for a moment before turning to me.

"And you, sweetheart? You look so pale. You shouldn't be up and about already."

Was she… being nice? I thought. What's gotten into her?

"I'm fine," I said, still watching her carefully. "Just tired."

"Well, of course you are!"

She looked around the living room and her gaze landed on the pile of laundry in the corner. I'd managed to shove it all into baskets, but there was no hiding it. I hadn't washed clothes for weeks.

Linda tsked. "Oh, Evelyn. You shouldn't have to deal with all this in your condition."

Then, she turned to David. "Why don't I take some of it home with me? I'll wash it and bring it back fresh and folded."

I stiffened. Since when does she do favors?

"That's really not necessary," I said quickly. "I can get to it this weekend."

But Linda waved me off. "Oh, nonsense. It's no trouble at all. I'd be happy to help."

Linda? Happy to help? What was going on?

Something about this didn't feel right. But before I could come up with a polite way to refuse, David spoke up.

"That'd be great, Mom. Thanks."

I turned to him in disbelief. Seriously?

"See?" Linda turned to me. "It's settled. I'll take care of everything."

She grabbed a basket and started hauling it toward the door before I could say another word. David even helped her load it into the trunk of her car.

I stood there feeling uneasy, but what could I say? She was doing something nice, right?

At least, that's what I thought.

Two days passed, and I had almost forgotten about the laundry situation until David got a message from his mother.

I was in the kitchen, trying to coax Lucas into eating something other than crackers, when David walked in with his phone. He looked super confused.

"You're not gonna believe this," he said, holding up his screen.

I wiped my hands on a napkin and took the phone from him.

It was a text from Linda. A long one.

David, I can't believe what your wife did. I have been sick all night. Fever, chills, and the worst headache ever! And you know why? Because Evelyn didn't bother to tell me she was contagious when she gave me her filthy clothes! I tried on a few things before washing them, just to see if I wanted to keep them since she had mentioned that she was getting rid of some. And now I'M SICK! I can't believe how irresponsible she is. She should have warned me!

I stared at the screen, my mouth hanging open.

"She… she tried on my clothes?" I asked.

"Yeah," David said. "Looks like it."

I nearly gagged. "My dirty clothes. That I wore while I was sick?"

David nodded.

"Oh my God." I dropped the phone on the counter like it was contaminated. "That's disgusting!"

"I don't even know what to say," David sighed.

"Oh, I do," I said, grabbing my phone and unlocking it. "She's out of her mind if she thinks this is my fault."

Before I could even respond, my phone buzzed. Another message from Linda.

Medical expenses are not cheap, you know. Since your little stunt got me sick, I think it's only fair you cover my treatment. I'll be mailing you the bill. Don't think you can just ignore this!

"Okay…" I said. "She's lost it. She's completely lost it."

When I showed David the message, he told me not to pay her anything.

"I'm going to call her," he said. "She needs to stop with this."

I crossed my arms and watched as he walked into the living room, called Linda, and put the phone on speaker.

She picked up after two rings.

"I was just about to call you!" she snapped. "Did you read my message? I hope you understand how serious this is."

"Mom," David said, his tone already firm, "let me get this straight. You took dirty clothes, tried them on, got sick, and now you want Evelyn to pay for your treatment?"

"She should have warned me!" Linda shot back. "How could she be so careless? You have no idea how miserable I feel right now."

David pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Mom. You were careless. You offered to wash the clothes, not wear them. That was YOUR decision."

Linda scoffed. "Oh, so now you're taking her side, just like always?"

"No, I'm using basic logic," David said. "You have no one to blame but yourself. And if you keep falsely accusing Evelyn, we're going to have a real problem."

There was silence on the other end. A long silence.

"So, that's it?" she finally spoke up. "You're just going to let her treat me like this?"

David rolled his eyes. "You stole her clothes, ruined half of them, made yourself sick, and now you're trying to scam her for money. If anyone is treating someone poorly here, it's you."

"What was that?" David asked.

"I said, some of those clothes were actually nice."

"Excuse me?" I blurted out. "What does that mean?"

David just shook his head. "Mom, return whatever you took that belongs to Evelyn. You can't keep anything."

"But, I—"

"Stop it, Mom!" David interrupted. "If you keep texting her over this then I'm sorry… I won't be calling or visiting anytime soon."

Another pause. And then—beep.

She had hung up.

David looked at me and sighed. "Well, that went about as well as I expected."

I let out a deep breath and shook my head. "I cannot believe she tried on my sick clothes."

David laughed under his breath. "Karma works fast, huh?"

A few days later, a package arrived. Inside were a few of my shirts, some pants, and a sweater. All of them were a light shade of pink.

Linda had ruined my clothes.

For some reason, I didn't feel angry. I guess I was too tired to argue with her over this.

"Guess I should've expected that," I sighed while holding up a faded sweater.

David peered over my shoulder. "You're not actually going to wear those again, right?"

"Are you kidding? After where they've been? Burn pile."

David laughed, shaking his head. "Well, at least we learned something from all this."

"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow.

He grinned. "If your mom offers to do laundry, say yes. If mine offers? Run."

I burst out laughing. "Deal."

If you enjoyed reading this story, here's another one you might like: You think you're stepping into a dream when you marry the love of your life. But that dream quickly turns into a nightmare when you're handed a list of rules on how to be a "good wife." And this is where my revenge began.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided "as is," and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.