“Patricia, don’t.”
She raised it toward me.
“Say cheese.”
“Please.”
The camera clicked.
She smiled.
“Maybe a little embarrassment will motivate you.”
Then she walked out.
Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Patricia had posted the photograph publicly.
I was lying in bed with tangled hair, swollen eyes, and tissues scattered beside me.
Her caption read:
“Good morning to everyone who actually gets up, goes to work, and takes care of their family instead of sleeping until noon like my DIL.”
Comments were already appearing.
“Poor Nathan.”
“Women today have no idea.”
“In my time, we would never.”
I put the phone down and cried.
For eight years, I had cooked meals Patricia criticized, cleaned before every visit, and tried desperately to earn approval from a woman who seemed determined never to give it.
That photograph finally broke something in me.
When Nathan came home, I handed him my phone.
He read everything.
I expected anger.
Instead, he became strangely calm.